In 1978, the baddest factory hot rod in the USA wasn”t a car, it was a pickup truck: the Dodge L’il Red Truck.
If the story of Dodge’s L’il Red Truck had been a Hollywood movie, the dialog would have to go something like this. The lead actor leans into his co-star and says, “It’s a crazy idea, but it just might work.” Chrysler performance boss Tom Hoover and crew spotted a loophole in the EPA’s emissions regulations, a skill possibly acquired from their years beating up the drag racing rulebooks. On light trucks with a GVWR rating of 6,000 lbs or more, a catalytic converter was not required. What’s more, limited engine modifications could be performed without triggering complete recertification by the EPA.
And so the Li’l Red Truck was born. Long story short, the 360 cubic-inch E58 V8 was dropped into the D-150 Adventurer Utiline pickup with a few modifications: a larger Carter Thermoquad carb and a camshaft, valve springs, and hardware from the 1968 340 V8, along with a cold-air induction package. With an emissions-proper 8.4:1 compression ratio, the rated output was 225 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque, sent through a Loadflite 727 automatic transmission and a 3.55:1 rear end.
That doesn’t sound like a lot of horsepower today, but at the time, the Corvette L82 V8 boasted all of 220 hp. And in some magazine road tests, Red was actually quicker than the Corvette, with quarter-mile times in the 15-second zone and 0-to-60 mph in 7.8 seconds. On the down side: When it launched in March of ’78, the truck couldn’t be sold in California and several other states due to emissions and noise level regulations.
From their work on the Trick Truck and Adult Toys campaigns, the Dodge people could summon up plenty of appearance goodies for the project, including wood bed trim, big-rig styled chrome exhaust stacks, slotted chrome wheels, and attention-grabbing graphics.The giant decals on the doors read “Li’l Red Express Truck,” so while the vehicle’s official designation at introduction was Li’l Red Truck, the name Li’l Red Express stuck with the public. The print ads and the signage on the tailgate say “Lil Red Truck.”
The hot rod truck was continued for 1979, sporting a new grille with rectangular quad headlamps (below). Also, the exterior paint was a slighly different red. But the jig was up, so to speak, on emissions compliance, so the ’79 version was equpped with a catalytic converter. However, it didn’t seem to affect the performance much if at all. A total of 7,306 Li’l Red Express Trucks were produced, 2,188 in 1978 and 5,118 in 1979, and naturally, they’re collectibles today. According to the Hagerty value guide, the ’79 can bring $33,800 (excellent condition) to $42,800 (concours) while the pre-cat ’78 commands a few thousand more.
I was a tech at a Dodge dealer when these were released. After our new car prep tech got back from his test drive, he said: “You guys gotta drive this, you won’t believe the burnouts!” So the keys got tossed around the shop as we all took a turn. Needless to say, the rear tires were missing a couple hundred miles of rubber when the buyer took possession, and one of the back streets in town was now appropriately “decorated by Dodge!” 😁
Good writeup. It ‘s commonly reported that the Express was equipped with W2 heads but it never happened. I was glad to see that myth not repeated.
Remember seeing them at the local dodge dealership, where we skateboarded using the ramp to the showroom
In ’75 or thereabouts, C&D traveled to the wide open expanses of the southwest to determine the fastest American automobile. Thanks to that selfsame loophole, it turned out to be the Chevy 454SS stepside at somewhere around 110, followed by the Vette and the Dart Sport 360 (perhaps not in that order).