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.
A guy close to me here in VA has one he uses it every day and sometimes hauls scrap to us in it I used to see it on the car port years ago and think it was a cool looking truck that's was win I was still in school and that's been some time ago
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.
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.
Chevy had a "Heavy Half" at the same time. The manufacturers were trying to attract people that normally drove cars. At that time there was alot of emissions crap added to engines which created headaches. I prefer before 1972 or 1982 to 1985. Good Luck, Rick
I drool over late 40s, early 50s Power Wagons. Absolutely indestructible!
[/quote I AGREE, USED EXTENSIVLY BY THE FOREST FIRE SERVICE HERE IN NEW JERSEY
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 Lil Red has been one of my favorites. Neighbor has one hoping someday....................but he has 2 sons that are car guys. I owned a 78 Dodge Super Coupe with the 360. Very fast for a late 70's car.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
That would be about the only Dodge truck I would ever own, those were so cool when I was a kid.
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