When I win the lottery, I’m going to have a big warehouse-like Jay Leno’s to rescue all the cool orphan vehicles that I find, but have absolutely no need for. Just look at this great truck that someone pulled from a Montana ranch a few weeks ago. It’s here on eBay in Lewiston, MT for $3,800 or best offer. This is a big-block Dodge Club Cab pickup truck, wearing a Morrison utility body, in a neat (perhaps original) shade of light blue that looks like it would shine up real well with an afternoon’s work. Aside from one small ding on the passenger fender, I don’t see any dents or rust on this truck. Even the white wheels are clean.
1974 was the first year you could get the 440 or a dually rear axle in D-Series pickups, and this one has both, so it should be a D300. It also has the extended Club Cab, with a chrome front bumper and deluxe aluminum trim, plus AC, power steering, power brakes, cruise control, and even power locks—it’s outfitted more like a Chrysler New Yorker than a lowly work truck. The utility body is beefy and the “big rig” cab lights are all intact. The more I look at this odd-duck truck, the more I love it! I am really curious about who ordered it, and what its career was before retirement.
A little research suggests the 440 only had 255 SAE horsepower in 1974, but being a truck, it’s possible that it’s free of emissions controls and has plenty of grunt. Remember, in 1978 Mopar used exactly that loophole to create the Dodge Lil’ Red Express: a 360-powered pickup that became that year’s fastest American-made vehicle from 0-100 MPH, even beating the Corvette. You know the big 440 here would sound fantastic with the right exhaust. I do wish we could see more pictures, as there are none of the interior. The seller claims there are 81,000 miles and that the truck was parked in the field due to a failed oil pump, but other than that, he believes it should run. The only mystery is why it has a 1977 front grille…perhaps it had a fender bender, or maybe it’s actually a ’77 that was mistitled.
The ad has that slightly testy tone of someone who’s dealt with a lot of craigslist flakes, but the price is fair and the seller is encouraging us to make him an offer. He’s debating cutting this truck up to make a utility trailer, but that sounds more like thinking out loud than a real threat. It would be a shame to cut this truck up, and the way old truck prices have been going, this seems like an under-the-radar great deal. With a little effort, it could go back into service for a tradesman, carry a slide-in camper… or how great would it look as a tow rig and portable shop for your vintage race car? I see so many possibilities for Ol’ Blue. What would you do with him?
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