The Dodge Wheelstander, “Thunder Wagon.” Photos from public.fotki.com

Our friends at Mopar Church, the twitter group from Greenville, Ohio, that preaches Hemi-power 7-days-a-week, 365 days-a-year, sent out a retro-tweet this morning. We’re going to follow up on Mopar Chuch’s sermon and highlight the Thunder Wagon, a classic from the 60’s.

The famous “Little Red Wagon” wheelstander truck.

There were several trucks that emerged as wheel standers at drag racing events across the country between 1966 and 1967. The Ford camp had a couple of Econline trucks, one that was actually a truck whose body was mounted in reverse on the chassis and called the “Back-Up pickup.” Chevy fans were delighted with the Corvair Greenbriar pickups of Gary Watson and former “Big Daddy” Don Garlits’ top fuel driver Connie Swingle. Watson’s Paddy Wagon and Swingle’s Trash Truck had very strong followings.

These wheelstanders were so popular that even the VW fans were offered one of their very own to root for. One of Chuck Poole’s famous “Chuck Wagon” wheelstanders not only thrilled the VW fans but the odd little truck earned it’s own way into racing history. Other versions of the “Chuck Wagon included a Dodge A-100 version.

YouTube clip of the Thunder Wagon in action:

Despite the popularity of these other wheelstanders, there were a handful of Dodge A-100 pickups that always stole the show. The Thunder Wagon being one of the first to hit the tracks quickly followed by the most famous Dodge A-100 of them all, the “Little Red Wagon.”

Chuck Poole’s famous “Chuck Wagon” Dodge -100 wheelstander.

As the climate changed, the wheelie trucks became more of an exhibition and the wheelstanders had their own circuit, led by the Little Red Wagon. In the 70’s, former Chrysler Quality Control lineman Terry Bogusz, built a 426 Max Wedge-powered, yellow 1972 Dodge A-100 street truck that he named “Jiminy Cricket,” which campaigned in the standard and reverse cab configuration.

Eventually the popularity of the wheelstander trucks subsided and gave way to jacked-up panel trucks in the 80’s. Despite the change in climate, we still love to take a look back and remember those glorious Dodge trucks that delighted the crowds for two decades.