1977 Dodge D100 Adventurer SE

Yellow Dodge D-100 Pickup with Exaust Stacksand orange stripes
This truck was built on 02 March 1977 at 1700hrs in the Warren Truck Plant in Warren Michigan. It was then delivered to Wegge Dodge in Pasadena, California, and it was originally just plain yellow. The dealer sent it to a local paint shop with instructions to work their magic, and this is the result. A few years later, while at a gas station in Pasadena, my dad (Ray Miles) was approached by a man who claimed to be the one who painted the truck, stating it was the only one he had ever done like that. The paint is all original and the stripes are paint, not decals. My dad purchased the truck from Wegge Dodge in July 1977. Being a truck driver, he thought it would look great with stacks. The following year, Dodge introduced the Li'l Red Express Truck, which was essentially this truck in red with factory-installed stacks.

Picture of Ray Miles in 1981
Ray Miles in 1981

Unfortunately my dad passed away in 1983, during my senior year of high school, and that's when I inherited the truck. He liked to drive Peterbilt trucks, so I decided to put the Peterbilt insignia on the front to honor him. In 2018, I purchased a set of reproduction stacks for the Li'l Red Express and finally installed them myself in 2020.
 
Old style barrel shaped railroad crossing gate red light, plain aluminum Old style barrel shaped railroad crossing gate red light, powder coated yellow to match truck

The taillights come from railroad crossing gates. During a major storm in the mid-80s in Pasadena, some of the gates were damaged. I noticed a Santa Fe worker replacing them, so I stopped to ask what happened to the lights afterward. He told me they would take them back to the yard and toss them out. I inquired on how I could get my hands on some. He mentioned there were several in the back of his truck, and if they weren't there when he got back to the truck, he wouldn’t know what happened to them. I ended up taking several sets. After cleaning them up and making some slight modifications, I installed a set on the truck a few months later. In April 2024, I finally made new brackets and powder-coated the lights yellow.
Orange 76 Ball

This Union 76 ball was put on the antennae shortly after my dad purchased the truck, and has remained ever since.

Yellow Dodge D-100 Pickup with Exaust Stacks orange stripes in 1984
1984
Yellow Dodge D-100 Pickup with Exaust Stacks orange stripes in 2020
2020

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