A Macho Power Wagon with ‘True Spirit’
A 1978 Power Wagon W-150 with both the Macho and True Spirit packages checks off all the boxes.
Back when I was a radio disc jockey on a progressive rock format station, I was required to play everything from folk to fusion jazz and everything between, including heavy metal, glitter and electronic music. Perhaps as a carryover from my DJ days, I try to write about all variations of light-duty trucks, from primitives to work horses to muscle pickups.
While I have featured in this column the 1940s Dodge Power Wagon that was discontinued in 1968, I was asleep at the wheel regarding the Dodge W150 Power Wagon that brought back the hallowed “Power Wagon” name. Fortunately for readers, I woke up and found a rare example of the latter owned by Power Wagon lover Alex Fanelli, who located and landed a 1978 version near her home.
Alex and her husband, Frank, regularly scan KSL.com, a Utah website similar to CraigsList.com, so they don’t miss out on a worthy project vehicle. It was on this website that Alex found this rare 1978 Power Wagon W-150 with both the Macho and True Spirit packages.
Frank, who’s known for his work at Kindig-it Design and as a TV personality on “Bitchin’ Rides,” mentioned that Alex loves Power Wagons, and is particularly obsessed with shortbed versions of Dodge’s rugged four-wheel-drive truck.
“Alex knew it was a rare truck just by the appearance and package,” Frank said. “The photos also proved it was really clean and rust free. She spoke to the seller and found out it was a big-block four-wheel drive and told me about it. We went to look at it and fell in love with it.”
Dodge’s bold and beautiful trucks
For 1972, Dodge’s pickup received a styling overhaul with an extensive appearance change. The new look was inspired by MoPar’s fuselage styling that came and went on all of the Chrysler Corp.’s brands — Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler and Imperial — starting as early as 1969 and ending as late as 1974, depending on the model. With the fuselage style, the vehicle’s body sides were curved, as on a plane. The side glass curved in at the top of the greenhouse, while the lower body sides bowed inward at the rocker panels. The fuselage car’s beltline was very high so that the side windows were diminutive. Fortunately, this gun-sight vision did not occur on the Dodge pickup. In fact, windshield and back window areas significantly increased with the 1972 redesign. Like the cars, the Dodge pickup had a starched, slab-sided look with the A and B pillars smoothly melded with the lower body. This envelope, rectangular style stayed around for 20 years until the “big rig”-designed Dodge Ram came along in 1994.
From 1977 to 1980, Dodge rewrote the truck rule book for the in-crowd by building far-out trucks with bright and bold graphic packages and mag wheels that were holdovers from its Super Bee- and Challenger R/T-building muscle car days. Dodge’s “adult toy” trucks of the late 1970s began with the Street Van that was often further tricked out by “van hippies;” the Warlock stepside pickup with wood bed trim and gold spike wheels and accent striping; and Macho versions of the Ramcharger sport-utility and Power Wagon. In 1978, the Dodge Li’l Red Express pickup with bed-side exhaust stacks, gold graphics and wood trim was introduced. By 1981, all were history.
A Macho with True Spirit
Alex and Frank’s Power Wagon comes from the peak of Dodge’s graphic-happy truck period. These colorful and striped trucks are getting hotter by the day, but the couple thinks their truck remained available upon their discovery because it needed work.
“The truck likely appeared to be a headache to other buyers, as the seller was halfway between finishing the axle swap he started, and the brake and fuel system were not present,” Frank said. “We saw a diamond in the rough. Alex and I restore classic muscle cars and trucks at Fanelli Restorations in Murray, Utah, so we were ready for the challenge. I once worked on custom cars at Kindig-it Design and formerly did metal fabrication bodywork on the show ‘Bitchin’ Rides.’ I left both venues to go on an active Army tour. Alex has a background in upholstery and general mechanics.”
The Fanellis are saving this rare Power Wagon from going to the great interstate in the sky. So far, they have rebuilt the Dana 60 rear axle and are completing a rebuild of the front Dana 44 axle. The driveshaft has been refurbished and the chassis has been painted. When Alex and Frank purchased the pickup, it came with a burly 335-hp 383-cid V-8 engine transplanted from a 1970 Dodge Challenger. A MoPar A-727 automatic currently transfers those horses to the pavement. However, the seller gave Frank and Alex the truck’s original 440-cid V-8 engine block as well as a four-speed transmission.
After buying the pickup, Alex and Frank fitted it with new wheels and meaty tires. When we last checked in with them, they were preparing to plumb the fuel system and rebuild the brake system.
“The exterior is the original Sunburst Orange paint while the interior is black and tan,” Frank said. The instrument cluster and steering wheel are black, while the door panels are tan. At some point, the original bench seat was replaced with a seat from an ’80s Dodge truck. Alex installed an orange, black and white cover over it."
“We refreshed the interior, gathered parts to complete the dash and gauges to proper factory appearance,” Alex said. The interior typifies the simplicity of an earlier time; this is typified by the painted metal panel on the inside of the cab roof. As a plus, there’s no fabric headliner that might sag."
“The truck presents a bit of a conundrum, as it has a white stripe kit on the sides of the exterior similar to the California dealer-only True Spirit package, yet bears front bumper bars, side steps and stainless rollbar in the bed like a Macho Power Wagon, another rare dealer option of the era,” Frank said. “This truck came from Arizona, and we believe the dealer or original owner chose to dress it up as so. It’s a hybrid of the True Spirit and Macho packages, so I have joked it is the ‘True Macho’ Power Wagon."
“The truck has an interesting history,” Frank added. “It came from Burge Motor Company in Kingman, Arizona. The original dealer sticker is still on the driver side of the tailgate showing this. It was owned by a woman who got into trouble with her life choices and had to relinquish the truck as collateral for the debts to her drug dealer. Then the dealer sold the truck to the man we purchased the truck from. Amazingly, the truck only bears a dent along the driver’s rocker panel for being owned by such a tumultuous original owner.”
The Fanellis recently welcomed their first child, so the Power Wagon project has been slightly delayed. We’re sure they’ll have it back on the road soon enough to drive their child to preschool in true macho style.
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