One person sees “patina,” and another sees old, faded paint and surface rust. Which camp are you in? I could leave it as is, or restore it to how it would have looked. I like both options. The seller has this 1978 Dodge Macho Power Wagon posted here on craigslist in the great city of Lebanon, Tennessee, and they’re asking $6,800. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Barney for the tough tip!
For me, there’s something sort of cool and tough about an old faded truck like this, like it’s about to take on a soul and go after people not signaling their lane changes. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. With just under 32,000 miles, this truck sure has had a tough life. I love the silver version, but they came in eight colors, always with flat black, or what Dodge referred to as low-luster black, in the same areas.
The rear bumper looks almost new, but then you notice the right side has been pulled out. Maybe it got hooked on something, or who knows how that happened. As part of Dodge’s Adult Toys line of trucks and vans, the Macho Power Wagon came out for the 1977 model year. Here’s what it looks like inside the bed, or the part that we can see.
The velour seats wouldn’t be original, but I’m sure they’re more comfortable than vinyl. The seller nails it for photos, with all of the photos you can load up on craigslist, and that’s rare. You can see that, as is almost always the case, a good cleaning and detailing would make a world of difference here. The column-shifted automatic is as expected, but there’s a floor-shifted transfer case on the hump.
The engine is Dodge’s 318-cu.in. OHV V8 with 145 horsepower. Backed by the TorqueFlite sending power to all four wheels as needed, they say it has a strapped-in gas tank, and it’s been sitting for around four years with a failed master cylinder, so it’ll take some work. It also has some rust on the rockers, and hopefully that isn’t tough to get after with a welder. At $6,800 (or offer?), this doesn’t seem like a bad starting point. Would any of you take on this Macho Power Wagon project?
I don’t believe the 32k claim, mor like 132k. That said this would be a great project at this price and I’d jump on it in a minute if age and health permitted.
Absolutely, I don’t know why it would even be mentioned in the write up on this site. Just because a seller makes a dubious claim in their ad, then and takes a picture of the speedometer as “proof” doesn’t mean it needs to be mentioned, by doing so only lends credence to what looks to be untrue.
Steve R
Steve, “He”? After all these years? Dang.
I changed the title, and I agree about the miles, but we have no way of knowing.
Scotty, sorry if my comment came across as harsh. This is a trusted site, the writers do their best to present cars in respectful light. The problem is, many sellers have questionable relationship with the truth, their only interest is putting as much money as possible in their pocket. When the condition of the car, or truck in this case, doesn’t match the description, most often related to mileage, survivor, or originality there is no harm done by adding a slight caveat such as “claimed” or “undocumented” if you even choose to address that part of the description in the writeup. By doing so the reader is prompted to think critically about what they are reading.
Thank you for the work you guys put into this site, it is appreciated.
Steve R
You’re right, Steve. I was sort of kidding, but I remember our dad giving me a “talking to” once for referring to our mom as “she.” Sorry about that, and I agree, there are a lot of low-mileage claims by sellers, and the majority of them are probably not true. The “from what I know…” syndrome, as in, “there’s no visible rust that I can see…” (while looking out the window at the bird feeder; but the car is loaded with hidden rust…)
Thanks for your comments over the years!
I don’t believe the 32k claim, more like 132k. That said this would be a great project at this price and I’d jump on it in a minute if age and health permitted.
This has a lot going for it. I think the TV show Simon and Simon had a ’79 and an ’80 red Power Wagon Macho on the show. Decked out with roll bars a lift kit and oversized tires. I’m not sure how many of these in solid condition are left. The silver paint fading is rather typical of the era. This looks like a fairly solid honest truck. You really have to hand it to Dodge back then, they had quite a few trim packages going on, with the Little Red Express, the Warlock, the Macho trucks. Hope this one finds a good new home.
Great. I’ve got the Village People stuck in my head now.
I’m usually in the “old, faded paint and surface rust” camp. That said, I do like this generation of Dodge trucks. And this highly-optioned example was quite the truck in its day. Overall a pretty good ad (by craigslist standards).
Thanks Scotty.
Got to see these brand new as I worked at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer back then.
We had some new ones with plows on them. A dealer in Chicago bought them from us. A few of us got to drive them to the dealer. What a trip in the winter!!