1 Of A Kind! 1975 Dodge Ram 3500 Mini Peterbilt
Customized cars and trucks sometimes fall into the same category as craft beers or aftermarket ringtones. Every now and then, a brewer can figure out how to incorporate berries into the mix and it tastes OK, or some mom can record their baby crying and it actually makes an amusing phone ring. When it comes to vehicles, it’s also usually hit or miss, and in the case of this custom 1975 Dodge Ram 3500, it seems like the visionary hit the mark. We’ve featured a few other creations that didn’t fare as well, such as this so-called Bel Camino back in February, but if you’re in the market for a nicely done custom that had a more favorable outcome this 1975 Dodge Ram 3500 may be worth a look. It’s located in San Diego, California, and can be seen here on eBay with an asking price of $69,950. At the time of this writing, it was sale-priced at $64,354, so there’s probably some wiggle room if you want to test the waters.
Since we don’t get a whole lot of background on the history of the Ram pick-up or the big rig, other than the truck was taken off its frame to combine the two, we have to start at the present. Fortunately, the present seems really good, and from how things appear whoever put this together did a high-quality job. It all started with a 1975 Dodge 3500 truck and a 1976 Peterbilt 359 front, and the seller says if you’re looking to steal a car show you should buy this one, as it garners attention everywhere it’s driven.
The owner included a detailed walk-around video and is very forthcoming about the small number of imperfections that can be found on this Mini Peterbilt. Granted, there are a few, but overall there’s a lot more good than bad. The grille has a few small dings, as does the hood and cab, and the windshield glass on the passenger side has a couple of bullet-hole style chips. The paint is said to be older and has some checking and small chips on the hood, but other than these minor details just about everything else on the outside seems to present just fine.
Things are looking good on the inside as well, and very comfortable with those custom Legacy air-ride seats. The cab has a wooden floorboard and a floor-mounted shifter, although the column shifter was never removed. There’s also a wood Grant steering wheel, a dash complete with a full set of gauges, and a chrome fire extinguisher next to the driver’s seat in case of emergency. A visor is also in place over the windshield to help block those rays on sunny days.
A 12-valve 320 Cummins diesel is under the hood, which started right up in the test-drive video and sounded like it runs A-OK. The seller says the truck was recently taken on a 4000+ mile cross-country drive and everything performed as it should without issues. A couple of other tasty extras include an air horn, backup camera, and LED taillights. What are your thoughts on this 1975 Dodge 3500 Mini Peterbilt?
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Comments
This would only appeal to a very small group, retired truck drivers most likely and at that price could be on the market for quite some time.
Remember seeing several of this style trucks I the 90s
So, let’s get the complaints out of the way: The wheel/tire combo looks a little small for the wheel wells. Now that’s out of the way, I’m impressed with the vehicle. It may have a small audience, but I think that audience will eat it up.
Don’t have room for it, but if I did, I’d be bidding on it.
I refuse to comment on the grounds it may incriminate me,,oh, okay, just to pixx off the people that don’t like me, here’s my take on this abomination. The “359” Peterbilt, is THE most sought after truck today, with good examples fetching half a MILLION bucks,,that’s right, and to turn one into this foolishness, well, it’s just a shame. This is a “round dash” or “Corvette” dash( a term I hated) and I sold my ’85 day cab to a friend in 2005 for $7 grand. Today, I could easily have quadrupled my money, but who knew? Proportions always seem off with these, and this is one retired truck driver that would want nothing to do with this. Driving one in retirement isn’t exactly retirement, now is it? Not to me. I intended to make mine into a motorhome, but the thought of “rowing thru the gears” at every stop light, I did enough of that. “Blowhard” out,,,
I met a retired truck driver a few years back who took a 359 cab and dropped it onto a Hino chassis. Proportions were just a little better on it than they were on this one but it was still a good job. Of course if the choice was mine I’d rather have put my money into one of my other projects. But I admire the builder’s determination…
Awesome!!
Awesome!! Took a lot of work to complete this project someone will love it
”…the windshield glass on the passenger side has a couple of bullet-hole style chips.”
An angry Kenworth owner, perhaps?
Correction, *An angry Peterbilt owner.
kool ,truck, looks really good ,would love to drive it.
Yes very cool, but not my cup of tea, has Montana plates but located in San Diego.
possibly for TAX reasons ,lol
possibly for TAX reasons
This looks like the one that I saw at a truck show at the Perris train museum, it was bad ass!
I saw one under construction near Everett, Washington back in the 70’s, but it was a replica Kenworth scaled down and made of fiberglass and and on a G.M, platform. Anything besides a Dodge would be good. You know they built Dodge vehicles for women, they put a sign on the front warning other drivers “Dodge”. Anyway its a vehicle for someone who just has to drive something different, referring to the Peterbuilt. You know that’s what old truck drivers get when retire. enough said.
God Bless America
Here are little trucks done right http://www.lilbigrig.com met this guy about 10 years ago at the Carlisle Import and Replicar show in PA
Looks Like Clint Boyers Truck
0 to 60, quarter mile times? Aren’t these all-important numbers for almost everything here? Absent that knowledge, I would still love to have this eye-catching, useful vehicle. Not much chance someone will gift it to me and I sure don’t have the $ myself to bring it home.