At just over 14-feet in length, the A100 was Dodge’s first small truck and they were available in pickup form as in this 1967 Dodge A100, and also van and wagon varieties. They are really unique, especially in this pickup body style. This project pickup can be found listed here on eBay in Dixon, Missouri. The bid is at $5,000 and there is no reserve.
Dodge’s Forward Control pickups and vans were an unusual configuration with the engine literally inside the cab between the seats and no crash protection what so ever. There were several companies that put out similar pickups, including Ford’s Econoline, Jeep’s Forward Control (FC), and my personal favorite, the Corvair Rampside. There were even Canadian versions of the Dodge called the Fargo A100, not to mention micro-truck versions by Subaru and a few other Japanese companies and others.
As a wicked uuuuuge fan of the Ford Unibody or integrated-body pickups, I’ve always thought that the Dodge A100 and Ford Econoline and other similar “van-pickups” were the ultimate integrated-bed pickups. It’s truly all I would personally ever need for a pickup. I’m not a contractor, I don’t pull a horse trailer, and I wouldn’t need a giant four-door pickup.
The interior looks a bit messy but surprisingly clean at the same time, if that makes any sense at all. Not clean as in tidy, but clean as in no apparent huge, gaping areas of damage other than cracked seat vinyl and a missing armrest, etc. That doesn’t mean that it’ll be a three-q-tip affair to get it back into shape but you can do it. The bed looks good, condition-wise, but there’s a bit of rust visible. The whole body on this truck looks good to me but there appears to be some visible bodywork in areas.
The seller looked for one with a 318 V8 and automatic transmission with a dash-mounted shifter because they were going to use it to pull a classic trailer and a slant-six with a three-on-the-tree manual wasn’t going to cut it. It runs but it’ll need a new gas tank, an exhaust, and some general TLC but what a fantastic truck it’ll be when you’re done. Let’s hear those Dodge A100 stories!
Never saw one of these with anything but the Slant Six. I’ll bet the V8 will liven that right up. My younger brother had a ’69 model. Nothing spectacular, just a Slant Six with the usual moderate performance. He drove it quite a bit before selling it and looking for something else. What he ended up with was a marriage, kids, a boring minivan and a piece of ‘paradise,’ for a few years anyway…
I had a friend with an A100 van that had a 318. It made a miserable vehicle even worse. They were hot to begin with, hard to work on, and the extra weight of the V8 on the king pin front end, made steering a chore. Aside for a few applications, a regular pickup was a better deal.
@ Howard: The only problem I had with steering, was that it had gotten sloppy, due to wear and age; I had the steering box rebuilt, problem solved. Remove the dog house, and everything was easily accessible, plus you could work on it out of the weather! Since my van had the original belly pan, which was essential for cooling airflow, I didn’t have a problem with it being excessively hot, and I had the added benefit of pop out windows all around. I quite enjoyed it and never found it to be miserable, but that’s just my experience!
YMMV :-)
This guys was a panel van, so it was hot/cold and the sides rattled like 8 marbles in a coffee can. Winter? It would get stuck going down hill. King pins stopped taking grease years before, loose spring hangers, and don’t get me started on the worn column shift versions. Changing a motor in one is also a chore. Sorry, just not a pleasant vehicle, of course, I hate ANY cabover truck.
So, Howard, the problem with the steering etc. was caused by wear and insufficient maintenance.
This is my ’69 (back in its glory days) It has a ’73 340 c.i. and a 727 auto, 3.23 rear end, custom radiator, headers and transmission cooler. I’d like to get it back on the road, but the reality is, I’ll probably end up selling it. :-(
This is my ’69 (back in its glory days) It has a ’73 340 c.i. and a 727 auto, 3.23 rear end, custom radiator, headers and transmission cooler. I’d like to get it back on the road, but the reality is, I’ll probably end up selling it. :-(
Click on picture
My father bought an A100 around 1966. It had a third seat,but no seatbelts. He asked the dealer to install them before he picked it up. Getting a new car was a big deal back then & a family affair. The dealer offered to fill it up before my dad left. Before you know it gas was gushing out from underneath the van. The ‘mechanic’ who installed the belts had drilled into the gas tank! Needless to say,my dad was less than pleased & the dealer,who was a good small town dealer was extremely embarrassed.
The most famous Dodge A 100 was Bill Maverick’s “Little Red Wagon” We remember it running down the full length of the 1/4 mile doing a full wheelie. I even have a model of it sitting in my display cabinet that I built a few years ago.
Bill “Maverick” Golden.
My bad.
My tv repairman had an A100 van back in 1967
He did fairly well. His wife had a 67 Chrysler New Yorker.
The small print company I worked for right out of school had one as a ‘company’ vehicle. The original engine was replaced with a 318. Every drive was an ‘adventure’! Another guy I worked with needed wheels for a brief while, and under the influence, ran the van into a tree. The Dodge was never the same and gave its life so others of the same vintage could live.
I just don’t think I could ever get used to driving around feet first.
Friend in HS , his mom had a Toyota version from the ’80’s. Girl was trying to turn into the store driveway too fast and slammed into his mom who was heading out. The floor, A-pillar, and seat all “Came together , ” and put his mom ‘s upper body through the windshield. While cool looking, yeah”I won’t ever own one,
I love it. Drove my 1969 Chevy F/C van 50,000+ miles. Was so very aware that I was the crumple zone and drove it accordingly. Freaked out more than a few passengers with a real tight turn in a tight spot when the windshield goes swooping up against a wall or something. They all put up their hands and feet and exclaimed some remark. LoL. Good times.
Had a 67 with the 6… a guy I knew had a 68 with the 318… I loved it except one thing.. hard to work on motor unless you pulled the cowling off… had a zillion nuts(seemed like it anyways)…bolt heads top side… nuts underneath… took two people… easy after that… made it into a camper…went all over with it..fishing.. hunting…etc….where ever I ended up could stay the night and resume where I had left off in the morning… never got stuck..went places where few rigs would unless 4×4…motor just got wore out..put a new clutch in all by myself pretty easy….funny thing was the clutch plate was in backwards yet it had worked for sometime…with new clutch it was awesome..loved that little van.
I remember the Little Red Wagon like it was yesterday. Those were the days! Wheres my baked apple? Now if you’ll excuse me, the “Wheel” is on.
Sincerely,
A geezer
I have owned a couple Ford Econoline versions of the forward control vans, I was in Florida while in the service, drove it to Virginia and back. While in Fl I drove onto the beach at Jacksonville a lot and then when I got discharged drove it across the country back home to CA. I love these vans. I swapped motors in one by putting the hoist in thru the side door. I swapped the original 4:10 rear axle with a 3:50 to make it smoother on the freeway. Once I got home I drove it up to Washington and back and then all over Southern California in the late 70s.
The old vans that I worked on dropped the motors out the bottom. The transmission attached from the top and the main cross-member unbolted from the frame. A good floor jack and a good balancing act, not to mention having the van jacked up to the rafters, and you had the engine and transmission out…
That’s how mine came out too.
Ah yes, takes me back to the mid 70’s. Traded my ’65 for a case of beer. Slant 6 & 3/tree. Took a while to strip all the housepaint off and patch the holes (especially right along sides at bed deck). Came out good. I was a volunteer fireman back then, allowed to have the red lights. Wished it was a 318 automatic like my friend had, but oh-well, it was the best I could do with a young family and a $3.50/hr job!
Ahhhh, good, turned it around, cuppla grumpies at the start
.
I like the dodge simply for the split windshield. I follow the Thrift
Power i6 now (since ’83) altho a 170 slantie took me around all
the perimiter states at the BiCentenial (+ another yr). Were’s some now:
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/f3-a-van-general-discussion
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/f5-e-van-general-discussion
and even beddah:
https://www.facebook.com/econolinepickup/
sure they’re old, have problems, but look at the other side too.
Friend in HS , his mom had a Toyota version from the ’80’s. Girl was trying to turn into the store driveway too fast and slammed into his mom who was heading out. The floor, A-pillar, and seat all “Came together,” and put his mom ‘s upper body through the windshield. While cool looking, yeah, Iwon’t ever own one,
When you put it on a lift, it’s best to put something heavy at the back of the bed. The c.g. on those are about at the driver’s seat. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not much. You don’t want to find out the hard way.