The A 100 Van/Pickup truck was born of the VW type 2 van. Introduced in the 50’s to the United States, the vans were an instant hit. Chevrolet, Ford, and then finally Dodge all copied the forward control design (This means you sit on top of the front wheels). The vehicles had extremely short turning radius, were inexpensive to manufacture, and offered a low cost, throw away type of pick up truck or van for large corporations or maintenance companies. In Colorado, the A 100 Van was used by the pre-break up mountain bell – which was the phone company. Plumbers, gardeners, and tradesmen used the A 100 for many years. The down side of the manufacturing process of all these vehicles was that they weren’t really built to last. Rust was incredibly common, and most A 100’s are complete rust buckets.
This truck has an unusual host of features like most of the NGD cars. First, it has a 318, 3 on the Tree V8 Transmission, heavy duty transmission and drive line (this was an option) deluxe factory interior, 5 windows, dome light, cigarette lighter, in fact the only thing missing on this vehicle from the factory option list was a radio and an automatic transmission. I chose this truck specifically because of it’s low level of rust and the nostalgic three speed transmission. It came to us in it’s same original white you see here, low level of rust means that all I had to replace was the right side floor of the cab. This was done from used parts and not just a piece of metal hammered into the hole and undercoated. The underneath of this vehicle on the sides, and the front rear valances show absolutely no corrosion. After body work, it was painted complete inside and outside and in the bed. The engine was sealed and completely detailed as well as the transmission and the rear end was rebuilt.
New clutch, brake linings, and lots of bushings were installed to make this vehicle not only beautiful not very, very drivable.
The theme for the finished truck is 1968 “Just back from Vietnam” period correct modifications. The original bumpers were pulled off, re-chromed, and put into storage. In their place, we custom fabricated NERF bars, (front and rear) for towing dragsters. (Back then dragsters did not have starters and you either had to bump them or pull them). The back of the cab and the headliner were treated to period correct tuck and roll, and loop pile carpet (period correct) was applied to the interior. In the bed, aluminum panels were fashioned to turn this single wall bed into a more protective of the body work double wall and tuck and roll was applied to them. In the bed we also applied a rubber mat and an adjustable rail system for tying down cargo in two different places (this was my junk yard truck).
Exterior period correct style but not size 17” chrome crager SS’s with large fatties in the back and short skinnies in the front give it the proper nose down attitude. Also, side dump exhaust, a large bore, allows all of the massive 150 horse power to bellow. Exterior badging was all NOS – also many NOS pieces were located like even the hand grenade pins that hold the quick remove seats in, door check straps, etc. Some of the glass was replaced and the truck appears as new. On top of that, a large 10” power sub woofer with enclosed speakers and a hidden audio stereo was installed so this truck is the complete package of restoration, correct modification, and driveability of today.
What’s wrong with the vehicle: This truck was painted by my shop, they called me down out of the office one day and pointed at the two holes on the front of the nose and asked if they should fill them or not. I mistakenly said no assuming they were for a license plate. I wasn’t thinking that day. The license plate goes on the bumper – so when I reassembled the truck, and not wanting to spot or completely repaint the beautiful paint that is on the nose of the truck, I purchased those two silly chrome skulls and stuck them through the holes. The holes should not be there. The floor mats that you see were flamed cheapies I bought at the local auto parts store. It goes along with the 60’s attitude of the truck. I custom cut them, and they can be pulled out and thrown away if you don’t like the flames. The suspension has been extensively gone through with kingpins and as many other parts as I could find. However the steering link that runs from the steering box to the left knuckle is about 50% worn, it’s not dangerous. It just likes to wander a bit under braking. Under the rubber mat, the bed has dents in it but it is not bad at all. We just didn’t repair the bed because we knew we were going to use the truck as a truck. The steering wheel is cracked and needs repaired.
Closing: Surprisingly, this truck has almost no pits on the nose of it and I have driven it a lot. In the pictures, you will see a slightly yellow cast to some portions of the white paint. This is where we covered the beautifully redone paint with a clear bra (it’s everywhere) so that when the day came to bolt the bumpers back on and show the truck, it would be ready for the show circuit. Unique as this truck is from it’s incredible condition from most A 100’s, the most remarkable thing is the fact that the tailgate was and is absolutely pristine. Driving this truck day to day or to a car show, the comment I have heard over and over again is, “I never knew Dodge made one of these”.
The mopar shipping crate that’s in the trunk contains a flux capacitor that enables time travel when we get to 88 miles an hour. (Just kidding!)
Simply, it’s just a really cool looking truck. We nicknamed it "Pugsley".
Who am I? My name is Dave. I have been restoring cars for 35 years. My first collector car was when I was 15 years old. I've had three major collections and now it's time to sell my last one. My personal taste run to the eclectic.
I have picked out or restored these vehicles to be some of the finest in the world of these types.
I was a Dodge dealer for 27 years, selling 1600 to 2000 cars a year - that was my business.
These cars are my passion.
THESE CARS ARE LOCATED IN DENVER, COLORADO, 20 MINUTES FROM DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
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