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Tough Crew Cab: 1963 Dodge Power Wagon

Now this is a truck! A truck-truck, not a D-50 Sport mini-truck, this is a truck for tough, hairy men to haul rusty chunks of iron with. Thankfully, the driver can haul three other tough, hairy men while they’re heading out to do tough men things, like wrestlin’ bears and such. I wonder if it has cupholders, hmm.. This is a 1963 Dodge Power Wagon W200 crew cab and it’s on eBay with fierce bidding all the way up to $6,900 so far, and believe it or not, the reserve isn’t met yet! This heavy hauler is in San Antonio, Texas.

Yep, this is one tough truck. Halfway through the 1962 model year, Dodge added a crew cab model Power Wagon for the 1963 model year, which this truck happens to be. This was originally an Air Force truck, and you’ll see the blue bits in a minute, but I’m guessing that it was painted red when it was used in a “small town fire department.”

Thankfully, this truck isn’t a rusty mess like it would be if it had spent its life a few states north of Texas. The seller says that it has a few bumps and bruises and some rust-through, but for a truck of this vintage to have this much of the wheel arches in tact is amazing in my world.

Resale red turns out to be most likely fire department red, but the heart of this beast is blue. The front seat passenger will have a heck of a time getting out or rolling down the window. There should be plenty of room in the back for more passengers, or dogs, or luggage. There’s even a PTO winch and the AM radio works well as does the 4-speed transmission and clutch.

It may look somewhat like half of a V8 upon first glance, but this is the venerable 225 slant-six! This one doesn’t smoke or knock, unlike most of us. This truck was “recently found in a building”, but is said to run, drive, and stop. The 225 slant-six was used in the W100 and W200 Power Wagons starting in 1963. Would any of you have a use for a monster truck like this ’63 Power Wagon crew cab? If so, what would you use it for?

Comments

  1. Avatar Mark

    Someone has plans to drop in a Cummins in this beast.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Mark S

      You nailed it Mark the best thing for this is a cumins diesel, but I wouldn’t stop there I’d regear it so you could keep up with traffic. I’d restore the body and repaint the truck and use it as a daily driver, very cool truck.

      Like 3
  2. Avatar Walter Joy

    All it needs to do is brake check a Ford Taurus wagon and it’ll be good

    Like 1
    • Avatar RJ

      Burn dust, eat my rubber!

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Dave Wright

    We used these as alert trucks in SAC, the crews on alert with armed ( nuclear} B52’s would drive them around base staying within a few minutes of there bird.

    Like 1
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      Seen tons of these at air bases for many years while active with the USAF SOC. Serious workhorses (sans Cummins).

      Like 2
  4. Avatar Steve B

    Not to be sexist, but this awesome example is a real man’s truck. If someone asks you how many push-ups you can do, and your answer isn’t “all of them”, then maybe this isn’t for you.

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Miguel

    Does anybody believe the claim of it having 28,000 original miles on this beat up truck? Are we to believe that the U.S. Air Force bought this truck and then let it sit while they had it? The same question goes for the second owner who is claimed to be a small town fire department.

    How do people make these claims?

    Why is this truck up to $7,100 right now?

    Like 1
    • Avatar packrat

      I certainly could see it. Like Dave Wright said, they were used in several specific roles, like as on-base-only back and forths. The volunteer fire department might easily have had a similar spare schedule. I picked up a 97 model three wheeler with a few thousand miles on it a couple of years ago, and remember when our department surplused a nineteen year old van with eighteen thousand miles on it. There are often very strict rules about how to use transportation, and the motor pool can be very cursory with maintenance when they know it’s just a low speed yard mule.

      Like 2
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      They were relegated to specific service. If you have served in the U.S. Military, then you would understand that yes…It may very well have sat. The waste is unbelievable. Hurry up and wait and everything in excess. And yes, many Volunteer Fire Departments were and are, eligible for the purchase of these vehicles at highly discounted rates. To this day, there are quite a few Hummers and armored vehicles serving in local P.D.’s as well as F.D.’s due to government offerings to public safety agencies in an effort to allocate instead of scraping. I can name 5 in my 20 sq. mi. area without thinking about it. Small town F.D.’s are glad to have a low mileage useful vehicle and they do take care of them with pride. So to answer your question, yes, I certainly do believe it. To lend credence…I’m a 25 yr.,retired USAF SOC PJ MSgt. and a Lt. with my township’s V.F.D.

      Like 5
    • Avatar wuzjeepnowsaab

      These service trucks almost always have low miles, so yes…quite believable. Military base crawlers, Forest Service, Fire…always low miles on these

      Like 2
  6. HoA Howard A Member

    Now, now, let’s not poo-poo the D50, different horse altogether. IDK about being a man’s truck, I don’t see any reason why a woman couldn’t handle this. I’d bet, most of the roughness came from the next owner, as well as the unknown mileage. The red handle on the dash, looks like a hydraulic brake lock, so this truck was definitely used for winching. This appears to be a “USAF Police” truck, in which case, probably saw very few miles. This is a great find, but be advised, this ain’t no new Ram 1500, in fact, exactly the opposite. Great find.( btw, does that box look familiar to you Studebaker fans?)
    http://www.usafpolice.org/uploads/3/8/2/1/38210033/768835_orig.jpg

    Like 0
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      That would be USAF Security Police….just sayin’ :)

      Like 0
    • Avatar Loco Mikado

      I was going to point that out but you did it first. I wonder how many people even know what a hydraulic brake lock is today, Had an identical looking one on my ’67 Camper Special. Great for steep boat launch ramps.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar JW

    I would strip this truck down and paint it back to original color, go through the mechanicals and interior then drive it sparingly to truck shows and our local cruise nite, oh and of course haul a few things, maybe a Smart Car or two.

    Like 3
  8. Avatar Danno

    These were so tough, that you had to shift gears by reaching down into the transmission with your bare hands and slide them into the next gear. The steering wheels came with a barbed-wire cover. The seat-covers were made from fresh, uncured leather of whatever wild animal had been shot outside the factory (which was located in granite mine) on the morning of the build. Touch-up paint was applied with a 6″ brush. From a 1-gallon can. The box came pre-loaded with cord of hand-sawn hardwood. Most men grew a huge beard while signing the contract to buy one. You had to legally declare how many engines you wanted, before Dodge was given permission by the military to build it. Rumour was ,that if you sent your wife in to pick it up, there was a 50/50 chance her gender would change upon turning the ignition (which took two hands).
    A rough, tough, macho machine for a manly male.

    Like 2
    • Avatar St. Ramone de V8

      Now, that’s funny! Thanks, Danno!

      Like 1
    • Avatar DrinkinGasoline

      WOW….I think your reminiscing about the 40’s Power Wagons..
      Even still, great response ! :) Shave with your Barlow knife in stream water and splash on some Bay Rum !

      Like 1
  9. Avatar BIG ANDY

    Here’s mine, not a power wagon, but I like it…

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Mark C

    I had one in the early 90s that came from the local AFB in red and only had 32000 mi on it but if it only had an hour gauge I’m sure that would have been through the roof.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Woodie Man

    As a hairy man’s man i could use this……

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Paul Zollinger

    I’m no expert on Dodge trucks, but I love this old beast. I vote for running it as is.
    The wheels look bigger than 16″ to me. Did they make something larger back then?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mike H

      16-1/2″ was pretty common on “Light Duty” trucks of the day, and were usually of a split-rim variety with bias ply tires and inner tubes. While not impossible to work with, you’ll be hard pressed to find many places today that will deal with them due to safety concerns.

      Like 1
  13. Avatar Mike H

    “Thankfully, the driver can haul three other tough, hairy men. . .”

    Scotty, I’d bet that number is more like five. Pretty wide seats here and there was a reason why they used the term “Crew”.

    Six passengers were likely the norm for a truck like this.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Cool rig but failed to make the reserve. Bidding ended at $7,500.00 with 41 bids.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Tom Hall

    The “PTO Winch” is not just an after thought/nice accessory. Twenty years ago I ran across a similar 2 door version being hauled from New Jersey to California. The guy said the winch was worth more than the rest of the truck. He was going to drop-off the truck at an “associates” place in Kansas and take the winch back to California.

    Like 0
  16. Avatar edh

    I am the one who knocks.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Scotty Staff

    Auction update: this truck was bid up to $7,500 and was a no-sale.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Carl St.clair

    Awesome truck I would repair any damage and leave engine and drive train as it is that slant six is one great engine as I have one in my 1976 Dodge Aspen .

    Like 0
  19. Avatar jeffrey carr

    Is it for sale? I’m looking to purchase one of these

    Like 0

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