The seller of this 1972 Dodge Carryall Conversion throws out the possibility that it’s the only one of its kind in the United States, and while there’s no concrete evidence offered to back up that idea, he does for sure have a rare truck on his hands here. With the rear roof size and barn-type doors on the back, this is more like a modern SUV, and the original build sheet apparently shows a 9-passenger special order vehicle, so whatever you call it there’s ample room inside there to fit a couple of medium size families. If you need a people mover or are just in the market for something unusual, this 1972 Dodge Carryall Conversion may be worth a look. It’s located in Derry, New Hampshire, and can be found here on eBay with a buy-it-now price tag of $24,000.
The seller says the truck was originally built and sold in Mexico, and the story goes that it was located in an underground parking lot at an apartment complex there and was taken to New Mexico. It then went to El Paso, where the current owner purchased it, and it retains a clear Texas title. At some point in the truck’s past, some sort of restoration was already attempted, but the seller is upfront in stating that there’s rust and body filler present and it really needs a full proper restoration. A previous owner apparently just hung those different fenders on the front, but your guess is as good as mine as to why.
Under the hood is still the numbers-matching 225 slant 6, which had been converted to run dual gas and propane when the seller acquired it. He claims it ran poorly, but says putting on a 1-barrel carburetor from a ’67 Firebird and some gas in the tank resulted in it firing right up. There’s also a 4-Speed manual transmission, and the truck is said to start, run, shift, and drive fine, at least around the lot where it’s sitting.
It definitely presents itself like a work truck on the inside, but for a driver, things look OK in there, and I kind of like the simplicity of the interior. The rear seats are no stranger to passengers, but they’re the factory pieces and structurally they appear to be in decent shape. If you’re seeing some potential here but think the asking price is a bit much, there’s also the option to make the seller a lower offer. What are your thoughts on this 1972 Dodge Carryall Conversion?
I have long thought, Ford and Chrysler totally missed the boat, by not offering a “Suburban” type of vehicle. Sure makes you wonder who was making the decisions. It was a market that had huge implications, sales showed, not everyone wanted a Power Wagon ( Ford offered nothing), and Suburbans were a big hit. I read, in 1967, Chevy sold about 6,000 Suburbans. By 1971, it was over 27,000! How could you miss a market like that? While the Slanty is tried and true motor, a bit anemic for what this vehicle would be called upon to do. Drag a fissin’ boat, the 8 kids and granny, going to need more than 140 hp. I think it’s a really cool unit. We Americans missed out on a slew of neat vehicles from around the world. We were brainwashed into thinking, everybody but Americans rode in rickshaws.
Dodge did offer a Suburban competitor, at least through 1966 – the Town Wagon. It was a 2-door wagon on a short-wheelbase truck chassis, much like the concurrent Suburban. Dodge clearly wasn’t committed to that market segment, though, as the Town Wagon was based on the Dodge C-series truck through the end of production, rather than the D-series introduced in 1961.
wonder what top they used to complete it? Isn’t it usual to grab a dodge station wagon or other top?
The OTHER companies did offer, from the same places (off site but just acc the st ‘ coach builders”). As a ford guy I see the 4 dor Bronco on line (also Mexico and the F series done this way). Look lively, now…
At least it looks like it was just washed (hard to tell),
by the soapy water on the ground.I wonder if this was used
as a taxi,crammed with as many Mexicans they could cram in.
Looks like it was driven (really) hard,& put away wet.
The seller probably picked it up for something like $1500.With bad proportions like that,you could buy it,
& use it to haul your 4 door Barracuda with.
Not to be “that guy” but..umm…Mexico is in North America.
?
has ford’n dodge plants
(‘coach builders’ near by them).
Venezuela is in s.merica & builds fords & others~
Service air filter at every gas stop.
Rebuild the Briggs and Straten carburetor attached to it monthly.
Zero to sixty in 60 seconds! Propane makes it even slower.
Propane tank in the passenger compartment, what could possibly go wrong?
Australia had several odd Dodge vehicles, a Wayfarer for one, which was a van – pickup.
It’s a shame Chrysler missed the boat on this. Imagine a Power wagon SUV back in the day. They probably would sold a ton of those. Especially for people who like to go up to the mountains for skiing or Park rangers will love this vehicle if they would have made this setup. This vehicle here is cool. I would pull out the six cylinder put either a 318 or 360 Magnum with a 904 transmission or leave the stick alone and hook it up. The odd thing is that steering wheel doesn’t look right for that year. Otherwise this would definitely be a cool project to do.🐻🇺🇸
They missed the boat a lot through the years. No crew cabs after the mid 80s and no factory convertible option on the modern challenger to name a few.
Junk
The way roof is raised by a few inches in the rear reminds me of a Land Rover Discovery.