There is no tougher truck than the original 1-ton Dodge Power Wagon. Commonly called the “flat fender” because of the shape of its fenders, the heavy-duty four-wheel-drive (4×4) truck was based on the Dodge military WC series used during World War II (WWII). After the war, the civilian model was used in a number of applications, including rural area school buses.
With that being said, we have seen a number of crazy Hellcat builds over the past couple of years thanks to Mopar’s “HELLCrate” crate engine package. While we have seen the HELLCrate used for engine swaps, drag racing applications, and even resto-mods, we have never seen it used in a school bus. Until now!
This 1948 Dodge Power Wagon with a school bus body has been completely restored, houses a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI HELLCAT V8 under the hood that puts out 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque. The HELLCAT V8 is mated to a Chrysler 46RH automatic transmission with overdrive. To help give the HELLCAT a healthy grunt, it has been equipped with ceramic headers and a 3-inch stainless exhaust.
It was originally built as the centerpiece for the KBS Coatings’ display at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show and later this month it will roll across the auction block at the Mecum Indy event. That’s right, you could own this awesome piece of machinery.
Most recently, the bus was used in the independent movie “Mayberry Man” which is currently in post-production.
If you are curious to know a little more about the build, you can visit our article our friends at DodgeGarage posted earlier this week with the owner of the vehicle. There you can see a few pictures of the vehicle during its build process.
To see the actual listing and to make a bid on the vehicle, you can visit Mecum.com. The Power Wagon is scheduled to go to the auction block on Saturday, May 22nd.
Hellcat-Powered 1948 Dodge Power Wagon School Bus Image Gallery:
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