Dodge A 100 thread

I love A-100s! I first got to drive one in 67 when I worked at the news agency in the town I grew up in. They had 4 of them, all different from each other. They led a hard life, constantly being heavily overloaded with newspapers. In 68 they traded all of them in for 4 new ones that were all the same, 108 w.b. window vans 6/auto with 3:91 gears. They were nice and tight when new and would even squeak the tires when shifting into 2nd.

In Sept. 68 I bought a used 66 base model 6/auto window van for $1200. A month later I stuffed it into a telephone pole head-on at about 35 mph. It was a good lesson on why you should wear seat belts, and since I was I was able to walk away from something that could have seriously injured or killed me.

Two weeks later I bought another used 66 window van, this one a deluxe version with a V-8/auto for $1500. In the spring of 69 I decided it needed more power, so an engine swap was called for. I picked up a Commando 273-4bbl engine from the junkyard out of a 65 Barracuda. Now before this the only wrenching I had ever done was on lawnmowers. I approached this job with the idea that all we're doing is unbolting and reassembling stuff, so how hard can that be? Famous last words. This simple one-day job stretched out several weeks because of all the bonehead rookie mistakes that were made.

I have seen the Green & Gold pickup in person. It was done by a father and son team from southern Ontario. It is truly show quality, however they do get it out on the road. It has a 392 for power.

Gary