This ’69 Dodge Sweptline saw its 15 minutes of fame last year and had everyone second guessing their negative outlooks on classic Dodge pickups. Standing far apart from the crowd, the outstretched, ground-hugging street truck caught a lot of eyes at shows – from both enthusiasts and judges.
Owned by father-son duo Larry and Tim Molzen and built by Roger Burman of Lakeside Rods and Rides in Iowa, the crew-cab ’69 spent its initial days in the armed services serving as a work truck at a U.S. Air Force base. As such, the D200 was in need of some serious work when the Molzens picked it up.
Over the period of a year and a half, Burman cleaned up and pieced together the low-slung machine. A Roadster Shop chassis serves as the skeleton, off which the ’69 six-seater cabin sits. The cabin is sandwiched between the ’62 front end and bed, and the whole package rides on independent front suspension and a four-link setup in the rear.Under the hood lies a hardy 360-inch Mopar mill with Edelbrock heads, cams and intake. A Gear Vendors-equipped 727 TorqueFlite does the shifting, and a Ford 9-inch rear end throws power out to the 20-inch custom wheels. We imagine that the whole thing is a recipe for a stellar ride.
It’s not often that you see late-50s to early-70s Dodge trucks serving as the recipient of some painstaking, show-level restoration – let alone a cool restomod build. The fact of the matter is that old Bowties and Blue Ovals get all the love; in our neck of the woods (that of street machines and the occasional pro-tourer), we’re inundated with trucks like C10s and F100s.
To see a run-down D200 get some love and be different in all the right ways definitely has our attention. The truck will be crossing the block at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction on May 17th through 21st, and we expect that it will bring a total in the upper range of its projected $150,000 – $200,000 auction price.
But what do you think? Would you join the bidding for this super-custom classic metal, or would you pass? Share your thoughts in the comments below.