Something different on a 1st gen Dodge..

Utiline beds

The beds were called "utiline " beds The flat top rail style started in 1954 . They came in 6'8" , 8' and 9' lengths .

There were 2 styles of fenders the "dog house" style as seen in the picture of the red truck and there were the "motorcycle" style as seen on my 1972 w300 below. The motorcycle fender as a left over from the early 50's. They were used later on the flat top rail beds sides with a 4" spacer for the 134" wheelbase cab/chassis Dual wheel 1ton's

from 1954 up till about 1968 on the 9' bed sides. These trucks were bought mostly by utility companies and government... The 9' bed lasted up till 74 for special order fleet contracts. The 8' bed lasted up till about 1981 and the 6'8" lasted up till 87 . . MY truck below originally had the doghouse fenders. I preferred the motorcycle fenders . I made the ones you see out of fiberglass some 20 years ago. I did not realize that they were going to be too narrow until they were finished. The reason was that we widened the frame 4. 63" in the 1972 model year. To make up for this I took some 2. 5" channel and arched it to use for spacer. It worked out for the best. It stiffened the side walls of the bed panels . The op rails used to crack from the bouncing of the motorcycle fenders. Since that time I have had tires blow and ruin my glass fenders. I was able to find some good used steel fenders since then and are still on the truck today. The Utiline beds were cool but all but the last few years had wood floors in them. They were a pain to keep up if you let it sit outside. In the later 80's they had a steel floor the same material as out trucks have today. As for the stack on the red express... They are a pain . They are always in the way and are great for burning your hands on while climbing around in the bed. They were really just a gimmick to sell a silly looking red truck with a bunch of bling all over it and no balls under the hood...

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74 was also the first year of the club cab and the ramcharger (with no door posts), and last year of the 205, 5 on 5. 5 trucks. I have a 74 clubbie. The 73's I had all had in cab tanks. One of my 77 machos (factory 440 truck) has both in cab and frame rail tank, another one of my machos had just the under tank.

 

That's one mean looking workhorse Dodge there mysteryman. I like that bed. I had a D100 stepside as my very first vehicle when I was 16. I tangled with a street sign and dented in the rear doghouse fender. They were pretty expensive at the time and I just drove around with a dented fender for a few years. Here she is... maybe that's why I still have a fondness toward the stepsides. She was all maroon. I painted the hood and around the windows a metallic silver. The photo doesn't really show the silver well. It's a scanned real picture. No digital cameras back then... circa 1990. I always considered it a "cool" vehicle for a high school kid... when everyone else was driving escorts and omni's.



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