1978 July Pickup Van & 4WD Magazine Dodge D-100 Chevy K-20 Suburban 

Excellent condition. 100 Pages

PICKUP

VAN &

4WD

TESTS

FORD ECONOLINE E-150-Plenty of suds, plenty of economy, all from

a six-cylinder engine

CHEVROLET SUBURBAN K-20-Pound-for-pound, is this the best all-around

four-wheel-drive vehicle you can buy? Could be

DODGE D-100-Like a lot of folks we know, this one has some very

good points, and some bad ones as well..

IMPRESSION

JEEP WAGONEER LIMITED-Jeep springs a do-all four-wheel-drive

Luxomobile to celebrate the Wagoneer's 15th anniversary

FEATURES

MORE POWER, LESS GAS-Pickup. van and four-wheel-drive builders are

keeping at it until they get it right.

AMERICAN AUSTIN-The world's tiniest truck revisited..

V-6 POWER FOR YOUR MINI-TRUCK-How to revitalize your mini without

having to stuff 10 pounds of material in a nine-pound bag

HEAD 'EM OFF AT THE GAP-Some tender, loving care will keep the

valves in your Land Cruiser quiet and happy

FLASHER, FLASHER-A blinking reminder with a magnetic personality tells

you if your 4wd's hubs are in or out

JOIN THE CLUB-How to find a group that emphasizes families, fun and

four-wheel drive

TWO TO TANGO-Cross a Mustang with a Jeep and what do you get? We're

not sure, except a whole lot of funny looks

LET UNCLE SAM BE YOUR GUIDE-Sam himself may not be available,

but the Forest Service has these incredible maps.......

MERLIN-Can this be the world's most expensive pickup? Probably

SHORT-COUPLED

circle

SCRAMBLER-The easy way towards a short turning

OPEN LINE 7

BACK COUNTRY 15

SPORTSIDE 21

TRUCK TRENDS 29

PV4 SEZ 34

DEPARTMENTS

UPDATE 99

LOW BUCKS FIX-UPS 102

NEW & INTERESTING 104

LET'S GET TECHNICAL 109

TAILGATE 114

COVER

DOIN' IT IN THE DIRT-Chevy's Suburban K-20 is shown where it's at its best-a

full report begins on Page 60.

(Photo by Glenn Hamaguchi)

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and graves by

AⓇ

SI FUSSED away a day in my

desert cabin, tuning a new-

old off-road bike, I heard a

persistent jangling from a desk

drawer. Since rattlers are not prone

to get in there, I yanked it open and

found it was my brand new telephone

(a phone!) yowping its little heart out.

It was Beloved Magazine; would I

help ride the sweep 4wd for a beeg

test of the 1978 Bronco? The trip was

well-planned; we'd not go until to-

morrow! And we'd go the total length

of Baja on the highway, returning off-

road on the Old Road. Time allotted-

gulp-six days! Wow! I often took that

long just to get well beyond the

border!

Besides, thought I, isn't Baja es-

sentially "destroyed" with the new

main highway? Paved and all? Did I

really want to ruin memories of when

I lived there a year to see things

covered up with touristy hotels? Well

... better check it out; besides, I was

worried about those tender maga-

zine innocents down there all by

themselves.

After we met at our favorite border

bar, two problems immediately arose;

(1) I'd not brought birth certificate

and all the crud it takes to get a

tourista pass and (2) I had a galloping

case of Montezuma's Revenge, ac-

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By The Numbers:

MORE POWER, LESS GAS

A look at the performance and economy of 74 vehicles we've tested during

the past few years establishes a definite trend-we think ...

BY JON F. THOMPSON

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Bright Red and Ready:

FORD ECONOLINE E-150

Plenty of pull and plenty of economy...

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T'S DIFFICULT to believe, but true,

that just a few years ago the 1934 Amer-

ican Austin pickup, shown on these

pages, was discovered rusting away, a tree

growing through it, amid battered automo-

tive bodies in a Minneapolis junkyard.

Today, the ravages of 30 years' exposure to

the elements are no longer visible.

The single remaining restored example

of what was probably the world's smallest

production pickup truck is the end product

of two years of meticulous craftsmanship

on the part of Gerald Guillemette of San-

ford, Me.

Although its design is somewhat archaic

by present day truck engineering stan-

dards, the tiny utility vehicle's elegant lines

can be attributed to its styling, executed by

the famous designer of fast, sleek Auburn,

Cord and Packard passenger cars, Count

Alexis deSanknoffsky.

Of the 20,000 cars built by the original

American Austin Company, before the

firm declared bankruptcy in June, 1934,

very few were pickup trucks. The eco-

nomic depression of the late 1920s and

early 1930s was largely responsible for the

premature demise of what could be termed

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This tiny American Austin

truck was built in 1934

and was designed by the

man who designed Cord,

Auburn and Packard cars.

Rated at a quarter ton

and weighing in at a mere

1100 lb, its tiny interior

can accommodate a pair

of six footers.

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Show and Go:

JEEP WAGONEER

LIMITED

The Wagoneer celebrates its birthday with the

most luxurious four-wheel drive of all...

PHOTOS BY GLENN HAMAGUCHI

BY JAMES T. CROW

JULY 1978 51

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1-207

High, Wide and Ready:

SUBURBAN K-20

It'll take you and your favorite scout troop just about

anywhere you've got the nerve to point it...

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A Six-Pack To Go:

V-6 Power for Mini-Pickups

If your mini needs a few more suds, this might just be the answer

☐☐☐

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Good Points, Bad Points:

DODGE D-100

Here's a truck you can order up any way you like,

if only its quality control was a bit better...

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"Jeeze, it feels good to stretch after that ride."

PHOTO BY BOB FLINK

If you have a photographic zinger, one that'll get a laugh out of our readers, try us! We're looking

for that funky, oddball, funny photo of your off-pavement situation. It may not have seemed so funny at the

time... but give us a try anyway. At least, we'll send your photos back if we don't use 'em. The photos

must be 8 x 10 glossies and, to be returned, must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Payment is $50 per photo used, on publication. Submit your photos to: Tailgate, PICKUP, VAN & 4WD,

1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, CA 92663.