1978 Dodge diesel pickups. Lets see them, discuss them

Over the years I have only encountered a few of these. Who has one? I have few Off Road and Four Wheeler magazines that tested them when new.
I'd be curious to see production figures.
I imagine a 2wd short box would be pretty efficient for the time.
Does anyone know if the Macho Power Wagon could be had with the diesel?

nice thread topic .... you have piqued my interest

Apparently a gutless turd, but I imagine good on fuel. I read an article somewhere that an add on turbo package could be installed but it could only do so much due to some short comings of the injection pump.

I asked my dad about them because he worked at a small dealership at the time. He just laughed and said they were both swapped out for big blocks at the dealership, they had only sold 2.

That's too bad. Even if it was a gutless turd I'd love to have one now...

My 79 B-van service manual covers it. The engine itself is a Mitsubishi application from a forklift so I'd imagine parts are not totally impossible to come by.

http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/dodge/78truck/bilder/8.jpg

A friend had one on their family farm as a beater.....he said it was a good truck, as long as you weren't in a hurry.

Ed

Does anyone know if the fender decals are reproduced? I'd like some for my Cummins swap.

Not available in Macho's or Warlocks. Haven't seen a True Spirit either.
I bet you might find one in a regional package somewhere.

The engine was a Mitsubishi 243 cid. I recall it was rated at 107 hp. I owned two, one was a 2wd 4spd that would get 21-22 mpg on a trip. The other was a 4wd auto, usually about 15 mpg. Both were loud as heck and didn't have much power. The engines were quite durable however.

I recall those magazine articles. I also recall something like a 26 second 1/4 mile time with a trap speed around 68 mph. The slant six was probably faster.
For the sake of rarity or nostalgia, I can see their value. For use on todays streets, I'd rather have a 440.

I think top speed was 68 MPH. They did better in a 200 series with a 4.10 gear I rode in a 100 series that had one, the Slant is a much better engine than that forklift engine

There are turbo retro fit kits for them, one of my co-workers has one and several spare engines. They don't hold up well turbo'd

Not for a market that small! But there are many places that can make them for you if you have a good photo. Look on eBay under decals, boat names and find a digital house that'll custom make you darn near anything. I had custom made names done for my boat (two of them, multicolor) and it was like $15.00 delivered! That was a place out of California.

Post a nice pick with some dimensions and I'll as my neighbor to print/maybe cut a few out.

Red

There was a diesel 1978 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 for sale near me around 12-15 years ago. My Dad and I looked at it, it was clean and straight, thought it would be a neat addition to our '70s Dodge truck collection on the farm, and he liked diesel engines, but ultimately we didn't need it and it was pretty weird...:)

JS