By Marcal Eilenstein
Happy Hoon Year, my friends.
It’s 2016, and we’re all full of hope. Some of us are just wrapping up the Christmas season (12 days of Christmas and all), while others have long since put away the decorations and are cleaning up after their New Year’s parties. As for me, I’m enjoying a quiet evening in the Queen City, reflecting on the past year while making plans for 2016. I’ve got Top Gear reruns playing on the TV, and the list that is Craig’s on my laptop, so it’s safe to say that some things never change in life.
Speaking of things that never change, planning ahead, and looking to the past, some guys never learn. You see, the Dodge D150 is a perfectly respectable pickup, capable and utilitarian in its own right. In fact, Dodge even made an off-road version of the D150, which made a good truck even better on the loose stuff. This truck, I’d bet my next cup of coffee, is none of those things…
The ad:
I have a 1978 Dodge powerwagon pickup, it is a four wheel drive, it has a lift.does Not have big tires, it has no motor or tranny.does have transfer case., I’m asking $1,300, it is a stepside, it has very little rust on it. Will trade for a 1998 and up Dodge 4×4 truck , or an old Dodge car.by the time you buy a lift &put it in,you’ll have as much money,&alot more time lost. Thank you
I see a few problems with the seller’s logic, however: no matter how cheaply you could get a lift kit, you’d still be missing an engine and a transmission. Also, it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t compensate for the driveshaft operating angle when the lift was installed. It must be a blast to drive.
[Source: Springfield Craigslist]
Jeff Glucker 
Kamil Kaluski
The lift would be pretty easy to rectify by taking out those stupid, stupid blocks, and a 727 and 318 wouldn’t be too hard to come by. With some smart shopping someone could probably have a drive-able stepside Power Wagon for around $3K. Not exactly cheap, but not too bad either, I suppose.
318? Go full Roadkill and swap in a 440 from a trashed RV.
I thought about that after I posted. A modern Hemi or an LS (like a turbocharged 4.8 or 5.3) would be pretty fun too, but a trashed RV would be a good, cheap source for a low-mileage 440 and 727 (although the 727 might need some help to mate with the transfer case).
It’s hard to beat the junkyard LSX for the money. If you could find a wrecked Dodge 2500 diesel, a Cummins would make a great swap as well.
Or a wrecked bread truck with a 4BT.
This would be a great find for someone with a similar truck that recently had a minor disagreement with a deer or telephone pole.