1957 Dodge W100 Power Wagon Power Giant Excellent Frame Off Restored on 2040-cars

WHAT IT IS:

This is a great looking, super running rare 1957 Dodge W100 Power Wagon. As clean underneath as it is up top. These trucks were referred to as Power Giants. The first year that Dodge made the Power Giant was in 1957 and the last year was 1960. This was the first W100 Civilian Power Wagon that Dodge made and the body style (and many parts) changed in 1958. This is a 1 year only “Forward Look” truck. There were only 427 Power Giants built with the 315 V8 and 116 inch wheel base. This truck is #207 of the 427 built that year and the VIN can be decoded. VIN is 82901207. It’s a Colorado Dry Climate Truck. In addition to it’s rarity, it has a few options that not many of these trucks had in 1957. It has heat which was not standard on every truck. The original heater box and core have been restored and everything is working nicely. It has the rare front bumper tow hooks. These are the original tow hooks from 1957 which are very hard to find. It has the hydraulic jack that would have been an optional order with the truck. It has the original rear hitch from the factory. This is very rare. I don’t know of another one with the factory hitch. It has a manual throttle cable in the cab which can be used for a winch, although no winch is currently on the truck. I have what appears to be original (dealership or factory Installed) fitted and shaped thick rubber mud flaps. They are not on the truck because I couldn’t confirm they are from the factory but they will go with the truck along with many other extra parts. I have the original Hydraulic Jack that goes in the cab. The truck has been treated to a frame off restoration and a lot of time and energy has gone into making it correct. Enthusiasts will see this in the pictures. It’s a true 57 Power Giant. I’m not claiming to be the expert because there are men who know far more than I do about these trucks. However, I have done a lot of research to get it right. The paint color combination is Dodge Truck Red and Sand Dune White.

THE HISTORY:

I purchased this truck off the son-in-law of the original owner. The original owner, who’s name was Victor sold (or willed) the truck to his daughter’s husband who’s name was also Victor who lived in Colorado Springs, CO. I have copies of the original paperwork to show this. I purchased the truck from him in Colorado Springs in August of 2011. He told me that his Father-In Law had used the truck mostly in Colorado, but also in Montana, and Arizona where he had different properties. Always in a dry climate. The truck had been sitting in his garage for many, many years when I purchased it. It was a great restoration truck because it had very little rust to repair and almost all of the pieces were there. This is NOT a bondo truck. The odometer showed just over 84,000 miles when I bought it. I don’t know if that is original or if it rolled over or what the actual mileage was before the restoration. It’s all redone now with less than 100 hundred miles since completed. The original owner tried to give this truck to his grand kids but they did not want it. Yes, that’s what he told me and I was surprised to hear it too.

WHAT’S BEEN DONE:

As I said earlier, this truck has been treated to a frame off restoration. Media blasted to bare metal. Below is a list of the things that have been done and I am sure I will forget some stuff, but I have receipts..

Engine rebuilt top to bottom: high compression pistons, rings, new water pump, lifters, cam, bearings, freeze plugs everything inside is new. Motor has been broken in correctly thus far. Multiple oil changes always using Zinc. Runs Fantastic, Excellent pressure and Oil pressure gauge works.

New Clutch

Transfer case gone through and sealed

Drive Train completely gone through including rebuilt splines, joints, shafts, replaced output bearing etc.

5 New 17.5 inch tires on original rims

New Wood Bed Kit from Mar-K Trucks professional installed by Ron Reichart (nicely done)

All new brakes, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, brake lines, machined drums, and shoes

Radiator and Heater Core Re-cored

New Distributor, wires, plugs, points, cap, rotor, coil etc

Rebuilt Carb

New exhaust to factory correct set-up with all new gaskets and hangers

All Body work and Paint done by Ron Reichart in IN

New Seals in doors, and front and rear glass etc

New cat wiskers and tracks for door glass

New Battery and Cables

Rear view mirror and sun visor restored ( I have the original passenger sunvisor also but it needs restored)

Repaint of original Oil Bath Air Cleaner

Factory Correct side view mirrors and original arms

New Interior done by Ron Reichart, door panels, headliners to factory correct look

Seat stuffed and reupholstered to match original vinyl (Like a saddle brown color)

New Fitted solid rubber floor mat

New NOS Ignition

New Sealed Headlights (plus an extra in the box)

New Glove Box (an great replica of the original and I have the original)

New NOS Shifter Boot

New Horn and electrical lead from the button to the horn

New transfer case boot from International

Original Steering wheel cleaned up nicely

All metal trim and badges restored to as new and re-chromed or polished depending on the metal.

All small pieces repainted

New Chrome Gas Cap but also have the original metal one.

New Tail Gate Hooks (I have the original old ones still in good condition)

Lots of small attention to detail like under hood moldings, Hinges painted to appear as bare metal, correct rubber door step moldings, correct metal rear tail lights restored (no plastic), correct original air cleaner, correct original distributor wire holders on valve covers, original 4WD locking hubs, new flasher, new brake light switch and so much more.

THE PAINT

After the truck was dismantled and brought down to bare metal and primered here in Colorado I sent the rolling chassis and body pieces to Indiana to have a Ron Reichart do all the body work and paint. The paint came out very nice. I was happy with the work but it should be noted that this is not a concours de elegance level paint job. Certainly go to a show and people will not go away disappointed but there are just a few small imperfections in places. No dents, No Dings. Paint is very nice. However, This is not a 100 point truck. There are 3 coats of clear on it so even though it does not need it now and everything looks great, down the road you could always do a wet sand with 1500 and a polish and it would be back to looking brand new. There are also three coats of clear on the wood strips in the bed so it can be polished and waxed. That’s not how things were originally done on the wood bed but for longevity and aesthetics I decided to do it.

SOME OF THE PARTICULARS:

All the gauges, heat, windshield wipers, interior dome light and dash lights and exterior lights all work. Both the door locks do work and the driver side has the roll over flap still in tact. There is a set of keys (2) for the ignition and a separate single key (1) that operates both the door locks. The front and rear glass are great and the small smoking windows function and lock as they should. The small window glass and roll up windows have some small bubbling inside the glass along the edge by the seam divider. I will take pictures for you to see but they are the original windows and are overall in good shape. The driver door requires a strong push to close it due to the new rubber door seals. The driver door closes well but it protrudes out just a bit because of the thick rubber door seal. The passenger side door closes nicely but the gap between the front of the door and the rear of the front fender is not perfectly spaced. The gap is a little tighter than the driver door. The hood closes and lines up nicely but the rear of the hood is not flush with the cowl. Maybe the hinges could be adjusted down just slightly. I am not a body guy and didn't want to try to adjust it. None of these items take away from the look of the truck. I’m just trying to point out every little thing for a prospective buyer. The factory didn’t put them out perfect to begin with but the pictures will show you what I am talking about. The original gauges look good and are in nice shape.  It does not have seat belts and it never came with a radio. 

WHAT IT NEEDS:

The truck needs an alignment. I never got around to taking it into a shop to have the alignment done. I am particular when getting new tires and I have probably less than 100 miles on the truck since they were put on, so it would advantageous to get that done. Manual choke needs to be set-up as well as manual pull throttle knob in cab. Everything is there or in parts box. A new horn will be installed and a new Signal Stat 900 turn signal switch will replace the factory switch before the end of the auction. The original switch is complete with clamp and could possibly be cleaned and reused. I just haven't gotten around to looking at it. That’s about it.

SUMMARY:

You will be hard pressed to find a 1957 W100 Dodge Power Wagon for sale somewhere in any kind of decent shape. You will have an extremely difficult time finding one with these options, and all of the original pieces that make the truck incredibly complete. I personally think that this truck is a steal at the Reserve Price.

There is no warranty implied, but with that being said I think I’ve touched or had somebody touch everything on it. At the end of the day it is just a nice original example that can be driven around as well as taken to shows. People will stop and stare and want to talk to you. I’ve had lots of old cars and motorcycles and this one draws attention like no other vehicle I’ve had. 

I can assure you that you won’t be able to find one and have it restored to this level for the same money.

Truck will come with boxes of extra parts, including gaskets, generator, original rare rear license plate holder, extra Stromberg carb, starter, distributor, Large complete Service Manual, extra original mirror heads, passenger sun visor arm, original gas cap, original tail gate chains, original jack and much more. I will look at all offers. It is for sale locally so I reserve the right to end the auction early if I need to.

QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS, MORE SPECIFIC PICTURES:

Please feel free to send me an e-mail or call my cell phone. I have additional pictures that I would be more than happy to send over. My name is Justin and I can be reached at 303-246-0003