What do you buy when you need a pickup, but want a muscle car? The El Camino and Ranchero stopped production years ago and there aren’t new options today. That’s why you need this! It’s a 2012 Dodge Charger that’s been converted into what looks like a pickup. It’s Hemi-powered and ready to play! Find it here on Hemmings where it’s listed for $16,900. Thanks go to Barn Finds reader PRA4SNW for sharing the tip!
Whoa! Looks like someone has a thing for pickup-cars. That’s a Chrysler 300 conversion back there and it looks pretty good too. The photos are kind of small, but the work appears to be high-quality. How many people have the skills to cut the roof off a car and then handcraft b-pillars and a trunk skin? Well, there might be a lot of people who are capable, but how many are crazy enough to attempt this on a newer vehicle?
There is one big problem with this hack job though. The creator forgot to include the truck bed! That’s the stock trunk deck and the section between it and the back window is just a piece of tin that’s been molded in. That’s sort of a letdown because I was picturing smoky burnouts in the Home Depot parking lot. Oh well, it still looks cool and could be the perfect use for all those retired police cruisers. Perhaps the next owner could finish the job and turn this into a real hauler.
Mopar never built a proper El Camino fighter, but they did have the Rampage/Scamp. It was compact and never powered with anything more than a four-cylinder. Perhaps Dodge should take note of this creation and build something similar. They claim that they are the only ones building a real muscle car today. So, here’s their chance at another untapped market – muscle pickups! What would they call this though? El Chargerino… Chargerero… Nah. List your clever name ideas in the comments section below!
https://www.smythkitcars.com
They should have started with this kit, would’ve come out better.
I live in NH, drive a Black Charger, and have never seen this. It would be an interesting conversation with the owner.
I don’t think this will have the appeal or success of his brother’s FF5 Cobra kit.
This one is not mine…full beds and tailgates are always needed on a truck in my mind. Even tho I sold ffr to you ger brother Dave 6 years ago I still consider all the Cobras I designed “mine” :)
I think anyone has to regard the FF5 Cobra as a genius product. In my case, I couldn’t consider one as they were not suitable for RHD.
El RanChargero
Ramchargerino??
With a Hellcat motor!!!!😜
A perfect answer to a question nobody asked.
Not a Smyth performance kit.. their’s actually give you a full bed.. and their construction is excellent.
How about starting with a Magnum. Then it could have a bed & be more useful.
Magnamino has a nice ring to it!
You mean El Magnamino! How about Magnachero?
I would call it the NotSure….
Vinnie Chargerino is nice, but without a real bed it can’t rise above the Horshack 300.
How about using an old name with a different delivery, like RAM/Charger.to stay with family model names? Or even Charger S/B.
So it’s really just a flower car??
As soon as I saw the lack of a bed it became the Dodge Disinteresting… now if they had turned the back seat area into a fold-up rumble seat option that would have been cool!
My thought is, why build a car-pickup mashup without the pickup portion?? It makes no sense as is…
Just as Dodge has taken iconic names and placed them on modern cars, this one is worthy of the Rampage name. It’s just as useless as the original Rampage was
Far more useless. At least the Rampage had a proper cargo bed, which my Dad found plenty useful for occasional light-duty hauling needs as a homeowner and volunteer church groundskeeper, otherwise making a nice-handling daily commuter. Not everyone needs a truck that can haul 4×8′ sheets or other massive/heavy cargo, esp. when Home Despot rents full-sizers for $20/day.
well I have owned 3 rampage direct conections and they were perfect for they were designed for a cute rig to get to work in! for the little woman to go shopping, go to the nursery to pick up flowers for your information there is some of us who don’t want a big 4×4 gas guzzling jacked up truck and I hate black trucks while I’m at it!
Hear hear! You are so right! Small trucks make so much more sense for most of us, whether we admit it or not! I will keep my older small Tacoma over a big jacked up 4×4 any day.
How about Ramaroo?
What’s the over/under for these being salvage titles?
I never cared for the new Charger. No Charger is supposed to have four doors and are hideous to me. This guy is on to something though. Instead of this how bout a 2 door Charger like they should have been built?
What about the Holden Ute? It’s a muscle car pickup and it looks killer
Yeah and the steering wheel’s on the right side too! Bring ’em on!
I own a 1980 Holden V8 Ute they are pretty cool. I was working at a custom paint and panel shop when got it in around 2008. Following a 12-month more expensive than I preferred resto I drove it to the Bay to Birdwood car event on completion then home banished to the barn. Got sick and the car still sits there. Seen about 6 hours of sunlight, no rain and driven about 100 miles in total since rebuild.
My SIL wants a Charger in the worst way
after she drove one owned by a family
friend. But this, you gotta be kiddin’!
My SIL will say “NO-AHHH!” when she sees this one. Needs a functional pickup
bed to be a usable vehicle though.
Its not even a flower car. At least those have rear doors!!!!
Some people have WAY too much time.
As a 1970 Ranchero GT 429 owner I’m probably a bit biased but ‘Chargero’ sounds best.
As an occasional visitor to Oz I was always impressed by the Aussie’s love for the Utes. Especially the Ford FPV iterations.
Bummer that Ford and Holden stopped production.
😔
The Smyth kit charger has a real bed functional and all. Good looking too. I’m thinking about building one coz el caminos & rancheros are still popular around here.
It was interesting until I saw the bed or lack of one. That makes all the work futile. A deck lid? What happened to your creativity?
A bit more effort could have made it usable.
https://www.smythkitcars.com looks a lot more sensible.
I’d like a Ford Flex (Club or Crew cab) or Fusion pickup. Hey Ford! There would still be room for batteries and electric power.
Lots of work resulting in neither a functional pickup or a four seat sedan. Brilliant!
Hey Stilbo
What about a swap my Aussie XR8 ute powered by 300KW mod engine
for the Ranchero.
Love those Rancheros especially with the big block
LOL from Aus
Col
Ian,
I’d love to simply get a one way ticket to Oz and ship my Ranchero (And the Mustang and antique bikes) and we could lend each other our utes.
And also practice driving in the wrong seat.
My first trip down under I was video taping my drive south of Liverpool in the National Park and in a bend in the road I encountered a logging truck in MY lane head on.
Oops..
He was in the correct lane not me.
I watch that video now and then and love my colorful language during my narration.
I always rented Falcons but the rental agency never had any X or FVP cars.
🤔
Hey Ian! What’s 300kw translate to those of us undereducated donks in the North American Colonies?
And do you have a photo of your XR8? Don’t know that I’ve seen one. Wish your home-grown sedan companies weren’t shuttered-you folks have some EXCELLENT ideas of what makes a family car a fun grocery getter…the wife’s SS3 Trailblazer made a lot of fun when smokin’ some Southern Cal Valley child in their 330i’s..!
I just sold my 81 Ford Durango, and wouldn’t mind having it back but with the power train from these modern cars featured here. A car with a truck bed is cool to have in itself. El Caminos and Rancheros still hold a place in American hearts.
Dunno if you know Wayne (regular reader and member) but he’s got one he’s going to make into a baaad machine! Hint: think of crossing a hot newer gen Mustang and your Ford Durango.l!
Not Wayne, but the guy who bought it has plans for the Durango. Myself, I decided to stick with the Elke.
This is less a truck than a 2 seater Charger.
Has anybody ever wanted a 2 seater Charger?
Well, YEAH!!!!!
Not all of us have the constant need for 4 doors..
Americans are kinda goofy when it gets to vehicle preferences (I live in Indiana).
Automatic transmissions, little SUVs instead of wagons, three box sedans instead of hatchbacks, mini vans instead of better handling wagons and bigly… full size pickups just to commute in.
Can’t understand why mommy’s use a super crew cab F150 for getting groceries at Walmart.
Unless they plan on squishing Priuses.
A Ute handles better, gets better fuel mileage, works better in urban environments and still can carry a lot of stuff from Lowe’s and Menards.