1978 Dodge Other Pickups

Adventurer Pickup truck

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

D13BS8J512744

Gasoline

78 Lil' Red TruckDodge released the Lil' Red Express Truck In 1978 it was one of the most unique Dodge trucks that had ever been produced. The Lil' Red Express was not only a real looker but these trucks were also real performers also. In 1978 The Dodge Lil' Red Express was the fastest American made vehicle from 0 to 100 MPH as tested by Car and Driver magazine. Because of a loophole in the emissions regulations the 1978 Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck's did not have catalytic converters, what the Lil' Red Express did have was a special High Performance 360 C.I. 4-barrel small block engine code (EH1) which was a modified version of the 360 police engine (E58) producing 225 net horsepower @ 3800 RPM. The package also included Hemi style mufflers with a crossover pipe breathing through 2 chrome stacks located behind the cab, a special 727 transmission and 3.55:1 rear gearing. The 1978 Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck rode on GR60x15 raised white letter tires on 7-inch Chrome wheels up front and LR60x15 on 8-inch chrome wheels on the rear and there was no spare included. All 1978 Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck's were automatics the interiors were available with a standard bench seat in red or black or with optional buckets and a fold down arm/rest console which was available both years. 1978 and some early 1979 Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck's used the "tuff" steering wheel. The Dodge Lil' Red Express Truck was a hit with the public; 2,188 were produced in 1978. (Information courtesy of WWW.DodgeConnection.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For sale, is my 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Truck. This truck is the last Adult Toy truck, from Dodge without the emissions system. The truck is original, and almost complete. The stack tips, tires, one air inlet hose and the exhaust are all it needs to be "pure stock".I've had the truck for a few years now, and have been collecting parts, to do a "resto-mod" to it. It's a driver, and what would be called a "20 footer". Lil Red Express Truck The Motor The truck has the original 360 CI V-8 (EH-1_ engine. It's based on the 360 E58 Police motor, but is built with the Purple Stripe Direct Connection cam which is really a '68 340 4-speed cam, and a windage tray.) The motor is complete and original The 850 Thermoquad has been removed, to be rebuilt/restored, and is included with original choke, idle solenoid and all original linkage. It's currently running an Edelbrock 1406 600 CFM Performer Series squarebore carb. It's running an electric choke, and has the proper Chrysler linkage adapter installed. Alternator is original, as is the radiator, intake, exhaust manifolds, distributor, etc. Radiator has been flushed, new thermostat and fluid installed, and intake manifold bypass hose has been sealed, forcing ALL of the water to circulate to the radiator. Original chrome valve covers are in place, as well as zinc cap. all seperators are present. Correct original dual snorkel airfilter housing, with chromed lid is intact, as well as original carb to air cleaner spacer. Missing is one air inlet hose and cone, stolen from the truck. New plugs, cap, rotor, wires, fuel, oil and air filters. Have installed a NOS "orange box" controller, from 1992. It's not one of the new Mexican made pieces of junk. Motor runs fine when warm, but needs some tuning to the carb. It's a bit hard to start hot, due to a combination of new fuel being poor quality, and heating of the bowl. I have a phenolic carb spacer included, but not installed. Engine has unknown mileage, but it's presumed to be over 100K. Will need a rebuild. Does not smoke, and compression was even across all cylinders, within a 5 pound range. Some chain stretch is evident, by turning crank and watching rotor. Has new metal insert, rubber valve cover gaskets. Correct 7 blade max cooling fan, shroud and viscous fan coupler are present. P/S works and no leaks are seen at pump, or lines. Starter is original, and still has the decal on the side of it. New battery installed. A/C was working, but condenser has a slow leak in it, so removal of system was begun. We were going to ship the A/C system to http://www.classicautoair.com/ for R&R. They specialize in restoration of classic car A/C. Check out this link, for over 70 photos and descriptions, of engine, trans and chassis: LIL RED 360 & 727 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A-727 LoadFlight Trans, Chrysler 9.25 rear axle The Lil Red has a custom, Dodge built transmission, with the following specs: The A 727 "Load Flight" transmission was a modified production unit. The 360 valve body was replaced with a higher shifting 440 valve body. This higher capacity valve body would provide a more positive shift. A nine inch high-stall torque converter was installed to give a quicker launch during acceleration. Transmission ratio is: 1st gear = 2.45 2nd gear = 1.45 3rd gear = 1.00 The only rear axle ratio was a 3:55. Sure Grip was optional, and this truck is NOT equipped with it. I am including a 3:90 gearset as well, should you desire quicker acceleration. The trans is original, and shifts firmly, and crisply into all gears. Reverse works, and park locks securely. The truck comes with a Mopar Performance High Capacity chromed trans pan, with filter, spacer block and gaskets. A Mopar Performance kickdown lever is also included. these are NOS items from the late 80's, so no modern, Mexican or Chinese junk. Trans pan shows signs of leaking, but no actual wetness, or fluid drops can be seen. The new gasket and pan should resolve this. Clear pictures of the trans are visible, in the link above, with the engine. Driveshaft is original, and balanced. No squeeks from u-joints, no "clunking" in rear, when changing directions, and no gear howl or whine. Pumpkin still has original inspection markings on it, as well. New brakes front and rear, new flexible hoses, wheel cylinders, drums turned, rotors spec'ed and cut. New master cylinder is installed, utilizing the original cap, bail and tag. Original master cylinder was kept, for rebuilding. New gasket in cap. Brakes are tight, dont pull to either side, and no pedal pulsating. All fluid was vacuumed from lines and calipers, when redoing brakes. DOT 5 fluid added on refill, and master was bench tested first. All hardlines, brackets and valving is factory original. Rear leafs are half ton rated, and are originals. They are still sprung "high", with the wooden floor, and no spare tire accounting for the high riding rear end. The front has the original coil springs, and the tags are still attached. The front end is complete, and stock. The power steering is the police "Firm Feel" setup, and I would replace all ball joints, and linkage connectors. Springs should also be replaced, as front sits lower than a stock truck should. Coils have not been cut, but appear to have settled somewhat, most likely due to age. The truck drives straight, and you can take your hands off the wheel, and it will follow the direction you have it pointed. Wheel also returns to center position, when cornering. The front end "wallows" at very low speed, in a tight turn. A rebuild of front end would correct this. Wheel bearings have been repacked as well, at time of brake job, and front bearings are new, with new seals and races. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Truck Bed & Body The 1978 Dodge Adventurer Lil Red Express has the original steel six foot stepside box on it. Rolled steel toprail around the sides, and welded box toprail across the back, the box is in remarkable shape. No rust in the bed. no dents, or damage, outside of some paint scuffs and scrapes. The frontwall of beds is usually beat up, as people throw stuff into the truck. The tailgate is next to be damaged, and this one is in excellent condition. Wooden floors, are painted red from the factory. Most guys will just stain and seal the wood, for a more uniform look, with the bedside wood. The wood in the bed needs replacing. The tie down strips are all present, undamaged, and are usually rep[laced with the stainless strips, to compliment the chromed stacks and bumpers. They're available from here:LIL RED PARTS as is almost everything you need, to restore a Lil Red. The outside wood on the bed, is actually in decent shape, and could be sanded, stained and sealed, and reused. all wood is intact, and is factory applied. Truck spent 10 years stored, from mid 80's to mid 90's, and the wood shows it. The rear fenders are original, as far as I know. There's a slight dent on the passengers side, seen in the picture in this album:LIL RED BED with almost 80 pictures. See where someone opened a car door into it. Looks like the rear fenders have had some touch-up paint sprayed on them, as I see some overspray on a section of bed wood. Sidesteps are chromed, from factory, and would need replacing to be really nice. They're available at Dodge Connection, as linked above. I can stand on both steps, without issues. Both stacks are present now. They were being used as sidepipes on previous owners truck, and it took some time to convince him to give them up. They are not connected. Flowmaster mufflers have turndowns at location of stock mufflers. Could be hooked up, with the "S" pipes, available from Dodge Connection. Headers are included with sale, and I was going to run them, with new pipes and the Flowmasters. Stacks have NOS isolators, 2 NOS hangers, and a set of NOS Teflon washers for stack shields. The finish on the stacks is excellent, but one shield half needs some recurving, where it was tweaked on the sidepipe mounting. Exhaust is welded, but uses incorrect pieces, due to previous owner stealing parts, for his other project. Also included are a set of NOS rear S-pipe hangers. Rear bumper isnt correct, but it's Mopar. A chromed stepbumper, from a Ramcharger is on the truck, and was there when I got it. It's a great fit, and actually looks a lot better, than the wide, plain one, that comes on the truck. It has a ball, and there's a plug underneath, for a boat or whatever kind of trailer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Cab & Front Clip The cab of the truck is in very good shape. The roof is solid, body seams are original and seam sealer is still there. Roof is undented, and no rust. Polished driprail is intact all the way around, and undamaged. B pillars and A pillars are solid, and undamaged. rear of cab looks like new, All glass is original, and has been tinted professionally. bottom of cab is clean, and rust free. Pictures prove it. The doors are solid, and windows work as intended. The doors need some adjusting, as they dont just "click" closed. A set of door hinge pin bushings are included for each side. Handles are nice, locks are there and work, and the mirrors are factory type. original; bases support a pair of NOS mirror heads. Windows seal nicely, but I would replace all gaskets and weather stripping when painting. Fenders are original, and drivers side shows damage, from an original tire delaminating at 80 mph. Rear of front fender, and inner fender were battered by tread, that tore loose, but didnt fully detach. Included in sale are a pair of new, unused front fenders. They are pictured in the parts list. A mint set of inner fenders is also included, with no damage, or rust. No other damage occurred from tire failure. The original Western Wheel, chrome plated slots and center caps are present, along with original looking lugs. (cant tell if they are factory or not) New tires are mounted, with less than 2500 miles, and warranty is included. They are Sigma Supreme TR M&S radials. The fronts are P 225/70/R15, and the rears are P235/70/R15's. Rims are nice looking, but will need to be rechromed, for a really nice finish. they do show some pitting, but no damage or road rash is seen. Hood is the typical "birdbath" type, and is rust free. No dents or damage, but there's paint previously peeled off of it, and it's been repainted, but not correctly. The hood will need stripping and refinishing. Over 80 pictures are available, of the entire cab and front clip here: LIL RED CAB & CLIP The grill is in excellent condition, and other than some light scuffs, and scratches, is in remarkable shape. The grills are anodized with clear, at the factory. Polishing them isnt going to make them shine. Using some EZ Off oven cleaner, the clearcote can be stripped, then aluminum polish used, to bring out a show shine. To protect the finish, respray with clear, when you're done. Front bumper needs rechroming, but in reality, it's cheaper to buy a new one, at the link above from Dodge Connection. There's a NOS antenna and two bezels included in sale. The antenna is the rare AM/FM/CB radio type, and has the correct leads. It's proper for the truck, and makes adding a CB easy, with no holes needed to mount an antenna. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Interior of Cab Looking inside the cab, you'll find a straight 78 cab. There's black everywhere, except for the ceiling and doorframes, which are Bright Canyon Red. The factory applied paint looks awesome, with no dents, extra holes, or damage. There's a black "buddy seat", with fold down center section. The bottom of the buddy seat lifts up, to reveal a large compartment, made of steel, to hold your stuff. Carpet is original, and looks good, but the edges are showing their age. Seats look good, but drivers side has the usual tear, along the seam, from jumping in and out. Seat covers available from Dodge Connection. Pictures of the interior are seen here: LIL RED INTERIOR with 60 pictures to see. The doorpanels are nice, and the missing woodtrim tins are included. They are intact, with all mounting tabs present. They need to be recovered with woodgrain, and thats available from performance car graphics. Drivers side armrest is loose on the corner, but NOS is available from Dodge Connection. Dash is excellent, with no cracks, extra holes, splits or damage. All gauges work, 100 MPH speedo is there, but it's a replacement piece. Lighter works, wipers, fan for heater and air, cab light, bed light, radio, etc., all works. Pictures show perfect dash, glovebox, etc. Fuse panel is in very nice condition, and even the glovebox light works. Drivers seatbelt doesnt retract, but there's a new one included. Tuff wheel has seen better days, and is taped wrapped, where the padding has failed. Not to worry, an OEM replacement Tuff Wheel is included. The horn doesnt work, but it's the horn itself. It hums lightly, and it had some wasps inside it, when I got it. Replacements available at parts store. I replaced the dash volt regulator, amp gauge, and all lights and covers. Speakers are all there, but only 2 work. The dash ones arent connected. NOS grills for the doors are included. Visors are brittle, but NOS and replacement visors available from Dodge Connection. There's a tiny rock chip in very bottom of windshield, below line of sight. It's pictured, and is half the size of a dime. Insurance wont pay for it, as it's out of line of site. I have the original vinyl cling Dodge decal from the windshield, in the glovebox. You might get a replica made, from this very rare piece. The interior is very nice. Recover the drivers seat, install the new seatbelt, and replace the visors, and it will look great. Replace the carpet as well, and it will look awesome. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lil Red Express, Parts & Papers Here's a partial list of extra parts included with sale. There's pictures of all the parts listed. This truck comes with the following: * New MInt in box pair of front fenders * Pair of excellent used inner fenders, no damage * Original Thermoquad carb & rebuild kit, w/choke & solenoid * OEM Tuff Wheel, in excellent condition * NOS headlight trim rings * NOS Rear exhaust pipe hangers * NOS 4 Stack isolators * NOS pair of stack hangers * Extra set of jack and tool hold down brackets and hardware * NOS Pair of door speaker grills * NOS MP Chrome trans pan kit * NOS MP Kickdown lever * NOS Dodge voltage regulator * NOS Orange Box control Unit * NOS Stack washer insulators set * Spare instrument cluster, w/100MPH speedometer * Spare instrument cluster cover lens * NOS 1978 only Fuel filler cap, chrome * NOS radio antenna wire kit, with chrome bezel, AM/FM Musicmaster * NOS Accelerator pedal * Original fuel pump, removed for rebuild * Original master cylinder, removed for R&R * NOS Parking brake release assembly, complete * NOS AM/FM/CB Antenna, with NOS Bezels included * Pair of door panel decorative woodgrain tins * Left & right door hinge pin bushing kit * OEM drivers side seatbelt assembly * OEM spare dashboard cover, mint condition * MIB, Holley/Flowtech headers, for 1978 Dodge truck, w/360 auto * NOS Steering column flex coupler rebuild kit * NOS Steering gearbox frame brace (dealer installed recall item, for adding rigidity to frame at box connection) Pictures of the parts can be seen here: LIL RED EXTRA PARTS Be sure to see all 40 pictures. Paperwork for the truck includes the original order form, original sales receipt, original title transfer paperwork, body build.VIN/TON tag, transfer of title to second seller, origina owners manual, warranty book, tires and vehicle gross ratings guide, and much more. The build sheet hasnt been looked for, but with everything being original, I'm sure it's in there somewhere. 13 pictures of paperwork can be seen here: LRX PAPERS and I have a clear title in hand. Over 25 years old, mileage is exempt here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for looking at my auction. If you've made it this far, and you've looked at the 350+ pictures, and you STILL have questions, drop me a note. Please understand, I'm selling this out of necessity, not desire, therefore I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY TRADES. This is an "as-is" sale, and it is final. No warranty is implied, or given. This truck has been driven by me, this year, from Florida, to Texas, to Oregon, and returned to Florida twice. You can bid with confidence, and if you win you can fly in, and drive home. I get approximately 180 miles to a tank of gas. I use about a quart of oil, to every 3-4 tanks of gas. I dont "beat on" the truck. It can spin the tires, but I dont want to beat on a 32 year old motor. Truck is driven with care, by mature adult owner. Other than the tire blowing up, I've had no mechanical failures of the truck. The air would work if filled, but after a couple of days, it's out again. The A/C was tested, and a leak was found in the bottom of the condenser, so it was emptied, and capped off. Also, carrying a can of gas, is helpful. (when the gas gauge says "E", your out of gas. I've run out several times, "trying to get just one more exit" out of her) A $750.00 non-refundable deposit via PayPal or BOA wire transfer is due within 24 hours of end of auction. PLEASE DONT BID, IF YOU DONT INTEND TO COMPLETE THIS SALE. Bidders with negative, or less than 5 feedbacks MUST CONTACT ME FIRST, before bidding, or your bids will be removed, and you will be blocked. Feel free to inspect the truck, or send your guy to look for you, BEFORE THE SALE ENDS. I can help you ship the truck if needed, but full payment is needed before truck leaves my property/ Payment in full due within 5 business days of end of auction. NO TRADES, NO FINANCING, NO "BUYERS REMORSE". If you need to store the truck, I can hold it for for 30 days, if needed, but truck must be paid for. Truck is inside carport, and is covered, and not being driven. Thanks for looking, and Good Luck Bidding!!. TO MY FELLOW MOPAR MANIACS ON MOPARTS.COM, (EBAY/CRAIGLIST, WIW SECTION), LET THE HATING BEGIN!!! :D On Sep-15-10 at 18:17:21 PDT, seller added the following information: PLEASE NOTE, THE PHOTO GALLERIES I HAVE LINKED TO, HAVE ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF PHOTO'S CONTENTS. IT SEEMS YOU HAVE TO ACCESS THE INFO BY SELECTING THE "BROWSE IMAGES IN THIS FOLDER" TAB, THEN SELECTING THE PICS. WHEN DONE THIS WAY, THE PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS WILL APPEAR. THANKS FOR LOOKING!!