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For $103,000, Feel The Power
For $103,000, Feel The Power-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:12

If knowledge is power then today's 1949 Dodge Power Wagon must be a freakin' Mensa Club Jedi Master. It's up to you however, to determine if paying its price would be a smart thing to do.

Speaking of clubs, if someone were to buy yesterday's , think of all the Car Clubs they could join. Unfortunately for the dues collectors of those organizations, the car's 69% Crack Pipe loss indicates they won't be recognizing that revenue stream any time soon.

Putting a modern engine in an older car can either time-warp its performance, or point out the…

Should you be required to ford a real stream, or perhaps even cross the mighty Mississippi then you might want to consider this thoroughly modern millie of a . If you're going to rebuild something - Steve Majors like - you'd want to start with the stoutest candidate and seeing as the Power Wagon is based on Dodge's WWII M37 Military truck - which helped kick Hitler's ass in, you know, the War - you couldn't ask for a more robust foundation.

Starting out with a ladder frame strong enough for Sumo wrestlers to use when eloping, the original Power Wagon was invented before the concept of ‘planned obsolescence' became the manufacturers' mantra. Starting there, this one's been comprehensively reconditioned by Legacy Classic Trucks of the naval aspirant state of Wyoming.

Legacy seems to know what they're doing as evidenced by the decision to replace the antiquated boat anchor of a 230-cid flat head six here with a Cummins 4BTA Turbo-Diesel. That's a 3.9-litre turbocharged four with a stroke of 4.72 inches and a coffee can like bore of over 4 inches. Remember, it's not the length, it's the roundth. Befitting the theme of the Power Wagon - which is gravity is good, the 4BT weighs in at a stout 745-lbs. It also produces a modest 130-bhp, but an impressive 355 lb-ft of torque. Overall, the PW breaks the scales at 8,700 pounds.

The rest of the truck's mechanicals - from the TH475 automatic gearbox to the massive 14-bolt axles and disc brakes - have likewise undergone modernization, and with a 50-gallon diesel repository mounted in the wood-lined 8-foot bed, it'll be able to exercise all that hardware for a while between potentially-$300 fill-ups.

The interior likewise has been updated, and features luxury accouterments - including leather upholstery, heated seats, and A/C - unheard of, and probably derided as sissy-pants, when the truck was new. But we live in a different, more weaksauce era, so they'd probably be welcomed by prospective buyers.

We had another featured here last Sunday, but that was a later and punier W100. The M37-based Power Wagon has chunks of trucks like that in its exhaust. This one is the real steel deal, and it's had a complete overhaul that builds on its strengths and fills in any of the cracks made apparent by its age. All that awesome is obviously not free and in fact, according to the seller, it costs an eye-watering $103,000.

Call us a little strange (it wouldn't be the first time), but we think it is pretty hard to make a…

Yes, the whole concept of six figures is kind of numbing and in fact it makes me a little dizzy just writing that. One hundred and three thousand dollars. . . Phew, nearly passed out that time. But you know what, things cost money, and the question isn't do you or I have that kind of bank, its whether or not this Thor's Hammer of a giant pick up is worthy of commanding such scratch.

So, with that in mind, and visions of driving this down to Starbucks for a soy latte and a scone in your head, what do you think about that asking price? Is this new-day Dodge worth $103K? Or, is that a price that takes the power out of this wagon?

You decide!

or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to bdinger for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

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