1976 Dodge D100 Half Ton 440 Big Block Pickup Truck

1976 Dodge Other Pickups Description

Hello, his is Steve Magnante, ou might know me from the Barrett-Jackson auction stage or my many years writing for car magazines like Hot Rod, ar Craft, opar Muscle and others. I live in Massachusetts and am selling this 1976 Dodge D100 440 pickup truck after six years of ownership. I bought itback in 2009 with the idea of occasional light use towing my car and snow mobile trailers locally. It is a very rare factory built 1/2 ton Dodge pickup with the 440 big block. In 1976 Dodge offered several engines for the 1/2 ton pickup truck line including the 225 Slant Six, 18 small block V8, 60 small block V8, 00 big block V8 and at the very top, he 440 big block. This clean, aily driven half-tonner has the big 440. Lets remember, n the mid-seventies America was rocked by a series of gasoline shortagesthat sentbuyers running toward the weak Slant Six and small block 318 and 360 engine offerings. Very few buyers stepped up to the 400 big block and an even smaller number chose the powerful 440 big block. I don't have access to production figures but would guess that fewer than 1,000 of these were made in 1976. This truck has the heavy duty 727 Torqueflite automatic and a Chrysler-built 9-1/4 rear axle packing 3.21 gears for economical camper hauling. The long bed is fitted with camper tie-down points and the doors have extended "west coast" rear view mirrors. The interior is clean though the carpet was removed before I got the truck. The odometer is functional and shows45,896 miles, hich I believe is true and factual. It is simply too clean to be a 145,000 or 245,000 mile truck.I live in Massachusetts and have owned and driven this truck since 2009 and use it occasionally to haul my race car trailer to the track and also to run general errands. It has factory installed power disc brakes, ir conditioning and cruise control. The A/C and cruise control are present but inoperative. The power brake booster has a vacuum leak of some type so the brake pedal needs a few pumps to stand tall. I drive it like this and have no problem at all since there is no fluid leakage and it isn't a show stopper. The dash-mounted "Brake" light stays on and I'd bet a fresh booster would restore full function. I did install new front calipers and brake rotors about 4 years ago and the rear drum brakes are in good condition. The 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission shifts fine and was happy to haul my car trailer and 3,500 pound race car for about 15 trips I made with the trailer in tow. If you attended some of the MusclePalooza races at Lebanon Valley Dragway, ou probably saw me and this truck in the pit area.The radiator is excellent and has never overheated, ven during mid-summer heat waves. Again, live in Massachusetts but was told by the man I bought the truck from that it came here from Oregon. I believe it. Unlike a Massachusetts based truck, hich would be total junk by now, his one is very, ery solid. There cosmetic surface rust on the frame, ut nothing structural. The frontsuspension control arms, ear leaf springs and other chassis components show only surface rust. Thecab shellis very solid but does show the beginnings of rust through on the lower edges of the doors, ocker sills and minor areas of the cab floor. The cab mounts are solid as is the loading area of the bed. The passenger-side extra-space storage compartment has a hinged door that was particularly hard hit by rust. Probably due to its thin-gauge construction and an unfortunate design including a lip that loves to collect silt, alt and water over time. The hinged anchor points froze up and the door was removed to keep it from being lost on the road. The tailgate is very solid but I removed it because the inner latch mechanism has a linkage that stopped working. This results in a situation where the tail gate has to be open all the time, hich is illegal in Mass. So I simply un-hooked the tail gate and put it aside. the tail gate and driver-side cargo door are included with the truck (see pictures). I am selling this truck because I don't have the time to repair the rust that is beginning to form and I hate to watch it turn bad with each passing year. This truck is a very rare example of a factory 440big block and would be a very easy restoration for a vintage Dodge truck fan. The 440 engine is all stock except for the replacement of its original Carter ThermoQuad with an Edelbrock 500-cfm 4-barrel carb. The stock exhaust manifolds are present and might have a crack or gasket leak.It does the usual "pffftt-pffftt-pffttt" thing until it warms up and heat expands the metal and it gets quieter. The original exhaust system has also been replaced by a dual outlet side-exit system with glass packs. It's not my ideal sound or look, ut was on the truck when I bought it back in 2009. Again, currently use this truck about once a week to run minor errands or when I need to feel the grunt of a big block. It is presently registered andinsured for road use and just got a Mass. inspection sticker. The wheels and tires are grimy, ut the chrome would easily shine up if that's your thing. The tires are in excellent shape with really aggressive knobby treads on the back. If you have any questions I can be reached at 508-637-1514.