The Story of the Li'l Red Express Truck
Dodge's light truck line, restyled in 1972 to take advantage of changing life styles and the growth of the recreational vehicle market, had taken on a more personal focus by 1978. Considerations of fuel economy, emissions control and heavy insurance surcharges for performance vehicles had all but eliminated the factory muscle car when Dodge decided to add a limited production, high profile and perfomance pickup to it's Adult Toy marketing program. A group of engineers, of which Tom Hoover from Chrysler's Product Performance Group was the most prominent, started with a basic short wheelbase step side pickup and dropped in a uniquely prepared 360 cubic inch V8 backed up by a modified LoadFlite transmission with a shift kit and high stall torque converter that sent enough torque and horsepower to the 3.55:1 Sure Grip rear end to make it the fastest 1978 American made vehicle from 0 to 100 MPH as tested by Car and Driver.
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