Special Trucks
 

Dodge has been making some special and rare pick up trucks since the 70's. They had the Dude trucks from the very early 70's that I know little about. They also made the Lil Red Express Truck, the Warlock, the Power Wagon, the Lil Red Express Dakota, Shelby Dakota pickups, convertible Dakota pickups, the SST10 in the 90's. Ford had the Big Foot Cruiser Edition for both the F-series and the Ranger, the 79 Indy Pace Truck, the Lightning. The Dodges and the Fords were very flamboyant. I am aware of Chevy's SS454 and the SSR pickup and the Cameo from 1955 thru 1957. Did Chevy build any other limited production hot rod pick up trucks such as the Dodge examples I listed?

2006 Intimidator SS



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Those SS Silverados were a joke & this is what i want in silver to pull my GTO :D

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Hello Jerry; I know nothing about that truck. What makes it special besides the Intimidator badges which I'm sure was in tribute to Dale Sr.

All they were was a Silverado SS with Intimidator badges & spoiler & all a Silverado SS is a Vortec Max Silverado with a body kit, kind of an epic failure if u ask most ppl lol

The Dude dodge truck was made in 70 and 71. I really like that body style dodge trucks. I may be getting a 1/2 ton 69 Dodge D100 soon if everything works out

Good luck getting that early Dodge pick up. That generation Dodge truck was the first rescue Squad 51 from the tv show Emergency. They used it through about half of the first season. I did an Internet search on the Dude truck. It was equipped with a choice of 383 or 440 and had a graffic package on the truck. They are rare. I believe that Dodge also had an Adventurer pickup in the late fifties that was similar to the Chevy Cameo where it also had fiberglass bed sides and had those awesome fins from that era. If I'm not mistaken, up until that point there were no fleet side style pick up boxes. They were all step sides.

The Dodge pickup wasn't called an Adventurer, it was called the Sweptside and the bed sides were not fiberglass as was the Chevy Cameo but were metal and they were the quarter panels from a 57-59 Dodge station wagon grafted onto the pick up. It was built in small numbers from 1957 to 1959. It was a sharp looking truck from the sides and rear.

If you're talking about gimmicky theme trucks, I don't think GM has really done much of that. Off the top of my head, the SSR, the Intimidator SS are the only ones I can think of right now. I'm thinking they may have done a Dale Jr truck also. But not 100% on that.

I know they have all kinds of dress-up options. Like chrome packages and Nevada editions and such. Would GM sell more trucks if they did the theme trucks? I don't know. It worked to some degree with Monte Carlos. Nascar themed Montes. I don't know if truck enthusiasts are really into themed appearance packages like many car enthusiasts are. Maybe they are, and need to make GM aware of it?

This is what I found out about the Intimidator SS Truck:

What has 345 horspower, 380 lb.-ft. or torque, all-black paint, "Intimidator" badges and will spin the rear wheels? A Monte Carlo with a Nothrstar engine in the trunk? No. The 2006 Chevy Silverado Intimidator SS, that's what. Your buddies behind the bow tie will be making 1,333 special edition pickups to honor the late Dale Earnhardt, with a donation going to his foundation for every truck sold. When compared to the "normal" Silverado SS, the Intimidator is more than just a badge package. It will include a lowered ride height, performance suspension, two-stage multi-leaf springs, Tenneco shocks, a stiffer front stabilizer bar and harder front jounce bumpers. It will also be rear wheel drive with a 3.73 locking rear differential. Unfortunately, this will not be unique to the Intimidator, a GM representative says that every model year 2006 Silverado SS will be twisting only the rear wheels. The exterior will feature monochromatic black paint and "Intimidator" badges on the front doors and on the back of the truck. Chrome 20-inch wheels will be standard, along with a silver grille insert and a spoiler on the tailgate. The interior boasts large Dale Earnhardt Legacy logos embroidered on the front headrests and the racer's signature on the tachometer. There is also an "Intimidator" badge on the instrument panel and floormats with the "Intimidator" script. The special edition truck will also include standard features found on every Silverado SS, including 4-speed auto transmission, cruise control, keyless entry, power front seats, radio controls on the steering wheel, power windows, engine oil cooler and transmission fluid cooler.

The Silverado Intimidator SS is the sixth "signature edition" vehicle to be offered by Chevrolet. It joins the 2002 Dale Earnhardt Signature Edition Monte Carlo (3,333 units), the 2003 Jeff Gordon Signature Edition Monte Carlo (2,424 units), the 2004 Monte Carlo Intimidator SS (4,000 units), the 2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Signature Series Supercharged SS Monte Carlo (2,883 units), and the 2005 Tony Stewart Signature Series Supercharged SS (1,020 units).

It says they were going to make 1,333 units but they only made 933 units. I have a friend with the certificate of authenticity.

Lou I know that neither Dodge nor Ford sold a lot of these trucks when they were new which explains why they are so rare today. I sold Dodges back in 87 and we had a new Shelby Dakota on the show room floor. It was priced close to 10K over a regular Dakota. They brought a lot of traffic into the showroom and most buyers were switched into lesser vehicles which I'm sure was the intent of the vehicle in the first place.