Lil’ Red Back from the Dead!
 

1979. Three Mile Island has a potential meltdown after someone fell asleep at the water cooling division. First Class stamps continue to rise in price reaching a staggering .15 cents. And John Wayne passes on into the next frontier. Dodge continued their “Adult Toys” advertising campaign with the final year of the Lil’ Red Express truck and everyone left wondering what that big black thing in the glovebox was with an on/off switch? Anywho, minor changes came from the 78 model. A new grille, 8” wheels all around, and catalytic converters were some of the more notable changes. But the stacks were back for another year!

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So here’s my new to me Express. All original, unrestored, sitting since 1999, and ready for its next adventure. What’s that gonna be? Not sure. Once it gets here next week I’ll do a once over and develop a game plan. This could go one of two ways; restoration or full restomod fun daily driver. So stay tuned, more to come!!

Cheers
Dave

Looking forward to more fun & excitement, Dave :cool2:

Glad to see you back Dave. What was the big black thing with the on/off switch?

Well, that is a new twist for you Dave. A friend of mine purchased a 1978 Li'l Red brand new and I think he still as it. He put blower on it back in 78 and ran it without the hood for awhile but returned it to stock a few years later.

This should be an interesting build and as they say..... keep on truckin!

I vote restoration, but I will freely admit I despise Restomods on anything that was cool from the factory. A 6 cylinder 3 on the tree truck? Fine. But not a Lil Red Express. But that’s just like, my opinion man

Well based on Daves prior restoration projects this thing should be completely frame of restored by the end of the month ! I always liked these little trucks. Nice project Dave

Thanks guys, it’ll be a fun one! The big black thing? Well, it was a flashlight. What did you think it was?:naughty::shocked:

Yeah, these are pretty cool no matter how you look at them. Does MCACN have a Muscle Truck section?:dunno:

Can’t wait for it to get here and figure things out. :headbang:

Cheers
Dave

Great patina.
Just drive and enjoy!

Sweet trucks. Go back to the '78 Exhaust system with Hemi mufflers and no cats, big difference. The '78 was a total outlaw.

----Cue the theme song "back in the saddle again"!....

Restoration with F.A.S.T.-type upgrades you can only see if you’re looking hard.

This tune has a helluva rhythm, if I can just find some words to sing...."back in the saddle again"... R.I.P. Waylon
And yes, with Dave's track record, I will be surprised beyond words if it stays "original"...:wink:

Funny, I was thinking of the Aerosmith version!!

Hi Dave,

I love the new truck!!!

I am a big fan of LRETs!!

This one has a few features that I really like, the red interior is a great upgrade, AC is also awesome, plus patina!!! You got a good one for sure!!!

I have so many ideas in my head at all times, but if I was to get a LRET it would be a 1978 with red interior, with AC, and with the “sure grip 3.55 rear!!!

I would want to race it at the pure stock drags (but they won’t allow them :-(

I see a similar truck at a cruise night close to the beach we frequent and they built it with a manual transmission!!! That might hurt some feelings but not mine, I would manual swap it in a heart beat!!!

Ryan W31

Lret
 

This is the nicest one I have seen in the wild, original owner still owns it, 50K kilometres from new, it is perfect!!!

Ryan W31

I had a buddy in High School had a similar Dodge truck but it was a Black version with Gold graphics ,think it was called a Warlock ?

in a heartbeat!!!

Thanks for the replies guys! This will be a fun one. More later on the thoughts shoot what to do with it. You’ll notice that the bed wood in Ryan’s photo shows it was painted red which is correct. The bed wood and slats were all painted red, no polished slats and stained wood. Very common to “over-restore” this since it looks way better done that way.

And the black version was indeed a Warlock package. Unlike the Lil Red, that option was just a sticker package and nothing more. You can only tell you had a Warlock by the option code on the under hood sticker or Broadcast sheet. Lil’ Reds have to have as “S” in the fifth digit for 78/79 which indicates the Express package. So you can tell a fake/tribute right away by looking at the VIN of an Exoress. The Warkock was just a regular truck with the sticker package.

There’s another option too which was called the Midnite Express, notice the spelling. These were not built by Dodge but by Mr. Norm’s dealership. No VIN will tell you and there’s no records about these trucks retained from GS Dodge about how many were made. It was a sticker package and used Lil Red parts, but wasn’t offered by the dealer.

Another cool thing was the first group of LREs were like the GTOs, a batch car. You couldn’t order one with a sales guy until the 79 model year. Dodge just made them and optioned them how they saw fit.

Cheers
Dave

"The Warlock was just a regular truck with a sticker package."

Unless you are lucky enough to own one of the 74 built with the 440.

Dave you have such good taste my friend!!!

I had no idea you were a LRET fan!!!

There is one that lives close to me, I hope to meet the owner one summer day when he has it out and about!!!

The hood is different between 78 and 79, bird bath for 78 with sunken areas on both sides, flat hood on 79’s.

I think by memory the 78’s are a
Different red from the 79’s…. Close but different? Medium Canyon red and ??? Bright canyon red?

I want one so bad!!!

PS: there is another local guy with a 3-5K mile 79 and a Resto mod79 with Viper V10 and 6 speed with Pistol grip of course!!

Well, sort of. :hmmm: Lucky that you got a low power big motor with a sticker and wood package (optional)? Depends.:dunno: You could get any engine with the Warlock since they were just based on the standard short bed D100. Dodge added popular options to it which seemed most were buying based on the custom van movement and their “Adult Toys” theme and made the Warlock package. Most were 318 trucks but again, all engine options were available. But as with the Midnite Express, no VIN to ID it as authentic like the LRE has so there’s way more on the road now than were built, more than likely.

Much like the Midnite Express trucks. No records to indicate how many made, no specific VIN, and it was built by a specific dealer that distributed them across the country. Numbers float around about them being about 200 or so. Nobody really knows.

Fascinating stuff!:biggthumpup:

Yep, always liked these, Ryan. Have been on the hunt for a while. This will be a fun one to do. Yes, couple difference between the years, but not much. Colors are 1978 Bright Canyon Red - PY3442, 1979 is Medium Canyon Red - PY3450.

Cheers
Dave

Lret
 

Lret

They also had a "True Spirit" truck, I believe they were only offered in AZ, NV and CA, this is my brothers, original paint and original 440/auto. He bought it out in Vegas from the original owner who is still actively racing Mopar Super Stocks.

Now that’s cool! Didn’t know that. Much like Mustangs where they offered the High Country Special at certain Colorado dealers it seems:burnout:

Cheers
Dave