Big Toy Truck: 1968 Dodge Power Wagon
For fans of patina, this old pickup should be just about right. The sellers have taken a good work truck, added a little bling and goofy tires (for city driving at least). For some of us, it looks about right for irrigation duty or riding fence. With those mudders, though, it doesn’t seem it would be much good for dragging a horse trailer or much else. So far, bidding here on eBay is over $8,000 and has a few days to go. Overall, changes done to this Power Wagon seem more about show than go. That little Speedmaster winch is bolted right to the front bumper so it’s only for looks. That light set on the grill looks pretty useless because they are too low, but it does have a cool look. The seller points out the rust in the sill on the passenger side, yet doesn’t mention the rusted-out tailgate.
Things look pretty original inside the cab except for the tach, the trailer brake controller, and the cowhide seat cover. The seller describes the cowhide seat cover as gorgeous but I lean more toward silly myself. Hopefully, there’s not too much rust hiding under the bed liner coating they’ve sprayed on the the floor.
The sellers have added some shiny bits to the 318 to go with the patina. Perhaps the seller is trying to make this look like a resto-mod. The radiator support is new so this pickup has suffered a serious mishap. There’s no AC or power steering, two things necessary for driving around town in comfort.
With this much rust showing on the frame rails, I’m wondering where there might be more serious rust. It also seems like a good idea to run the exhaust pipes to the back of the bed.
Overall, they seem to have taken a pretty good work truck with lots of life left in it and turned it into a play truck for townies. This pickup won’t be fun driving around town, though, especially on those mudders and with no AC or power steering. Going around corners or trying to park it will be interesting because of the extra large turning radius. This pickup could be fun in the desert around El Paso, driving around in the mesquite, sage, and piles of trash. The rust issues will need to be resolved first, of course, before any off-road driving. I’d be embarrassed to be seen in this truck as it is, especially with that little winch bolted to the bumper and the lights in the grill. What would you do with it?
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Comments
https://elpaso.craigslist.org/cto/d/1968-dodge-w100-power-wagon/6378607007.html
My guess is that the owner is 18-20 years old. No offense to the younger crowd, but there is no rationale or theme behind the various modifications that have been done. Fortunately, they can all be reversed.
As an 18 year old who has a 1989 W250, I agree. Wholely. 110%. All the mods I’ve done been done (besides the necessary modifications) has been for looks and sound. I like the late 70s/early 80s off-road vibe, so I have a set of skinny General Grabber AT2s On factory steel wheels, some Rancho shocks, and a Warn steel Winch bumper I bought from Oregon. It’s also worth noting that the truck has 47k miles on it, original paint, and a lot of original parts (what hasn’t gone kaput). I like the sound of power but there’s so much you can do to a TBI 360. And it’s a tank of a truck so I’m generally safe. This truck looks amazing and if I had the money (College) i would love to get it
That winch on it is ornamental. Sure looks like it’s never been used.
Thanks for putting the Craigslist ad up. (It’s edited from the original post, but I think it’s important for readers to know the price the seller is hoping for)
This truck really hit the nostalgia button for me, remembering driving trucks like these around New Mexico and Wyoming, irrigating, fixing fences and such. When you drove into town, folks knew it’s no pretend towney truck. It’s working mud that makes it pretty, not bad paint. What they did to this truck is like taking your girl and dressing her up like a, you know, lady of the evening.
Jonathan Ward at ICON would have a field day…doing a derelict restomod with this puppy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuxAll6ymoM
I bet he gets his asking price of $16,000 on CL, or close to it. If the eBay auction isn’t ended early, it might get bids above that.
Steve R
“Private listing” is a dead giveaway to shill bidding.
Realistically, that’s a 6-8k truck in the current market.
Pretty sure all vehicle listings on eBay are set to private. Before it became mandatory, bidders would receive tons of unsolicited e-mail from used car jockeys offering a similar car. I’ve traded 16 vehicles on eBay, between buying and selling, over the last 15 years or so. They made the change about 10 years ago and the experience improved dramatically.
All bidders have username masked. This guy has specifically selected “hide bidders” on the listing. It shows up as “private listing”.
There’s a big difference.
When I lived in Alaska I had a AF surplus 4door power wagon for a couple of years. It was a great truck, but it sucked gas like it was going through a fire hose.
First thing I noticed was that toy winch and those worthless lights. The truck on the other hand I wouldn’t mind but not at his price.
The ad states the winch is rated at 13k, which is more than sufficient for this truck. However, the mount is definitely questionable.
As for the lights, at least they’re round and not a rectangular light bar like so many are using today. They are probably bright enough that this truck would never outdrive them off road. Regarding the comments about them being “too low” – where would you mount them?
I had a 12K pound winch on my 73 Bronco that looked much bigger than this one but it also was on a winch bumper and that may have made it look bigger. I also had KC off road lights mounted on the bumper , one on each side which were 3 times bigger than the ones shown on this truck. Looking at this one just reminds me of those boulevard 4 wheelers we saw in town but never on a trail or in the mud all the time.
If this was a real work truck, irrigating or riding fence and such, they would either be on “snow plow” mounts or on the roof. The 13 K winch is a $200 Chinese piece from Amazon, eBay, etc. One good tug and that winch and bumper would be in the dirt.
Used to be a good day was just keeping your horse between you and the mud, but this old truck is what you need these days!
‘At nearly 60 years old…I like it. I would do away with the lights and fab up a substantial winch mount, or winch bumper, As for the Mud tires. I run a 6 inch lift with 35″ mudders on my daily driver, and routinely make three hour runs on the interstate to pick up old cars. When I get there, I have no concern of that old car being waiting on a concrete driveway to be picked up. Everyone has a difference in taste, but those tires are the perfect selection for a 70’s Power Wagon. Unless of course you’re into lowriders and 26″ wheels. But then…that would be your choice.
Big block or cummins NV 4500 one ton drivetrain . Leave the rest the way it is except from r the winch and lights gotta go.
Hey, a truck with no power steering or AC , maybe it’s got those manual brakes too. This was built before the days of the pickup truck being transformed into a luxury vehicle. I get the look these guys were going after.
Someone save this from the kid that owns it.
My buddy bought one like this only a crew cab brand new. In 68 power steering was not available in a Dodge 4X4. One night coming back from a day hunting, he hit a big pothole in the road. It tore the wheel out of his hands, broke both thumbs and sent the truck down a steep grade off the road. It eventually hit a tree and stoped before going clear to the bottom. He woke up maby an hour later with his injured Lab licking the blood off his face. He wasn’t discovered until the morning. By a USFS employee on the way to his daily project. These are nothing like any truck today. Even my 68 IHC has factory PS, PB, positraction. As much as I like these old Dodges, they are very crude.
We called that a “bump steer”. Happened all the time off road in dump trucks. Before power steering, if you hit a big bump, and you weren’t hanging on, it would spin the steering wheel, breaking your thumbs.
The other thing you learn very quickly is not to try turning the wheel (much) until you are moving.
Honestly, I’m a bit upset by the authors writeup, about being embarrassed to be seen in this, and no A/C or P/S. While I’m not a big fan of rusty finishes ( had enough of that in the midwest) this is really a cool truck. Aside from a quick respray, this baby’s ready to work. Doesn’t need a lot of options, detracted from horsepower, like some said, it’s what a truck should be. A/C? Open the windows. Tiny winch? I’d be happy to have that on the front of my truck. Lights, I’m sure, are to see what you’re winchin’. I think some of you ( including the author) are getting a bit soft on what a truck was.
another one for the patina demo derby!
Get a mid 90’s rusted out dodge 4×4 3/4 ton with ps, pb, a/c, cumins diesel, 4 speed auto over drive. Then strip off the body, then restore this truck body and stick it on the newer chassie. After all that build a front and back set of bush guard bumpers, 10 ton winch on the front and a heavy duty roll bar in the box with a new low profile LED light bar. Oh and paint it red. JMHO.
I’d put a new chassis under it with a long-travel, off-road suspension and swap in an LS. Leave the body as is and pull off the useless crap strapped to the front. Oh and power steering would find its way back in too.
Winning bid:US $10,600.00
[ 44 bids ]