1974 Dodge D500 truck. Mopar, Chrysler, Ram D100,D200,D300 car carrier

1974 Dodge Other Description

Up for bid is my one of a kind "Big Dodge" (as I affectionately call it). This medium duty Dodge body style was only produced between 1974 and 1977 in the US (A little longer in Mexico for sale there). This D500 size is a rare vehicle and I have not found any other ones like it for sale or on the road in the 14 years since I have owned it. I did find 1 or 2 parts trucks of this size over the years, but most of these style trucks are the bigger 600, 700, or 800 series. Even the other size trucks in this body style are fairly rare, and I don't believe very many (if any) are in as good of shape as this one is. The older medium duties from 1973 and older are easier to find than these are. If you Google "1974 Dodge D500" and check images, my truck is probably the first one to come up, and other than some stock sales photos from the 70's, I don't think there are actually any other D500's with the steel wheels. Most of the other images are incorrect and are the larger 600, 700 or 800 size trucks. I don't really want to sell it, but I need to fund another project I am working on and to give me more room in my pole barn.
------------------------------------Before asking questions, there is a YouTube video of the truck below.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1974 Dodge D500 - YouTube

Video will open in a new window

[isdntekvideo]



(Or searchfor: 1974 Dodge D500 and it should be the first one to show up). This is a long 10 minute video that goes through start up, driving, shifting, walk around, engine and exhaust sounds, etc. It will probably answer most of your questions if you don't find the answers here. (The air horns in the video do not go with the truck, and have already been removed. The seat has also been changed since the video).

***It has a 318 V-8 (from 1979-explained below-runs great)***Heavy duty NP 435 4-speed with the granny low first gear (you normally start in second) Rebuilt when restored***Power brakes (excellent)***Manual steering***Single speed Rockwell rear end (not sure of the ratio, may be 6.2)***Dual exhaust with flowmaster mufflers (sounds great)***Receiver Hitch with electric brake controller in cab***TSC under bed tool box on driver's side (4' x 18")***Aftermarket cruise control (works well up to about 55, then engine is revving too high and it kicks it off)***14 foot bed (actually 2" short of 14")***AM/FM with a single dash speaker (hard to hear on the highway)***18,500 lbs GVWR (13,500 rear, 5,000 front)

HISTORY: The last picture show how it looked when I bought it. It was originally owned by an orchard and I believe that it was only used in the summer to transport the apples to market, and was not driven in the winter. (Hence the low miles). The original owner did have the truck rustproofed when new (I see all the little plugs throughout the doors etc.) and it wasn't in too bad of shape for a Michigan vehicle, except the tall grain box was quite a mess. The last license on it was 1983, so I believe it sat for years at the original orchard until they went out of business and someone bought it in 2002. They never did anything with it and I bought it in 2003, becoming the actual second owner as the second purchaser never switched the title over. It was quite a job cleaning it after sitting for so many years, getting rid of bugs nests and mice nests, etc. I had to put all new brakes on it, new wheel cylinders, new master cylinder and hydrovac booster, new rubber lines, probably allnew metal lines (I can't remember). All the tires were replaced and are in excellent shape. The grain bed was cut down, then came off completely and new fenders were created to match the original fenders. The front sideboard section was created with a little bit of old ribs and a new top rail. The boards in the bed are just standard pine boards from the lumberyard, but with many, many hours of sanding, staining and varnishing. The frame and underside of the truck was painted black, and the body of the truck was repainted in a color very similar to the original mint green. The only rust on the body was on the flat parts of the running boards, so I just covered them with diamond plate (It isn't perfect, but doesn't look too bad). I have probably only put about 12,000 miles on it since it was restored, so anything that was done hasn't really had a chance to wear out. It has always been stored in my pole barn since I have owned it.
INTERIOR: The interior on the truck is in good shape with a little cracking on the dash pad on the glove box door. The dash includes a rare factory tachometer in it. Aftermarket gauges for oil pressure, water temperature and volts are mounted to the right of the steering wheel at the bottom of the dash. The gas gauge works fine. It has an electric brake controller mounted on the dash in case you want to tow a trailer with electric brakes. The seat is actually out of a "Little Red Express Truck" and is a bucket type seat with a fold down armrest in the front with storage under it. The passenger seat has started to split at the seams and has been repaired with black gorilla tape. All the glass is good, and all the windows and vent wings work as they should. The windshield wipers work fine, and the heater also works. All the lights, blinkers, and 4-way flashers work as they should with no splices in them.
The cab on this truck, including the doors, dash, seat, windows, etc are the same as a regular D100/200/300, so those parts are not too hard to find (the steering wheel and column are different from it's little brothers though). The front clip (fenders, hood, grille and bumper) is unique to these medium duties and gives them their unique rough and tough big boy look. And it does look big and tough from the front!
ENGINE/TRANSMISSION/BRAKES/RIDE: The 318 engine isNOT the original engine. The original 318 engine "blew up", and at the time (2008), the economy was tanked and I was laid off. I didn't have a lot of money to put into the truck, so when I got a deal on a 318 from a 1979 Dodge Diplomat, I took it, figuring it would be easy to install with no modifications, just to get it up and running. I eventually intended to find a 440 once I had the money and really fix it up right. Unfortunately I never got around to switching the engine. This 318 runs excellent except for some spark knock (mainly in second gear) that I avoid by burning premium most of the time . The transmission was rebuilt when I first got it along with a new clutch and works as it should. The brakes were all new when it was restored and work excellent! The parking brake is a band around the transmission and can keep the truck from rolling on a very slight slope, but not much more than that. I have taken this truck to the Woodward Dream Cruise a few times and it runs fine all day. The cruise is about an hour drive from our house, and the truck runs 60 mph with no problems. (It is winding out at about 3800RPM at 60, and 65 is about 4200RPM ). Once at Woodward, we cruise all day, almost non-stop, (we are not the kind to stop and yack, it is a cruise after all!) and never have any problem with overheating,even in 90 degree weather. Then another hour drive back home doing 60, for about eight or nine hours of near non-stop driving. Even after all that time running, it has no problem starting. We also just finished a 4 hour 130 mile color tour this weekend with no problems. When going on a smooth road at about 50-55, the truck rides quite well and steers very easily with no wander and very little shake. It is not a Silverado though, so don't expect it to be nice and smooth and quiet. It is quite loud at highway speeds, and some bumps can really be jarring. I think you could probably drive this across the country if you wanted, but with a truck this old, I can't make any guarantees. Also, it would be a very exhausting, loud ride at slower speeds than you are used to in your own car or truck.

Mopar Fans---This would make a great car carrier or rollback for your classic Mopar ride. If you have the resources to put in a 440 or even switch it to a Cummins diesel and add a rollback bed, you would have a sweet looking ride to carry your classic to car shows. If I had the money, that would be what I would love to do to it. The second to last photo shows a Suzuki X-90 that I sometimes put up on the bed (with long ramps) to take to car shows (It is not included in the sale). That really draws attention, and as an added benefit, it makes the truck ride better!When I do take the truck to shows, it draws a lot of attention from the general public, but not so much from the snobby "I sank $75,000 into my car and you want to park next to me?" crowd. At a judged show it will never win on points, but it has won quite often for "People's Choice" or "Director's Choice" or that type of award where the points don't matter and people get to pick it because it is so unique.
The Bad:The engine does have an oil leak, I think it is the rear main seal.
The driver's door was bent out of shape when I tried pulling into a garage. I stopped the truck to move something (I thought the ground was level and didn't put on the parking brake) and just as I opened the door and got my foot on the running board, it rolled ahead and the mirror hit the garage door frame and pinned my leg in the truck door. It broke the mirror glass and bent the mirror head, but the mirrors are mounted so stiffly that the mounts didn't bend. The door frame bent instead, and wouldn't shut anymore. I pushed and pounded and bent it back into shape and put some shims in the hinges, and if now I didn't point it out, you most likely wouldn't notice it, being as it is up above the door at the top mirror mount. The bad paint job I did is what is most noticeable. (Third to last picture is of door frame/paint job). Both mirror heads were replaced to match.Both doors need to be shut with a good slam, but they do shut tight and kind of spring out when you open them. They could probably be much better with some adjustments by a professional.


Transport: The truck is located near Port Huron, Michigan 48060, about 50 miles north of Detroit. You can probably drive this home if you live a day or two away, but I can't guarantee it. If you want to try across the country, that is up to you. If you have a car with a towbar, you could probably drive in and tow the car home!
***If you are planning to have this transported, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!**TALK to transport companies! DO NOT RELY ON ONLINE QUOTES!!!
THIS IS A BIG TRUCK! A regular transport CAN NOT handle it. It will probably have to be some type of single vehicle flat bed or even a lowboy trailer!DO NOT BID ON THIS THINKING A REGULAR CAR CARRIER CAN CARRY IT. YOU CAN'T BACK OUT AFTER FINDING OUT YOU CAN'T GET IT MOVED.
*********DON'T BID IF YOU DON'T HAVE A WAY TO GET IT HOME ALREADY LINED UP!!!*************
You can give these dimensions to a transport company and let them decide what can be done:
Truck is 24 feet long, about 7 feet high, and 9 feet wide at the mirrors. (If you take the mirrors off, the bed itself is 8'2" wide at the marker lights on the edge of the bed). I can store this inside for 3 weeks after sale, then it will go out in the elements.
If you want any more pictures of anything specific, or have any questions, let me know and it will try my best. Again, before you ask, check out the YouTube video.

Don't miss out on this one of a kind truck! It gets lots of compliments and thumbs up wherever you go. I guarantee you will be the only one at a car show with one like this!!!