This is my latest project. I got this '75 Dodge D100 shortbox stepside back in 2002. I thought it would make a great truck in which to transplant my '79 Little Red Express' drivetrain. My LRT was a basketcase and only the drivetrain was worth saving. The plan at this time is NOT to clone an LRT for obvious reasons. Those being that I would have to change the grilles to accept either the '78 - which means changing the lower valance to one without turn signals and obtaining a suitable grille w/ turn signals. That's not easy or cheap these days. The '79 grille is of course, the quad headlight deal which would mean either fabricating new headlamp mounts on this radiator support or swapping it out with one from a 79 (my LRT's was major rust). It is very hard to find a '79 rad support to start with and costs alot to get it shipped if I found a rust free one from out of state.
So I decided to go with either a Warlock or Midnite Express clone instead. Those options are more year-appropriate as well. I hope to have the mechanicals done this year and paint it in 2006. Plans are for wide rear tires/rims for that pro-street look. Low and mean! As for the engine, the stock 318 had spun a rod for the previous owner, so that came out a few months ago. I had the 360/727 combo out of the LRT and since it ran well a few years ago, I just freshened up some gaskets and such and repainted it. I know you Mopar guys are going to tell me that red is not the right color, but I like it better than blue. I dropped the motor in the truck last week - Labor day weekend. It all went pretty well, even the headers slid in easy. It's sure nice when the front sheetmetal is off. There is lots of room to work. I have two problems that I still need to address before I finish the install. First, the stock trans dipstick tube had been bent by the previous owner to fit past the rear header tube. Well, my 'new' headers were a set that came with the truck when I bought it. I don't even know what brand they are. Well, the rear tube on this set is tighter than the other one. I can't bend the tube anymore without the dipstick not sliding in/out at all. I thought I might look for an aftermarket replacement flexible one like they use on street rods. The second issue is that on the same side, the lower outside header tube hits the frame. Any ideas anyone? I figure there are two ways to go: either dent or dimple the tube to clear the frame or notch the frame itself. I know, I know - DO NOT under any conditions cut into a frame. I've heard that many times already. So that will be a last resort. (heh heh). Before the motor install, the things I had done to the truck were clean the engine bay and spray it black. I also had replaced the passenger rear fender (which was smashed, not rusted) with one from my LRT. I have two replacement front fenders and two rust free doors from a '76. Those should be getting installed in the next few weeks. The pics definitely show this as a project that is in need of more work. I will keep the progress reports coming as thing happen. Until then...

Here are a couple of shots from today 9/11/05. I changed the passenger door today and mounted the new passenger front fender and front valance. Also, check out the engine shot with the Thermoquad and LRT air cleaner installed. When I get a little further along, I will connect the two fresh air duct hoses down to the holes in the rad support below the headlights. Looks cool, huh? More later...