Slow, Simple And 6WD: How To Build The Ultimate Old-School Power Wagon

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If you want to see a monster truck crush rocks, don’t bother watching this. No, wait! I promise you don’t want to miss any of the beautiful details on Winslow Bent’s custom-made ’42 Dodge Power Wagon. Check it out with comedian car guy Jay Leno.

Bent is the proprietor of “Legacy Classic Trucks” which takes derelicts and turns them into modernizes masterpieces. Not necessarily quick, but capable in other ways.

This Power Wagon runs a true 6WD drivetrain hooked up to a 3.9 Cummins “one-wire” turbodiesel.

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“The only wire that goes to the engine shuts it off,” explains Bent. Otherwise it pretty much runs forever. Output is estimated at 120 horsepower and “more torque than any small-block Chevy has ever made.”

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Slow and steady is the name of the game. Bent puts the top speed of this truck at “about 55-60” MPH and confesses it weighs about 8,000 pounds. Gearing is dedicated to getting the absolute maximum amount of power out of the engine at extremely low speeds.

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Gear reduction is so dramatic it will pull the truck to a halt even on a steep descent. “You’re pushing the gas pedal to go down this hill.” Maybe not the best truck to go everywhere in, but looks like it could pretty much go anywhere.

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Images via Jay Leno’s Garage


Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.