Main Hobby Page | My Dodge 600 truck | Similar medium-duty Dodge trucks

 

1975 Dodge 600 Medium Duty Truck

 

Dodge trucks rated over one ton were generally considered a Medium Duty Truck. These work vehicles were available from D-400 to D-700 models. The base 600 models were called 2.5 ton vehicles. This cab design was used from 1972 to 1980. However, 1977 was the last year of these Medium Duty models that were built for the domestic USA market.

 

 

Cover of the 1975 full-line Dodge truck brochure. A "medium-duty" box van truck is shown in the lower right.

 

These van type work vehicles are not to be confused with Dodge's brochure describing '75 psychedelic "street vans"!

The D-600 in as purchased condition -- formerly a Virginia State Parks vehicle. GVW: 14,000. It came with a 18-foot stake bed.

Engine: 361 CID V-8. Transmission: 4-speed manual. Rear end: 2-speed. Bias-ply 9.00x20 tires mounted on split rims. Power steering and power hydraulic brakes with reserve air tank. The dash mounted throttle pull knob and spare tire carrier were probably options ordered by the Park Service as was the oil bath air filter. A build sheet was attached to the underside of the hood, but it was gone by the time I purchased the truck.

Everything on the truck was original, including the seat upholstery and its dark green finish. The 18-foot steel frame and wood floor bed was an after-market (non-Dodge) unit probably specified in the government agency's purchase contract. I removed it with the goal to make this an antique (read "old AMC") car hauler. It now serves as a tow vehicle for enclosed trailers. It has been to Pennsylvania (towed an AMC to the Hershey AACA national fall meet), as well as to North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, etc.

No "pretend" truck just to play with -- this a perfect "motor sports" work truck!

The paint was very thin and a new coat was needed. Below is a detail of frame after painting (was black from factory)

The truck's VIN decoded -- courtesy the information found at http://www.mytravco.com/

Alpha/Numeric

Model Code

Body Style

Gross Vehicle Weight

Engine Code

Model Year

Assembly Plant

Sequence Number

VIN #

D6

1

F

M

5

J

014XXX

Meaning:

D 600

Conventional Cab

19,001 lbs to 26,000 lbs

361-4

1975

Tecumseh Road

Sequential by plant

 

A note on the assembley plant's history:
Maxwell built a factory on Tecumseh Road East at McDougall in 1916 and manufactured Maxwells there until 1924 when it merged with Chalmers to become Maxwell-Chalmers and then almost immediately became Maxwell-Chrysler, the forerunner of the Chrysler Corp. of Canada. 

 

Maxwell's building then became Chrysler's Plant 1. It was used for Chrysler truck production (Graham, Fargo, Dodge) from 1931 to 1978 and as the Imperial Quality Assurance Centre from 1980 to 1983. Plant 1 (Tecumseh Road at McDougall) was used for truck production until 1978 and an engine plant, built in 1938, was operated until 1980.

The current condition of my truck is shown below.

Rebuilt components include the steering box and alternator. The following have been replaced with new: radial tires, 22.5 steel rims, drive shafts, radiator, rear axle motor, hoses, and belts. The truck has been painted. However, it was not done with the factory paint and color. Rust-Oleum's green in one gallon cans is a very close match!

As of now right now the vehicle does not have a bed, but this truck will tow! The massive suspension and dual tires are more than enough to do the job.

Thanks to Courtesy Jeep/Chrysler in Rockville, Maryland, for adding the "upscale" touch to my truck! They have been a great dealer to do busuness with since the time of Rambler and AMC.

This Dodge took the job of a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V-8 that was too good a road cruiser to be only occasionally used as a tow vehicle for an enclosed automobile trailer.

This D-600 is certainly not your wimpy ordinary pick-up. Even the 600 identification badge on truck's sides side are at almost eye level! This truck stares down at today's so-called "heavy duty" pick-up based models!

See this picture for an example of a "real" work truck -- not just some littl' pick e'm up -- it is a Dodge LNT1000 tractor:
http://www.sweptline.com/hist/1000babe.jpg

Dodge claimed that you can save as you go, with the efficient, economical power of their "job-rated" V-8 engines.
This truck's 361 cubic inch displacement engine was built not for horsepower, but for greater torque for added pulling power in tough hauling operations. "Plus" features include rugged gear-type camshaft drive, tri-metal main and connecting-rod bearings, sodium-filled exhaust valves, and quiet, hydraulic valve lifters. A high capacity micronic fuel filter and full-flow oil filter was standard.

Picture on the right shows paper-type air filter housing.


Large capacity oil filter and positive exhaust valve rotation are just a few of the features on this "work" engine.

The 1975 Dodge D-600 working as a hauler of a 1967 AMC Marlin. Click here to see more about this car.

Dodge trucks were split into three Service Rated Groups with the following models within these groups: 

Light-Duty or Light Tonnage (5100 to 9000 lbs GVW):
D100, D200, D300, W100, and W200

Medium-Duty or Medium Tonnage (15000 to 50000 lbs GVW):
D400, D500, D600, D700, C500, C600, and C700

Heavy-Duty or High Tonnage (27000 to 76800 lbs GVW):
C800, C900, C1000, CT700, CT800, CT900, KC800, KC900, NC900, NC1000, KCT800, KCT900, NCT800, NCT900, and NCT1000

Click here for more "medium-duty" Dodges

return to my main hobby page by chrisz at concord edu