Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby 1of10K » Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:57 pm

Would like to build one of these. In what I think is the March 1980 Motor Trend, there is a very small article or "press release" showing a picture of an actual K car pickup truck, says that Chrysler built one as a styling exercise. Looks like an easy build, a wagon with the rear roof cut off, back doors filled, and what looks like the rear window and surrounding window sheetmetal from a sedan. For mine, I would use the wagon rear lift gate & glass for the bed bulkhead, along with the rearmost D pillars & metal from the wagon. Also would get an aftermarket replacement ribbed truck bed floor, & cut it to fit. Wheel well interior side bed metal from a compact pickup, measured twice and cut once(!). I have have wanted to build one for years, just haven't found the right K wagon yet. Almost did this with a Volvo 240 wagon, but the car was sold before i could get it.
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Re: Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby dodgeariesguy » Mon Dec 29, 2008 12:45 am

Yes I have heard about that very K-Truck and I heard that instead of the K-Platform they used the L-Body instead to save money and came out with the Dodge Rampage and the Plymouth Scamp it would make sense because the L-Body was cheaper to make and we all know the financial troubles Chrysler had in the late 70's early 80's so a cheap version of such a radical design was a good idea!
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Re: Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby capev86 » Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:42 pm

yeah.....the Rampage is sweet. there is a kid on cardomain that restored one, put the shelby charger nose and ground effects on it and powered it with a T2 powerplant and 5spd......really slick build. you can do many upgrades to the L bodies too thanks to aftermarket support that also caters to the k based turbo mopars. as with everything....research is the key!

personally, the idea of building a k pickup is awesome, but i would NEVER cut up a good k wagon. i'd be more inclined to use a sedan as they are more plentiful and not as valuable to us collectors. you could always find a k wagon that was wrecked beyond repair to salvage some sheetmetal for the build. if you did use a wagon, maybe you could make the aft section of the roof removable and it would act like a custom fit cap when you don't need extra height in the bed!

maybe you can find some old chrysler guru that had first hand expericence with the prototype and get some inside info!
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Re: Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby 1of10K » Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:57 pm

I drove a Plymouth Scamp when they came out, liked the truck, but at the time, actually wanted to be able to haul a little something, the bed part and rear suspension was not the best for that. The dealer was not so good either, many crooked ones here back then. I agree, it wouldn't be too good to cut up a good wagon now a days for this project, but if the K truck could be replicated well, it would probably be worth lots more than regular non woodie wagon. GM also tried this type car/truck on the Citation platform in 1980, their version actually had an odd looking seperate bed, using Citation quarter panels with the regular Citation front half. For 1980, they had a notchback Citation, the rear window and metal section from that was used on the cab. There were also original plans for an X body wagon, but it never reached production
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Re: Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby capev86 » Fri Jan 02, 2009 3:23 am

actually....my k wagon is a full loaded LE model and it says "woodgrain delete" on the options list/order form (i have a copy). i think the cars look cleaner without the woodgrain. all that trim is good for trapping dirt and the plastic stuff (although better looking than the cheap chrome stip) fades terribly. but to each his own....

as for the rear chassis on the L body....they replaced the charger/omni rear strut setup with leaf springs and a simple beam axle, so its probably almost as rugged as any small pickup. you could always beef up the spring packs. the idea was a cheap economical car that could compete with conventional rwd mini pickups!
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Re: Factory K Car Pickup Truck

Postby dodgeariesguy » Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:25 pm

Old topic I know but I think I found what your looking for LOL its a 1987 Dodge Aries LE Wagon converted to what you want again LOL:
n590165873_674974_4536.jpg
n590165873_674974_4536.jpg (66.14 KiB) Viewed 6645 times
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