1978-’79 Dodge Li’l Red (Express) Truck | The Online Automotive Marketplace | Hemmings (2024)

Once the muscle car era had passed, and the personal-luxury doldrums of the ’70s had settled in, the bulk of America neither wanted, nor could afford, performance cars. But, there were a few outlier customers who still craved some heat under their hoods. Luckily, Dodge was keener to hold on to its lingering performance-vehicle reputation than any other car brand in Detroit. (Save for perhaps Pontiac.)

Early emissions gear was a massive barrier to performance—catalytic converters were not conducive to making horsepower. But it was not long after the Dart Sport 360 went away that Chrysler engineers stumbled into a government-approved work-around: Vehicles with a GVW (gross vehicle weight) of more than 6,000 pounds were not required to run catalytic converters. The GVW is the weight including a payload and passengers, etc. Cars can’t carry as much as trucks, so their GVWs don’t top the 3-ton mark. On the other hand, the Dodge D150 with a 6,100 GVW created a legal loophole big enough to drive a certain red high-performance pickup truck through.

The ’78 edition Li’l Red Truck is easy to identify with its single round headlamps (above) versus the stacked quads on the ’79 (below). The grille is different as well, and in the truck’s second year the Dodge logo migrated to the forward edge of the hood. Mechanically, the major difference was the addition of catalytic converters for ’79.

Dodge had experienced some success with its Warlock, a special trim package on the D150 Utiline chassis that only lacked some oomph under the hood. Extra power, bright paint, fat tires, sexy wheels, and a special exhaust worked for Dodge (and its sister division, Plymouth) in the past… why wouldn’t it work again? And so, as a way to reach buyers who demanded flash and grunt in equal measure, and to prove that performance was not in fact dead, Dodge launched the Li’l Red (Express) Truck.

The model name is sometimes source for debate. The door decals proclaim “Li’l Red Express Truck” if read through, leading many to refer to these as “Li’l Red Express.” However, Dodge’s original promotional material refers to it consistently as “Li’l Red Truck.”

Offered in March of 1978 through the end of the 1979 model year, all LRTs were Dodge Utiline stepside pickups on the (shortest available) 115-inch wheelbase, all were two-wheel drive, and all required the same battery of options: automatic transmission, the Adventurer package, deleted moldings, power steering, an AM/FM/MPX stereo, an oil pressure gauge, the Convenience Package, and the Li’l Red Truck Package (YH6). This consisted of the special 225-horsepower, EH1-code 360-cubic-inch V-8, red paint with Old West-styled gold 3M pinstriping tape decals on the tailgate and doors, chromed bed steps, oak body trim panels and chrome-headed prop nuts on the bedsides and tailgate, bright front and rear bumpers, the 9¼ axle housing with 3.55:1 gears and Sure-Grip, rear anti-roll bar, a specific steering wheel, and raised white-outline-letter Goodyear radial tires on 15-inch chromed Western five-slot wheels. And we can’t forget the most outrageous touch: LRTs standard dual exhaust with vertical pipes, chromed exhaust tips, and polished heat shields. (For 1979, the package added $1,131 to a $5,168 truck, a price that didn’t include the mandatory options!) Brakes and suspension were untouched, save for the addition of the rear stabilizer bar.

A number of details changed for the 1979 model year. The most obvious of these was a new front end, with stacked quad headlamps replacing the single round units from the previous season, and a new grille to boot. The hood was new too. It was raised slightly, replacing the gently scalloped ’78 engine lid. A different shade of red graced the LRTs flanks, though the change was sufficiently subtle that you would have had to park a ’78 and a ’79 together to notice. Tires were no longer staggered sizes—all were HR60-15s— and a spare tire was provided this year. Though the power rating was the same for ’79, a catalytic converter now lived under the cab. Changes to the interior were limited to the Tuff Wheel, which was replaced by a tiller out of an Omni by mid-February of ’79, and the speedometer, which had grown metric markings late in 1978.

A total of 2,188 were built for the truncated 1978 model year. The over-3-tonsno- cats loophole was permanently sealed shut for model year 1979, but Dodge built 5,118 LRTs anyway. Many of them languished on dealer lots toward the end of the model year. OPEC II, another Middle-East-based crisis and $1-a-gallon gas meant that any plans for a 1980 version of the truck were squashed.

Plenty of examples survive today, however. Value guides suggest that they’re worth the same money on the open market, although one would otherwise assume that the lower production numbers and the uncatalyzed engine in the 1978 model would make the earlier model the more desirable of the two. So, if you’re interested in one of the few performance vehicles from an era where “performance” was a dirty word, read on.

A 360 held court in all Li’l Red Truck engine bays. Its Thermoquad inhaled through a dual-snorkel intake capped by a chrome air cleaner lid with a “360 Express” callout.

Engine

Mother Mopar blessed the LRT with a special, 360-cubic-inch V-8 as its one and only available engine. The differences over other 360s are multiple: It is said to have used a camshaft from the ’68 340 four-barrel V-8 (252 degrees duration, 33 degrees overlap), with “red-stripe” valve springs from the same engine; an 850-cfm version of the Thermo-Quad four-barrel carburetor atop a police-spec intake manifold; a roller timing chain; a chrome-lidded dual-snorkel air cleaner with cold-air ducts, and chrome rocker covers. The non-appearance items helped lift the 360’s power rating from 160 hp to a remarkable (for its day) 225 hp at 3,800 rpm, and 295 lb-ft of torque at a low 2,400 rpm. LRT engines did not display a vehicle serial number in its traditional position on the right side of the engine block.

Manifolds unloaded through a crossover pipe and Street Hemi-style mufflers, then up through the big-rig-style twin 2.5-inch stainless pipes that shot up the back of the cab and out into the open air. The 1978 LRTs were famously uncatalyzed, while ’79 models came with a catalytic converter, which necessitated a change to unleaded gas: an EGR valve was also added.

Transmission

The only available transmission was Chrysler’s legendary 727 automatic, called LoadFlite in truck applications. They were largely the same as 727 TorqueFlite transmissions, with minor valve body differences, but the LoadFlites in these trucks used a valve body reserved for 440-powered cars, which allowed higher shift points than a standard-issue 727. A 2,500-rpm stall converter was standard. Like the engine, the transmission will not match the truck’s VIN. Therefore, caveat emptor.

The nicely presented ’79 featured here belongs to Gary and Karen James. Its co*ckpit boasts optional buckets and custom wood door trim that Gary made.

Body and Interior

The fifth digit of any LRT is an “S” (for “Special,” referring to the engine). 1978s will start with “D13BS,” and the 1979 models begin with “D13JS.” The VIN is also stamped on the frame, just aft of the forward right rear spring cradle.

For a truck that wasn’t offered for very many years, there sure are a remarkable number of differences. In addition to different headlamps and hoods, all ’78s were painted Bright Canyon Red (PY3442), while the ’79 models were Medium Canyon Red (PY3450). There will be some slight variations in the location of the gold 3M decals, as they were applied by hand in different factories. The wood on the bedsides and tailgate was real oak (largely red oak, but occasionally white oak), and the bed floor was painted pine with red-painted metal strips. The oak bed racks frequently seen on LRTs were not original equipment; they were standard on the Warlock package, however. Early trucks had clear front turn signal lenses, while later models had amber lenses. Wiper arms were argent silver. Sliding rear cab glass was optional.

All LRTs came standard with the Adventurer appearance package and wore an “Adventurer 150” badge on each front fender. Inside, buyers had a choice of black or red bench-seat interiors, or a black bucket-seat interior. For 1979, the Adventurer SE package was also available on the LRT. Additionally, the 1979 models employed a coating on the inner roof, and inside the front fenders and firewall. This added some sound deadening and helped prevent rust, a serious issue at the time, as Chrysler was in the middle of its Aspen/Volare recall woes. Gas caps differed between years— the ’78s had a screw-in type, while the ’79s required only half a turn to lock. Both gas caps were chrome.

Most 1978 models had a 100-mph speedometer, marked only in miles per hour; late ’78 and all ’79 LRTs had 85-mph speedometers that were double-marked in kilometers—the English measure was white, while the metric measure was blue. Canadian-market trucks had a kilometer-only speedometer. An oil-pressure gauge was standard, in lieu of the red oil light. Other gauges, including a tachometer, electric clock, and volt/vacuum gauge, were optional. A monaural radio was unavailable on the LRT: The AM/FM/MPX stereo was standard, with further options of AM/ FM/CB, AM/FM/8-track, and AM/FM/ cassette (all stereo) available. The ’78 models could have had either loop or cut pile carpeting, but all ’79s had cut pile carpet. The brake pedal arm was body color on the ’78 LRTs, while it was black on the ’79s.

Wheels and Tires

Chromed five-slot Western mags were standard. The ’78 models wore staggered-width 15-inch wheels and tires: 7 inches front and 8 inches rear; ’79 models wore 15 x 8 front and rear. Seven-inch wheels were shod with GR60 white-outline-letter tires, while 8-inch wheels wore LR60 rubber. Only the ’79 model had provision for a spare tire.

There was nothing fancy offered for stopping power on the Li’l Red Truck: power discs in front with drums out back. All parts interchange with other 1972-’80 light-duty Dodge pickups.

Restoration and Performance

Chrysler’s 273-318-340-360 family is notorious for happily accepting any number of performance upgrades, both visible and invisible, which could make an LRT something of a sleeper—if it’s possible for anything bright red with twin chrome exhaust stacks behind the cab to be considered a sleeper. Particularly in the 1978 versions, where the exhaust is uncatalyzed, a buyer is freer to bump up performance until his or her bank breaks.

As far as restoration parts, LRT-specific pieces turn up here and there, and of course 1972-’80 Dodge pickup driveline pieces are available, but it really pays to buy the best vehicle you can up front, rather than take on a restoration project.

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