Macho Power Wagon Question…

Does anybody here know much about Macho power wagons? Like production numbers, breakdowns of colors, breakdowns of engines, breakdowns of transmissions, or any other details like that? Also, is there a price guide with various conditions? Or opinions of values?
Thanks!

Chrysler production numbers and option break downs for 70s trucks were lost to history a couple decades ago. Warehouse fire maybe. As for fair market value, those numbers are all over the place for about the last decade or so. Tin grilles of any sort more so than Machos specifically. Unless it still has the equipment id label under the hood with the macho option code, I wouldn’t pay a premium for the roll bar, stripes, one piece of trim and a set of wagon wheels.

Not a very active place but maybe a better answer here: machopowerwagon.com

RWG would be the person I'd listen to on this

Yes, I did the "Google" and got some info already but wanted to ask here too! Reason for questions are I have found a very cool Macho and want to do some more research before I make an offer or buy. THANKS AGAIN!

Can't ball park any kind of number without some description of what you're looking at and where. It's a Dodge, so most of the value is about the rust. Front fender heels and bed wheel arches are common spots but pretty straight forward fixes. When the floors and the rockers go, they take the end of the cab mounts with them, some fab required. Rad supports are a common problem and if 79/80, real hard to find replacements. Frame rail next to the gas tank is another spot to check. Factory original roll bars are very few and far between. Most common engine in any tin grille was the 318, so I'd pay up for something bigger. 440 is obviously the holy grail. Wasted interior plastic isn't a show stopper but can be a bargaining chip.

For one that's in rough condition, I price it based on the value of everything that's worth keeping. If I was starting with an empty parking spot, what would I spend to get this far buying it by the part. For something in solid condition, I price it based on how much it's not gonna cost at the body shop. Doing a clone isn't gonna cost any more than fixing an original so again, I'd only pay up for the option code on the equipment label if still present. It's a 1/2 ton 4x4 with a graphics package that a couple places repop.

It is a 100% rust free all original truck with a lot of patina. It’s a 360, four-speed truck with low miles. Short box and all the macho stuff in place. I would not restore this truck, but I would make improvements.

No such thing as a rust free original outside of Cali or Az. It's got rust, bondo or swapped panels somewhere. Mileage on the clock means nothing without docs to back it up. Way too easy to swap / reset and replace the pedal pads. Assuming daily driver or better condition, $5k max. In general, short beds are going for more than long beds. A/C and the buddy seat buckets are about the only value adds.

This thing was kinda running when I bought it and almost worth the $400 I paid. 360/727/203/3.55s, mismatched everything, leaking every where, wiring harness held together with wire nuts and romex. Maybe $5k later its good to go, starts first time every time and hasn't met a snow drift it can't move. Real deal macho bar but I wasn't gonna waste decals on a rattle can paint job. Still needs the floors fixed right.

I know rust and what to look for... I've also got a '75 Power Wagon that is rust free, always was and no bondo or panels patched or replaced. The Macho truck I'm looking at was from a rust free climate. AND, it is rust free, all original panels, no bondo, no panels swapped, all original paint and decals, really well preserved... One owner and docs for mileage...

Cool truck RWG. Those floors look pretty good as done.

Where are the pics? You may have read that Chrysler had most if not all of the "adult toys" vehicles subbed out (the name escapes me and i can't find the article). They left the factory in the base color and any paint/decals/add ons where done the subbed company. This may not be the place for this but this is my Power Wagon. I have never seen one like it ever except a shot time after i bought it. I was driving and another one pulled up beside me! The owner waved me over and we talked. His was almost identical to mine except he had the bucket seats where mine had the bench. The vin #'s where close also. These where built by somebody because the design is paint not a sticker. I have searched all the factory brochure's/sales documentation Google/net search and never seen another one ever.

B.S. I've had several CO, UT and NM trucks that were just as clean as anything from AZ which I've also have owned. Out of the over 40 Western 72-80 trucks that I've owned none had any rust in the roofs. Totally an East side thing. Floors and above the rear wheel wells and lower corners of the doors are the rust issues out here.
This 77 Macho came out of NM about 6 years ago. Paid 2500 for it. 360/727. It did need two quarter size rust spots in the door corners and a couple in the roll bar fixed That was it. Put a bunch of money and hours into it and then it eventually sold for 28,000 which is probably the top of the spectrum.

if you're such a freaking expert, price it yer self.

Tough crowd and truth be told, spotless trucks pop up from time to time but pretty few and far between. I bought my 79 RC from the original owner in 2006 and rust wise it was as clean as it comes. Also had a bent frame and hack job rad support from the accident that caused the old dude to give up his license. Didn't take much winter driving for the floors to go. 318, 3 on the tree, like 70,000 documented miles, $1300.

$28k is off the deep end nuts. Like G3 swapped and kindigit leather interior nuts.

I am an expert on paint, body and condition and I don't need to be told I don't know what I'm looking at by someone that bought a $400 rusted out mismatched pile. I know exactly what I'm looking at and the question that I originally asked was if anyone knew production numbers and values.

That's a nice Macho moparmarks! How long ago did you sell that?

Tough crowd here today, tough crowd.

What's wrong with a rusted out, barely running, no brakes, $400 pile?? I bought it to plow my driveway and knew exactly what it was when I bought it. Hell, the seats alone are worth $400. Fixing the defroster and wipers kinda got away from me but no complaints. Truth be told, I almost like it better than my LRE which still has the original floor, rockers and cab corners.

Absolutely nothing wrong with a truck like that. But when you come on here and tell me I don’t know what I’m looking at and there’s no such thing as a rust free truck and you use that as an example, might be a little irritating. I’ve owned my share of trucks like that and have seen it all. But again, my interest is in production numbers and value but apparently those things are hard to gauge right now.

Probably didn’t help that I then posted a couple examples of rust free trucks I’ve bought. Like I said, they’re few and far between. Kinda like rust free Aspens. I generally find it better to assume somebody doesn’t know what they’re talking about vs assuming the opposite.

Part of the problem with pricing it’s that extremely regional. Last week I saw a 77 RC pop up on craigs in Cali for $1k. On this coast it would be $4 or 5k truck. The bigger problem is that the Barrett Jackson crowd and maggot flippers are starting to catch on to these things and everybody on Facebook suddenly thinks their truck is worth 3x reality. A maggot flipper near me has a truck that was maybe a solid $5k 10 years for an ask of $15-20k. Haven’t looked lately but there used to be a regular flow of downright scary lipstick jobs coming out on NV for insane money on eBay. Some idiot has a 10k RC on FB for $25k right now.

A real deal, no BS, survivor LRE maxes out about $25k. Complete basket cases routinely pull $4k. Anything big block 4wd short bed is gonna a quick sale. Club cab duallys can be found for cheap. I don’t put Warlocks in the same category as a Macho because ya really can’t clone one without having one as a donor. If you’re looking at a tin grille anything in $10k plus range, it needs to be mint, built or too cool.

Post up a couple pics of what yer looking at.

I will post picts if I buy it... Right now I have a pretty mint "always rust free" SWB 1975 Power Wagon, 360, auto, A/C, Adventurer, Yellow and White and a 1976 Power Wagon Warlock 440, auto, A/C, Black and a few Jeep CJ's... I really would like to add this Macho to the fleet!

Power wagon's are cool, macho truck's are cooler ! big block 4 speed factory orange, Arizona truck with 0000 # rust no floor replacement on this truck .

I'm afraid to comment

Still see near rust free 72-80 Dodges around here in the Pacific Northwest. Almost makes me wanna cry when I go to Pull and Save in Spokane Washington and see these trucks being scrapped with no rust issues. But I sure have bought a lot of nice body parts from there. Montana is also a great place to find unrusted 72-80 Dodges. Judging by all the cool old Dodge trucks I find, this corner of the US must have had some high volume Dodge Truck dealers in the 60's and 70's. Last summer I bought a 77 Macho Power Wagon in northern Alberta Canada. 400 automatic, sport mirrors, vacuum guage, cargo lamp etc. Its a beat up original paint farm truck, but other than the drivers floor, its virtually rust free. Unfortunately, it was so pounded on the farm, that it needs most panels replaced.
My 75 Power Wagon 440 shortbed is also a beat up original paint truck, with minimal rust

About 5 years ago

Drill the spot welds out and take the rear quarters off the box sides and you'll find the rust on any of these trucks. They had no internal galvanizing or paint on the hidden substructures, so even when you find a good looking truck that seems to have no rust and no holes, it's there and it's started .I put a mirror up inside my 85 w-150 and its the same. A friend of mine has a never winter driven 92 cummins holiday truck,the rockers and cab corners are out of it.
My ramcharger was a pretty clean pacific northwest truck with a few rust blems. When the bodyshop went digging they found the internal metal uncoated the surfaces covered in rust and some of the structural eaten away. The tub was disassembled, blasted, welded back together and epoxy coated.

That's interesting... I would agree that $28K would be at the top of the market 5 years ago but I would venture to guess that nationally it is much higher than that today. Again, I am no expert on truck values but from what I have seen, the popularity and values of all trucks has exploded over the last few years. I bought this truck 4 years ago, making a few small improvements over the years and would say it has at least doubled in value since then!

You really can't make such a sweeping generalization of all trucks just because of your experience with a few trucks. There are rust free vehicles out there all over the place! It all depends on the climate and storage conditions the vehicle has been in during it's life.

There's no coating under the skins, doesnt matter if its from the 70's' 80's or 90's.
These things were built to last maybe 7 years and it shows.

Yes, most of the time but not in all cases. There are exceptions, many exceptions.

No you're kidding yourself here, chrysler workmanship was never going to go the extra mile, the body shop even said from the start,the inner rust is what gets these trucks and makes bringing them back from the dead so expensive.
My RC was a solid truck, looked like minor rust repair, you can't leave raw metal anywhere and think it wont develop rust and won't spread.
The least a person could do on these trucks without total disassembly, is to maybe find a way to por 15 the inner structures through the bottom drain plugs and through the tail light openings. They weren't even sealing the seams all the way through or the entire length of the seams.
It doesn't matter if it spent it's life in the sahara desert, one car wash and the rust is started.

Absolutely agree

I see that you are in Canada. Yes, trucks will have a hard time surviving in your climate.

My RC is an American truck, friends cummins never saw winter.

So you just haven’t experienced a rust free classic truck yet, that’s OK!

If all 70's truck started rusting almost immediately there wouldn't be any around now without some intervention within a few years of new. They'd have completely rusted away by now. But there are some that are original body and even paint that have not withered away with rust such as my '79 from California. Yes cars and trucks from that era and of most makes were prone to rust but luckily many are "survivors".

An autobody friend of mine said that "Once bare metal is exposed to air, it'll start rusting in 20 seconds. You probably can't see it, and might be very insignificant, but it's there." Not sure if that's true or not, but I could imagine any moisture in the air will end up on it. If inner panels aren't protected, It could have started rusting before it leaves the sales lot when it's brand new! Probably insignificant at first, but as years go by, and depending on the atmosphere the vehicle is exposed to, will dictate the rate that rust accelerates.

If out of the weather bare metal does not rust very much in 5-10% humidity which is what we have here.

Yes it will start rusting with any moisture. We can see that on our disc brakes. But I'm not understanding what the point is here. If you have a nice solid outwardly appearing rust free truck that is kept dry 99% of the time as my '79 is, what should I do? It has survived for over 40 years without this supposed hidden rust extending to the outer panels but is the implication here that I need to start drilling out rivets and removing skins to treat the inner panels?

Mine was considered a " survivor" . There just isn't much point into pumping 15-20k into the outside resto when you know rust is lurking within. This truck could have been prettied up and been nice 9/10 for another 5-8 years before the rust made itself known in the structure again. I'm in for another 8k over the origianl resto guestimate, but I will not only have a truly rust free truck but also a rust resistant truck. It's treated, sealed and rhino lined inside and out, as I intend to use it year round. It will now outlast me.

Sorry to inform you but if you intend to use your truck year round it will not last in your climate. Tiny rock chips and metal welds stressing will invite rust in no time and you will quickly be back in the same position before you started. That is just the unfortunate reality using a steel vehicle year round in a harsh climate...

Same out here. The humidity is higher than that here but we don't get the rust you'd see where it rains or snows more.

Have you ever seen rhino liner?

Yes, of course. I’ve been in the Autobody industry for over 35 years. Rhino liner has its place but it will chip, and it will scratch, and it will crack I hope your RC does last forever but considering the use you suggested, I’m not so sure. Now back to my original question, production numbers of Machos and value. If anyone else has any relevant Macho input, thank you!!!

Glad to see a thread on the beloved Macho. So few around, especially here in the south. Bought mine about 15 years ago and would never sell it due to the fact that I couldn't replace it. Rust free 360 ci, auto, A/C purchased from the family that bought it new. Did a mechanical restoration on it but left the body as is, with the exception of a repaint on the roof and hood.

Holy smokes, nice truck!

If you havent already visited - machopowerwagon.com...I would highly recommend that web site. It moves a little slow but there is a classified section with a bunch of sold machos and people are posting what their final sold price was. As you are probably aware, machos are hard to price. Folks don't know what they are or they think they are ugly. People selling them dont konw how to advertise correctly. Heck, most people dont even know what a w150 versus a d150 or what the difference is. When you have time, can you post some pictures on here ? Maybe we can help you establish a price ??