nuthinbutmopar
New Member
First, the story as it was told to me: In 1969 they built a new High School in Mesquite, Texas. Two years later one of the teachers bought this truck new. He kept the truck in his garage and drove it sparingly. In 2000, he retired as principal of North Mesquite High School. By 2004, the truck was sitting in the garage, and hadn’t run for several years, so he sold it to his mailman, who drug it home to “fix up”. By 2009, he hadn’t done anything with it except let it roll down his driveway to hit a light pole. He was persuaded to donate the truck to the high school auto shop program, where they repaired old cars to sell to benefit their scholarship program. The high school kids got it running (sort of), fixed the body, and repainted it. In doing so, they ground off all of the “rivets” that hold the trim clips for the side moldings, and made the roof body color instead of white. I bought the truck in April of 2010 with the factory steel wheels, and a ’68 grille.
The Craigslist ad read:
1970 Dodge D-100 Adventurer PU
Date: 2010-03-30, 3:40PM
1970 Dodge D-100 Adventurer PU for sale. Vehicle has 41,000 original miles, the clear plastic is still on the original cloth seats. 318 V-8 with automatic, power steering, power brakes, and A/C. This is one you must see.
I had a friend in Dallas look at the truck (at the high school auto shop) and make the deal on it, flew down to check it out, and had it trucked back to Michigan. They were off on the year and the power brakes.
The original truck is as follows:
1971 D100 Adventurer Sport long box, 318 automatic, B5 blue metallic, A/C, power steering, AM radio, cloth bench seat. The Adventurer Sport package (according to the brochure) got: Adventurer Sport nameplates, the aluminum tailgate panel, lower and character line side moldings, and bright gas cap, wheel covers, hood ornament, grille, mirrors, front bumper, drip rails, and sill mouldings on the outside, and vinyl door pockets, woodgrain instrument cluster trim, headliner with bright moulding, and bright door mouldings on the inside. It’s got a dealer installed chrome step bumper. The frame is still painted factory black, and it’s a Texas NO rust truck, not a Michigan no rust truck.
I made the truck my summer driver for ’10 and ’11, including some road trips for the wife and I. That fall I was online looking at Hot Rod when I saw the route for the 2012 Power Tour ran from Detroit to Dallas. I called my buddy in Dallas and asked if he wanted to ride along; he said yes, so the truck got torn down over the winter to make sure it was ready for the trip. Here’s a list of the upgrades/repairs:
Engine: Edlebrock Performer cam/manifold/carburetor, Pertronix ignition, resealed (except rear main) including valve seals, new freeze plugs/water pump/oil pump/fuel pump/belts, rebuilt alternator/mini-starter. Starts and runs great.
Transmission: changed the original for a 2000 Dakota 4-speed overdrive automatic, fully automatic OD and lockup with pressure switches, and a vacuum switch for kickdown. Original tranny is on the shelf, and included.
A/C: Converted to a 1985 Fifth Avenue bracket set with a reman rotary screw compressor, custom lines, and a new HVAC control switch. It will freeze you out of the cab.
Brakes: Scarebird front disc brake conversion, all new wheel end components, 1979 B300 van master cylinder. Stops great.
Suspension: Two leaves pulled from front springs, new kingpins, new shocks all the way around. Rides good enough for my wife not to bitch that it’s too stiff.
Steering: New tie rod ends, rebuilt steering control valve. I would have run the autocross if it wasn’t about 25 turns lock-to-lock.
Fuel tank: in-cab tank pulled, replaced with a 26 gallon tank from a 1975 New Yorker in the spare tire area, with a flip down rear plate and the bumper cut out behind it.
Lights: front turn signals, side markers, and tail lights all converted to LED, headlights rewired through relays to get full battery voltage to the lights but only control current through the dimmer switch.
Body: custom built flush-mount locking aluminum tonneau cover, painted to match. I swear the Furd and Chebby guys want to talk about the tonneau rather than the truck.
Wheels/Tires: American Racing AR23’s, 15x8 and 15x7 with Radial T/A’s, 275/60R15 and 235/70R15. Tires have exactly the same number of revolutions per mile, even though the rears are a lot fatter.
Interior: As the original Craigslist ad said, the cloth front seat still has the heavy vinyl cover hog-ringed on over it, like they did at the dealer back in the 60’s. The older guys go nuts over the seat. When I gutted the interior to get the fuel tank out, I lined from the bottom of the rear window to the top of the carpet in front with sound deadener. It’s got new black carpet, a custom speaker box where the fuel tank was with 2 6x9s, 2 6 1/4s, and 2 amps. The subwoofer sits in front of the seat on the hump with a cup-holder on top. The factory radio is still in the dash, with a Pioneer iPod control radio in the glove box. If you close the glove box lid, this interior can pass for factory stock to most everybody.
I built the truck to be a reliable driver. It had 47,342 miles when I left home for Detroit on June 1st last year, and went just over 3300 miles before I got back on the 11th. I drove it to work when I went back on the 13th, too. I took enough tools and spare parts to fix just about anything, and NEVER opened the hood other than daily checks every morning. I think after we got back from the Woodward Dream Cruise in August it was over 52,000.
On the web, see it at the GM Proving Ground on day 1 at: http://www.hotrod.com/powertour/2012.../photo_34.html
Then 7 days later in Arlington after the long hauler awards in front of the Hot Rod bus at: http://www.hotrod.com/powertour/2012...photo_103.html
Or open your 10/12 Hot Rod Magazine to the inside cover and look right under the TO in POWER TOUR to see it behind a sea of Chevys at the Long Hauler Awards. Also in there, on page 68 in the aerial shot of the Proving Ground, it’s in the second row of cars from the left, 6th car down from the vendor haulers.
Unfortunately, life has thrown some curves my way and things have changed a bit. I don’t have Jay Leno’s money, where I could afford to put this one in the barn with a fleet of others and drive it once or twice a year, so it’s on the block.
This is a truck that I can honestly say you could fly in and drive home anywhere, but bring a buddy and a trailer instead, so he can haul the ’70 D200 Camper Special parts truck with the 383 and the correct color Buddy Seat home while you drive this one. I’ve got the original tranny, a perfect primered front bumper, all of the original side trim, a couple of a/c heater boxes, at least 3 extra grilles, and probably enough stuff to fill the bed of at least one of the trucks. Like anything else this old, there are about a half-dozen things that need to be done that I never got around to, but obviously nothing significant.
PM me for more pics, details, or an address to send your cash. I need about $12k to keep the wife off my back, but cash talks. Might consider partial trades for interesting trucks (A100 pickup, L600, C800, LNT1000, D350 crew-cab, ramp truck) in running/driving condition, or RUST FREE 1st gen or 98+ Cummins.
The Craigslist ad read:
1970 Dodge D-100 Adventurer PU
Date: 2010-03-30, 3:40PM
1970 Dodge D-100 Adventurer PU for sale. Vehicle has 41,000 original miles, the clear plastic is still on the original cloth seats. 318 V-8 with automatic, power steering, power brakes, and A/C. This is one you must see.
I had a friend in Dallas look at the truck (at the high school auto shop) and make the deal on it, flew down to check it out, and had it trucked back to Michigan. They were off on the year and the power brakes.
The original truck is as follows:
1971 D100 Adventurer Sport long box, 318 automatic, B5 blue metallic, A/C, power steering, AM radio, cloth bench seat. The Adventurer Sport package (according to the brochure) got: Adventurer Sport nameplates, the aluminum tailgate panel, lower and character line side moldings, and bright gas cap, wheel covers, hood ornament, grille, mirrors, front bumper, drip rails, and sill mouldings on the outside, and vinyl door pockets, woodgrain instrument cluster trim, headliner with bright moulding, and bright door mouldings on the inside. It’s got a dealer installed chrome step bumper. The frame is still painted factory black, and it’s a Texas NO rust truck, not a Michigan no rust truck.
I made the truck my summer driver for ’10 and ’11, including some road trips for the wife and I. That fall I was online looking at Hot Rod when I saw the route for the 2012 Power Tour ran from Detroit to Dallas. I called my buddy in Dallas and asked if he wanted to ride along; he said yes, so the truck got torn down over the winter to make sure it was ready for the trip. Here’s a list of the upgrades/repairs:
Engine: Edlebrock Performer cam/manifold/carburetor, Pertronix ignition, resealed (except rear main) including valve seals, new freeze plugs/water pump/oil pump/fuel pump/belts, rebuilt alternator/mini-starter. Starts and runs great.
Transmission: changed the original for a 2000 Dakota 4-speed overdrive automatic, fully automatic OD and lockup with pressure switches, and a vacuum switch for kickdown. Original tranny is on the shelf, and included.
A/C: Converted to a 1985 Fifth Avenue bracket set with a reman rotary screw compressor, custom lines, and a new HVAC control switch. It will freeze you out of the cab.
Brakes: Scarebird front disc brake conversion, all new wheel end components, 1979 B300 van master cylinder. Stops great.
Suspension: Two leaves pulled from front springs, new kingpins, new shocks all the way around. Rides good enough for my wife not to bitch that it’s too stiff.
Steering: New tie rod ends, rebuilt steering control valve. I would have run the autocross if it wasn’t about 25 turns lock-to-lock.
Fuel tank: in-cab tank pulled, replaced with a 26 gallon tank from a 1975 New Yorker in the spare tire area, with a flip down rear plate and the bumper cut out behind it.
Lights: front turn signals, side markers, and tail lights all converted to LED, headlights rewired through relays to get full battery voltage to the lights but only control current through the dimmer switch.
Body: custom built flush-mount locking aluminum tonneau cover, painted to match. I swear the Furd and Chebby guys want to talk about the tonneau rather than the truck.
Wheels/Tires: American Racing AR23’s, 15x8 and 15x7 with Radial T/A’s, 275/60R15 and 235/70R15. Tires have exactly the same number of revolutions per mile, even though the rears are a lot fatter.
Interior: As the original Craigslist ad said, the cloth front seat still has the heavy vinyl cover hog-ringed on over it, like they did at the dealer back in the 60’s. The older guys go nuts over the seat. When I gutted the interior to get the fuel tank out, I lined from the bottom of the rear window to the top of the carpet in front with sound deadener. It’s got new black carpet, a custom speaker box where the fuel tank was with 2 6x9s, 2 6 1/4s, and 2 amps. The subwoofer sits in front of the seat on the hump with a cup-holder on top. The factory radio is still in the dash, with a Pioneer iPod control radio in the glove box. If you close the glove box lid, this interior can pass for factory stock to most everybody.
I built the truck to be a reliable driver. It had 47,342 miles when I left home for Detroit on June 1st last year, and went just over 3300 miles before I got back on the 11th. I drove it to work when I went back on the 13th, too. I took enough tools and spare parts to fix just about anything, and NEVER opened the hood other than daily checks every morning. I think after we got back from the Woodward Dream Cruise in August it was over 52,000.
On the web, see it at the GM Proving Ground on day 1 at: http://www.hotrod.com/powertour/2012.../photo_34.html
Then 7 days later in Arlington after the long hauler awards in front of the Hot Rod bus at: http://www.hotrod.com/powertour/2012...photo_103.html
Or open your 10/12 Hot Rod Magazine to the inside cover and look right under the TO in POWER TOUR to see it behind a sea of Chevys at the Long Hauler Awards. Also in there, on page 68 in the aerial shot of the Proving Ground, it’s in the second row of cars from the left, 6th car down from the vendor haulers.
Unfortunately, life has thrown some curves my way and things have changed a bit. I don’t have Jay Leno’s money, where I could afford to put this one in the barn with a fleet of others and drive it once or twice a year, so it’s on the block.
This is a truck that I can honestly say you could fly in and drive home anywhere, but bring a buddy and a trailer instead, so he can haul the ’70 D200 Camper Special parts truck with the 383 and the correct color Buddy Seat home while you drive this one. I’ve got the original tranny, a perfect primered front bumper, all of the original side trim, a couple of a/c heater boxes, at least 3 extra grilles, and probably enough stuff to fill the bed of at least one of the trucks. Like anything else this old, there are about a half-dozen things that need to be done that I never got around to, but obviously nothing significant.
PM me for more pics, details, or an address to send your cash. I need about $12k to keep the wife off my back, but cash talks. Might consider partial trades for interesting trucks (A100 pickup, L600, C800, LNT1000, D350 crew-cab, ramp truck) in running/driving condition, or RUST FREE 1st gen or 98+ Cummins.
