The 1978 Dodge Li’l Red Express was a half-ton pickup with a police-car engine. Also, two chrome exhaust stacks rose behind the cab. Dodge built 2,188 of them that year. It looked like a show truck from a custom shop, yet it came straight from the factory.
What makes it more than a paint-and-stripes package is the engineering behind it. That’s because Chrysler’s own performance people built it around a loophole in the emissions rules. As a result, the 1978 truck could run without a catalytic converter.
That loophole narrowed for 1979. Here is how the Li’l Red Express came together, what it ran and why sellers single out the 1978 trucks.
Who built the Li’l Red Express
The truck started as a factory-customized Dodge D150 Adventurer with a step-side bed. According to Old Cars Weekly, Chrysler’s in-house “hot rod shop” did the work. Tom Hoover led the effort with Dick Maxwell and Dave Koffel. Notably, the magazine calls Hoover the father of the 426 Hemi.
Their key move was legal, not mechanical. At the time, light-duty trucks above 6,000 pounds GVWR did not need a catalytic converter, Old Cars Weekly explains. Also, an engine already certified could be modified without repeating the 50,000-mile recertification.
In fact, the numbers lined up neatly. Sports Car Market says the 1978 D150 short-bed stepside carried a 6,050-pound rating, just over the line. That is why the 1978 truck could skip the cat entirely.
The 360 V8 and the chrome stacks
Under the hood sat a 360-cubic-inch V8 using the E58 “police code” block, Old Cars Weekly reports. Hoover’s team added a 1968 340 camshaft, a Carter four-barrel and a cold-air intake at the radiator yoke. The magazine puts output at 225 net horsepower, and Sports Car Market gives the same 225 net figure.
Power then went through a modified A-727 automatic with a 2,500-rpm stall converter. Then came a 3.55 Sure Grip rear axle, plus a rear stabilizer bar as standard equipment.
The exhaust gave the truck its look. It used Hemi-style mufflers and a crossover pipe. Then it ended in twin chrome stacks with perforated heat shields behind the cab. The OldRide.com reference page describes the same setup as dual exhaust with chrome-plated vertical tailpipes.
How the 1978 Li’l Red Express looked and sold
OldRide.com lists the 1978 trucks in Bright Canyon Red on a 115-inch wheelbase with the Utiline body. Gold “Li’l RED EXPRESS TRUCK” decals ran on the doors. A gold “Li’l RED TRUCK” decal sat on the tailgate. Oak trim panels for the bed sides and tailgate were also on the options list.
The wheels were chrome five-slot steel discs, with GR60x15 tires up front and LR60x15s at the rear. However, the truck did not come cheap. Old Cars Weekly gives a $7,400 base price. By comparison, the 1978 D100 Utiline stepside it grew from cost $4,171.
Dodge also could not sell it everywhere. OldRide.com says it was off the menu in California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon and Washington. Old Cars Weekly says the truck exceeded some local noise limits, so it missed some towns and states.
What Car and Driver found
The truck’s best-known claim comes from a magazine test. Car and Driver tested it for its November 1977 issue. It was the quickest to 100 mph of eight vehicles, Old Cars Weekly reports.
There is a catch worth knowing, though. Sports Car Market says the truck that Hot Rod and Car and Driver tested was a pre-production example. It ran the quarter-mile in 14.7 seconds at 93 mph. In contrast, SCM says production trucks ran 15.7 seconds at 88 mph.
Sellers still lean on the test today. For example, one Barrett-Jackson sale of a 1978 truck included a copy of that November 1977 issue. The Barrett-Jackson listing also repeats the 360 V8 rating of 225 horsepower.
What one has brought at auction
Prices have moved over the years, so dates matter here. Sports Car Market profiled a 1979 truck that sold for $11,000, including buyer’s premium, at Barrett-Jackson’s Orange County auction in June 2012. Besides that, the truck showed 78,950 original miles and had three owners.
At the time, SCM valued the trucks at $15,000 to $23,000. It also said the best examples brought about $18,000 on a good day. Those were 2012 figures, though, and the magazine was writing about a 1979 truck with the catalytic converter.
Why the 1978 trucks stand apart
For 1979, the rules caught up. Trucks rated below 8,000 pounds now needed a catalytic converter and unleaded fuel. As a result, power dropped somewhat, Old Cars Weekly says. Sports Car Market adds that the 1979 trucks got the cats because the loophole narrowed.
The look changed as well. Stacked dual square headlamps replaced the single round lamps, and the speedometer dropped from 100 mph to 85 mph. Meanwhile, Bright Canyon Red was a 1978-only color, according to Old Cars Weekly. The 1979 trucks wore Medium Canyon Red, and LR60x15 tires on 8-inch chrome wheels at all four corners.
Dodge also sold the truck next to the Warlock and the Macho Power Wagon as “Adult Toys,” Sports Car Market notes. Dodge launched it in March 1978 and built 2,188 that year, Old Cars Weekly records. Then it built 5,118 for 1979, and there was no 1980 model.
More from Fast Lane Only
- Unboxing the WWII Jeep in a Crate
- 15 rare Chevys collectors are quietly buying
- 10 underrated V8s still worth hunting down
- Police notice this before you even roll window down
This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.
