1971 Dodge Sweptline – Mark Polk

I have owned 5 Dodge trucks, but never a Sweptline from the 61 to 71 era. I knew when I made the decision to restore a truck it would be a Dodge Sweptline. After months of searching, a 71 Dodge Sweptline power wagon came up on Craigslist about 3 hours from where I live. After several more weeks of negotiating with the owner I brought the truck home to restore.

I was told it was a California truck and in another life it was used as a service station parts tuck and as a push truck at a local racetrack on the weekends The only real rust was in the floorboards, so it had good bones. Since it did not have the original engine I decided to make this into a hot rod truck. I searched for an old poly head 318A engine( A.K.A semi-hemi) to rebuild for the truck. These 318A engines had the same combustion design as a hemi and with the wide heads they look like a big block. I finally found one about 4 hours away and went to get it. You can bore these old small blocks engines .090 over and stroke them to 402 CI , but for this build I bored it .060 over and installed every high performance new old stock part I could locate, including a special cam grind from Schneider Racing Cams. The semi-hemi was 328 CI at about 300 Hp when I was finished with it. The next piece of the engine puzzle was to find an old Edlebrock P600 aluminum intake so I could a run 3 deuce setup with progressive linkage. It took awhile but I found an intake a 3-2G Rochester carburetors.

I had new 3.55:1 gear sets installed in the front and rear axles and with the engine and 727 automatic transmission rebuilt I started on the frame off restoration. After completing the frame, suspension (4 inch lift on the front & air ride in the rear), steering and brakes I started on the truck’s cab. I welded in new floor boards, did all the body work and painted the cab so I could install the rebuilt engine and transmission. This truck was hard to find parts for. I got parts from all over the country, including taking a cross-country road trip to Colorado to bring back a truck load of Sweptline parts I found.

The next step was to rewire the entire truck so I could upgrade the electrical system with electronic ignition, a larger alternator and a new 12-circuit fuse block to accommodate add-ons like LED light bars, electric fan, air compressor and 12-volt electric winch.

I fabricated the front winch bumper, side steps, rear roll-pan and I modified the grill to install two 21 inch LED light bars. On the interior I added two leather seats out of a Dodge Durango, a center console, a reupholstered dash pad, headliner, door panels, sun visors and new seatbelts and carpet. I upgraded the old stereo with a double din flat screen stereo with built-in GPS and added 3 new Polk audio speakers. I finished off the interior with a new set of gauges and an RPM gauge.

With the cab and wiring finished I focused on the fenders, hood, doors and truck bed. I did all the bodywork and sprayed and cleared everything. After it was reassembled I installed the tinted glass and color sanded and buffed the entire truck. One of the hardest parts to find for the truck was an original tailgate. I paid more than I wanted to, but eventually found one that I could restore. I painted and cleared the tailgate and did a bed liner on the bottom of the truck’s bed floor and inner fenders.

The final touches included cleaning and polishing all the chrome and painting a new center stripe in the side molding to match the darker color I used on the center of the hood, winch bumper, side steps and tailgate. I finished the chrome accents with a ram’s head hood ornament. Next I installed the new 18 inch Fuel Octane chrome wheels and 33 inch Toyo Open Country AT tires. The only thing left to do on the truck is have the custom 3 inch exhaust installed with electric cut-outs so you can make some noise when you want to.

It took me over two 2 years to restore the truck and I did 98% of the restoration myself. This truck is a driver, not a trailer queen, and I can’t wait to cruise down the road in my 71 Semi-Hemi Sweptline project truck.