The seller gives no information about this 1971 Dodge D100 pickup, not one word, and that’s very unusual. They do show many good photos and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, several hundred words due to not seeing the underside or more interior photos. This truck is listed here on eBay in Brookville, Florida and the current bid is $4,050, but the reserve isn’t met.
The faded-looking graphics and Mopar high-performance theme would make this a perfect shop truck for a Dodge shop or just a fun truck for fans of period racing from the 60s and 70s. Direct-Connection came about when young Joe Schulte, from a Detroit car dealership family, was fresh out of Detroit Institute of Technology. He had been working in the trenches – selling cars – when his mother hoped to steer him into a different path to use that education to its fullest potential.
After a short drag racing stint with a friend, he hung up his helmet and went to work for Plymouth’s advertising agency and is credited with their “Rapid Transit” campaign in 1969 to tout their high-performance cars. Eventually, this evolved into Mopar’s famous “Direct-Connection” in 1974 as a way to get performance parts to owners who wanted to use them on their Mopars. So, this D100 predates the Direct-Connection birth by a few years but I think it still works well here.
With the seller’s good photos, you can see the condition of this truck for the most part and it looks solid and nice. As mentioned there are no underside photos and interior photos are mostly close-ups, but overall this looks like a fantastic example of a single-headlight second-generation Dodge D100 pickup. It has a floor-shifted manual as you can see but we don’t know whether it’s a three-speed or four-speed. I’m guessing a three-speed due to the engine and I’d bet that it was converted from a column-mounted three-on-the-tree shifter. It’s complete with a skull shift knob but that would go away instantly if this was my truck.
What a good-looking slanty here. This is Dodge’s 225-cu.in. OHV slant-six, which would have been factory-rated at 140 horsepower we have to guess that it runs as great as it looks, and it looks almost like new other than the aftermarket air-cleaner. With no power steering or power brakes, this is a truck like you remember if you grew up in the 60s and 70s. Hagerty is at $7,800 for a #4 fair-condition truck and $15,100 for a #3 good truck. Any thoughts on this D100?
Now heres a great find compared to that rattle trap red one. Author is sharp, it was indeed a converted column shift, but made no mention it has a Weber carb( boooo) and a Ford “gear and lightning bolt” on the grill. Not much can be found on this, except, the “Christmas tree” on the tailgate, and “beep-beep”, indicates a Plymouth drag racing venue and if this truck could talk, the famous drivers this may have rubbed elbows with. The hitch shows it pulled something, just not very far. Nobody cares about a “direct connection” anymore, and a nice paint job would be the ticket. I know, may as well wish for the moon while I’m at it.
Ha, I’m as sharp as a watermelon, but thanks, Howard. I saw’r that Weber and remembered how rough my orange truck runs with its Weber that the former owner put on it so maybe it was PTSD that I didn’t mention it. I love this truck and wouldn’t care if it had the original three-on-the-tree. I bet the linkages were hanging up and that’s why it was converted.
My second truck I bought the identical body style 1971 that had a 318 engine and three on the tree because I bent the forks driving and shifting like an idiot on my last victory lap around the school the year I graduated. I left school early because me being the Rebel.Without a Cause in 1983 was not going to my graduation and wearing that stupid cap and gown .Everyone else stayed to have a practice run for graduation night. I worked that evening because three people from my school were going to graduation. Lol.
Anyway I put a cheap Mr. Shift floor shifter in it for under $25.
Big mistake!! They were junk. I should have fixed the column shift.
Id rather have the truck with a decent paint job and no lettering, but I wont be buying it anyway. The one thing that bugs me is the Mopar “M” logo predates and now postdates the “Direct Connection” era, and should have had the 1972 type red white and blue “Mopar /Direct Connection ” logo….but thats me being very picky!
It would be better without the fake lettering. I don’t have a problem with faded paint and some sunburn, that ends with the application of graphics like that applied to this truck. My first thought when I see a car or truck done up in this manner, lettered up as an old delivery truck or race car is that they are trying too hard. It’s an insult to the cars and trucks that actually earned the wear and fading. An accurate restoration with original lettering and graphics is different in that shows respect for how the car or truck was actually used in a way as to gain interest and respect. I wish this trend would disappear.
As for name, Direct Connection being irrelevant, that’s not the case, and never has been. Even though it was put into hibernation decades ago original pieces have always been sought after, even Stellantis has started using the name and logo again.
Steve R
Nice slanty. I ❤️ the slant six.
Well I for one feel disappointed in the fact something dolled up to be a drag car puller would have a slant 6 but don’t me wrong no harm no foul but a 383 or 440 would be what I expected I mean who drags a 1000 hp 392 hemi but has to avoid hills or get flattened by semi trucks? Just saying Don Garlits probably had a 392 in his pulling truck why suffer ? You know how to setup a engine already!
I wouldn’t sell short the pulling ability of a slant six with a proper truck 4-speed. You wouldn’t win any drag races, but you can move some pretty respectable loads. Dodge spec’d them out for school buses and medium duty trucks up to 20,000 lbs. That said, considering how the outside of the truck was done up, I, too, was expecting a 383 or 440. Not disappointed, thō.
Actually, Don Garlits had a GMC Suburban with a V6 to pull his Swamp Rat 2(?)
That Ford truck emblem on the front grille makes it a no-deal for me. The guys made 4 deals so far on Ebay so we’ll have to wish him luck !
He’s going to need luck if he’s still asking $18,000.
Steve R
Back in the late ’90’s I had an ex-Army D100 with a slant-six. That thing was a tank! Ran like a champ. If I’d known the guy I sold it to would end up completely trashing it in a year’s time span, I’d still have it to this day. 😔
Forgot to mention: It was a ’76 with a three-on-the-tree later converted to a floor shifter. And there was nothing in it that didn’t need to be there. Didn’t even have a hole to mount a radio or a fender-mounted antenna to connect it to. Wish I’d have kept it.
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned the (ridiculous, IMO) J.C. Whitney lighted hood ornament!
Nice truck. I’ve had three of these over the years but never a long bed. This truck looks surprisingly solid, but like most of you, I would ditch the Ford thing on the dash, the hood ornament, and the skull knob. The socket is still on the column so the original shift lever could be put back on, which I would do. Those plastic mesh inserts in the grill are rare and usually have some breaks in them somewhere. If these are as good as they look like they were it was a mistake, IMO, to cut them to mount those lights. There is not much after-market support for these but there is a good forum for them. Check sweptline.org, it’s the best place to find information and parts.
Those lights are the factory turn signals amber bulbs inside ,and if this was a shorty I’d be all over it!
Richard, look again. I’m talking about the lights in the top section of the grill where it appears that someone cut a square section out of the plastic insert and mounted some lights behind it. The factory turn signals are in the lower section of the grill.
From the looks and color of the interior and dash this is an old us government truck I this the outside is someone faking patina
Not a bad truck but not 18k nice
I had a 1977 aspen with a super 6 trailer behind it and a 1984 charger on the trailer 2.2 running 13:20 at Mopar Nats Columbus I think 1988. My aspen pulled everything down the freeway just fine from Youngstown ohio.
Auction update: this one ended at $10,088 and the reserve wasn’t met.
11k is about the right mark for it buyer should have taken it
I bought my ‘71 Dodge Pickup from Vic Francis Dodge in Pompano Beach, FL.
I took delivery on Dec. 23, 1970. I ordered it with a 383, torque flite, and 3.55 suregrip. The options that I added were air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, bucket seat interior, heavy duty dash, and bright trim including chrome bumpers. It’s the same color blue as the one pictured. I still have the truck, but took it off the road in 1995 when I purchased my Cummins Dooly. Does anybody remember the ‘70 Dodge Pickup that used to cruise around the Oakland Park area near North Andrews & the Five Points A&W Drivein? It was supposed to have a 426 Hemi.
Ah, back when a truck was a truck. However, the attempt to present this one as something more than a nondescript appliance makes it less than an honest truck, in my opinion. I would prefer a ’64 Dodge “Custom Sports Special” pickup, with the optional 413 or 426. Now that was a truck.