Everyday Iron--Dodge Power Wagon
Forget wimpy truck-ettes like the Ford F-150 or Dodge Ram. You want a truck? This thing is a truck.
I spotted this display of rugged machismo at the parking garage near my wife's workplace after I had occasion to park there last week. I was utterly entranced. The all-caps POWER WAGON badging announces the truck's awesomely descriptive name and its dominance over the soft, bloated automotive world. From the flat, unwalled bed, to the huge winch, to the tow chains, to the huge lugged tires, to the fluid accumulation under the truck, this thing is all about exerting unstoppable force to immovable objects with the least amount of pretense possible. It's the anti-crossover and basically the last vehicle I'd expect to see in a university faculty/staff parking lot in Seattle.
And, of course, the whole vehicle gives off that distinctive sweet smell of motor oil, sticky lube, dirt, and slowly decomposing interior upholstery that makes older cars so special.
When pressed for details, my wife said this Power Wagon basically spends all of its time in the parking garage accumulating parking tickets, which I find a bit sad. This Power Wagon should be doing something ridiculously compelling, like pulling whole trees out the ground, towing a biplane to a barnstorming event, or being commandeered by Indiana Jones.
--Chris H.
David Colborne on July 13, 2009 at 10:19 AM
I must admit, the cognitive dissonance in seeing what looks like a military-grade Power Wagon hiding in a corporate office park is rather jarring. Heck, I expect it to start pulling pillars down, bringing the whole structure down around it, then emerging from the rubble triumphantly.
David Drucker on July 13, 2009 at 11:26 AM
If I squint just a little, I can see that mighty Power Wagon climbing and crushing a whole line of Priuses (Prii?).
Affenschmidt on July 13, 2009 at 11:43 AM
An acquaintance of my father's wanted a Power Wagon--until Pop got a UNIMOG with a centrally mounted winch and front and rear PTOs, and said acquaintance started lusting after that instead. Both have that go-anywhere, pull-anything-off-its-moorings appeal. Now, if only someone I knew were in a position to rescue this Power Wagon...
Mochi Mochi on July 13, 2009 at 12:32 PM
The Power Wagon is an awesome piece of machinery. I've been around a few of them and they are mighty and beautiful. I remember pulling up next to a completely and freshly restored PowerWagon back in Boston. It was tan and black and reminded me of being close to a clipper ship. They are a classic embodiment of "Truck". Simple. Rugged. Spare. They dominate the automotive vista without the cartoonish super-hero brutality of something like a Kamaz or the Unimog. Don't get me wrong, I think very highly of the Kamaz and the Unimog, but for very different reasons. The PowerWagon stands apart from the rest with it's clean and classic american lines. It makes me think of old steam locomotives and a blacksmith's worn leather apron.
John B on July 13, 2009 at 04:07 PM
If they're good enough for Gen. Patton, they're good enough for me!
Ever since I saw the film I wanted a command car like his...pretty pricey though. Still, it would be fun.
That Car Guy on July 13, 2009 at 05:44 PM
Can I order one of these in 'Camry Beige'?
Tommy's Dad on July 13, 2009 at 06:50 PM
No, but there was an accessory option for a Stencil Kit so you could paint Camry-shaped kill markers on the side. There's also aftermarket "prius-kill" and "hummer-kill" stencils too!
(I now have awesome mental image of this Power Wagon using those chains to pull in reverse and tear an H3's front off. ooh ahhh!)
CJinSD on July 14, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Can we keep the paedophile spam out of here?
These trucks are fantastic. I might investigate engine swaps though. Maybe an Australian Hemi-6 would make a difference over the stock flat-head. A Cummins diesel would be neat too, provided the marginal brakes could be adressed. There is also the issue of diesel engine weight to worry about though.
JJD241 on July 14, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Greetings Lusters...I found you guys by accident doing a non car related search a few months ago. It was February and I wanted to find a picture of Abe Lincoln in a birthday hat! One of your entries for Lincolns showed up and I have been coming back ever since. I even went back and read all of the back entries. I thought I was the only one who could lust after both a Hero car and a Pacer! I was finnaly convinced of our same mindedness when you added Star Trek to the mix. I have always loved the POWER WAGON since I saw one with chains on all fours blasting through the snow in Port Angeles Wa. I found this link of a parade of wagons...enjoy!
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/dodge-power-wagons-in-06-fort-days-parade/2107535689
JJD241 on July 14, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Here is another link to a rally full of PW's from old to new...from resotred to still covered in WWII mud!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1666581839094999411&ei=L89cSoWmI5qOrAOf-fXoDg&hl=en
David Colborne on July 14, 2009 at 09:33 PM
JJD241 - Nice videos! Heck, if this keeps up, we might have to follow this up with some International K-series love. Clearly, these were trucks built during a time when trucks were trucks, cars were scarce, and bikers were timid!
Anthony Cagle on July 16, 2009 at 08:30 AM
Some guy a few blocks from me has some kind of monster Jeep like that one. It's probably not quite as large and it has an enclosed bed, but it's still got the whole Army truck thing going.
wayne skeens on July 21, 2009 at 03:56 AM
I almost bought a POWERWAGON once. He sold it before I got back with some cash. A year later I ran across a Studebaker built M35 deuce. It is truly a unstoppable force, somebody had the idea to put a winch from a barge behind the cab. Its hard to find something that will put up a fight with a 60,000 lb winch.
As far as a Cummins transplant, I ran across these pics of a guy in Wisconsin. He put the POWERWAGON body on a 93 Dodge Cummins frame.
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn216/jff24gordn/powerwagon1.jpg
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn216/jff24gordn/powerwagon2.jpg
http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn216/jff24gordn/powerwagon3.jpg