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1979 Dodge Lil Red Express

4K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  TAHOE 
#1 ·
I'm looking into buying a lil red express truck andything I should be concerned about? I hope that the owner will consider selling because it would be one sweet truck to own. He also owns a 1978 Dodge Lil Red Express and a 1972 Roadrunner.
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
#7 ·
I thought you were a Ford guy, Brian?
I am on 3/4 ton or heavier work trucks, Chevy or GMC in Suburban/Yukons and play toys is where these trucks fall in. Same way with Mustangs, Cameros and other muscle cars from the 60's and 70's.

Kinda like my GTs, they all have good and bad points.
 
#10 ·
My neighbor has a restored Little Red Express sitting in his garage . Original interior and 340 engine .

I think they only made something like 7200 of them total over the short production run .

I'm a chevy guy but remember when Dodge came out with the Little Red Express back in the late 70's and I think they're a cool little stepside .
 
#11 ·
My neighbor has a restored Little Red Express sitting in his garage . Original interior and 340 engine .

I think they only made something like 7200 of them total over the short production run .

I'm a chevy guy but remember when Dodge came out with the Little Red Express back in the late 70's and I think they're a cool little stepside .
You say it has a 340 in it? The factory engine was a 360HO.
 
#14 ·
Crawl under it and look at the side of the block to make sure its a 360. I thinks its the last four digits cast into the block (XXXXXXX360-X). Looking at the top of the engine is hard to tell what size small block it is.

They're an awesome little trucks! At one time between my brother and me we had almost 30 70s Dodge trucks with almost every option they came with. The ones we never had was the Lil' Red Express and Warlock, just couldn't justify spending that much money on one.
 
#15 ·
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
You had me wondering about the engine , so I walked over and he said I could take some pics.

Its still not finished , its about 95% , still needs some moulding put back on and decals .

I know it was a frame up , and he has the original rims that need re-plated (chromes flaking).

I believe he has an aftermarket intake and holly carb on it , but he kept the originals for its next owner .
 

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#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
These trucks have some get up and go in them due to their 360 High Output.
The Worlock was standard with slant 6 and could be ordered with any 1/2 ton optional engine including the 440. the 318 was the most popular engine in them.

Only the Li'l Red Express had the high output 360, which was the police package engine and had dual exhausts. Both were very cool trucks!

The biggest problem is rust.
 
#22 ·
Be sure to check the frame and body mounts, rust was the one thing that took most of them out of circulation, all the mechanical stuff is replaceable. One more note, the side stacks were not a Worlock original either, only the Express. I almost ordered a '78 Ram Charger 4x4 with 440, 3.91 gears and Torqeflite. But for some stupid reason you couldn't get 440 with posi and 3.91 gears, if you wanted posi you had to settle for 3.55 or 3.23. I was off roading then and I could have installed lockers but it just pissed me off and I bought a 3/4 ton 454 GMC Suburban with 4.10 gears.
 
#23 ·
The Lil Red Express that I'm looking at has the worst rust spot approximately a quarter in size on the front right quarter panel. that's the worst spot from what I can see.
If the spot is by the door and not towards the wheel opening you may have to get the support on the back side of the fender patched up. If the carpet is out of it look along the floor on the inside where the weatherstripping is mounted, real common place for rust holes that you can't normally see. Also check out the radiator support down by the body mounts. Seen a few trucks that were rust free except for the rad. support.
Its doesn't look to be in to bad of shape. You say he still has the original rims for it? With the center caps?
 
#25 ·
The Warlock in the pic is a clone. They were made in the 70s not the 80s like that one.
Plus the Warlocks didn't say "Warlock Express Truck" on door. :smilewink:

At that time there was alot of emissions crap added to engines which created headaches.
Emission equipment was basically the reason for the Lil Red Express, or at least why it was a truck and not a car. Cars were loaded with everything but trucks weren't yet. Plus some mods could be made to the engines without having them re-certified. The '78 had no catalytic converters but unfortunately the emissions regs changed for '79 and those had cats.

I owned a 78 Dodge Super Coupe with the 360. Very fast for a late 70's car.
Cool, I've always like the Super Coupe look. It wasn't one of the more rare "kit cars" was it?

If the spot is by the door and not towards the wheel opening you may have to get the support on the back side of the fender patched up. If the carpet is out of it look along the floor on the inside where the weatherstripping is mounted, real common place for rust holes that you can't normally see. Also check out the radiator support down by the body mounts. Seen a few trucks that were rust free except for the rad. support.
Its doesn't look to be in to bad of shape. You say he still has the original rims for it? With the center caps?
Another bad spot for rust is the rear cab corners. My '78 W150 was totally rusted out underneath the corner but showed nothing from the outside.

I have a friend with a '78 LRE so I've gotten to play with his over the years. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him in a while and due to the OP's location, plus the fact that a mutual friend has a '72 RR, I'm wondering if the '78 mentioned is my buddy's?

To VintageIronCollector: If you end up with this truck let me know. I purchased a good bit of govt. surplus Dodge truck stuff for my '78 and might be able to help you out if you need anything. Plus I'm very curious who it belongs too.
 
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