The makers of any truck might have had out attention with a Cummins engine swap because a new diesel makes sense and seems cool enough. But a hotrod truck implies using the biggest or most powerful muscle car V8.
Once in a while, the custom vehicle industry comes up with something you've never seen before, like a 1973 International Loadstar 1700 with the supercharged V8 engine out of your favorite Hellcat twins.
This was put together by Summit Truck Bodies, a Wathena, Kansas company that usually attaches big cranes to even bigger trucks. Usually, these are brand new vehicles, fresh off the assembly line at Ford or Dodge. But for their show car, they chose an old Loadstar from over 40 years ago, and it's a great display of their skills.
To ensure that it rides like a new truck, the reconditioned body of the 1700 was dropped onto a Ram 5500 chassis. On the back, a 7-series service unit and crane system were installed, matching the glossy black finish of the massive cab.
Of course, the Loadstar truck never rode this low, had this nice of a wheel set or that gigantic front bumper. But Summit Truck Bodies also played with the color combination, painting the custom grille and headlight frames in a copper color.
Power comes from a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 engine: 707 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque. It's matched to an NV5600 six-speed transmission and 4.88 gear rear end. The engine cover and rockers are painted copper, as is the interior.
Speaking of which, the spartan interior of the 1973 truck has been decked out with quite a few modern features. The steering wheel, dash, and infotainment all appear to be of Dodge origin, while a couple of Nappa leather seats have also found their way inside. It even comes with push-button start!
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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