Ex-Navy 1958 Dodge Power Wagon on Hummer H1 Wheels Is Raw American Muscle

But just one quick look at this here 1958 Dodge Power Wagon will immediately have you thinking about muscle, this time in its raw, unprocessed form.

The Power Wagon was always meant to be the muscle that moves America. Launched shortly after the end of the Second World War as a civilian incarnation of the WC series of military trucks, it spread like wildfire across the nation, taking on everything from farm to industrial duties.

The Power Wagon in its original form is no longer around (production ended in the 1980s), but the family still makes the headlines from time to time, thanks to several talented customizers that keep reinterpreting the American medium-duty truck.

One of these crews is called Lil Bit's Vintage Speed Garage, and it's based in Mesa, Arizona. The Power Wagon sitting before us now, nicknamed Navy, is one of the shop's older projects, having been completed back in 2017.

Despite being eight years old, the truck didn't travel all that much, as its odometer reads only 1,292 miles (2,079 km) at the time of writing. It was recently listed for sale during the Mecum auction in Glendale, but failed to find a new owner.

The truck immediately strikes you as a special one. The first thing that catches the eye is the Willow Opal Green that covers the entire bodywork, contrasted by the blackness of the massive tires, wrapped around a set of Hummer H1 12-bolt wheels. The wheels are connected to military one-ton axles and run an updated four-wheel drive system.

The truck is set in motion by the LS3 engine under the hood, tied to an automatic transmission and rated at 480 horsepower – another thing that makes the muscle connection even deeper. A 3-inch exhaust at the rear makes sure the powerplant can spit out those harmful gases in the proper fashion.

The interior of the Power Wagon is not necessarily a far cry from the original, but still pretty updated. Leather and suede cover the bench seat, now gifted with cup holders, there is a billet banjo steering wheel in front of the driver's position, and a set of AutoMeter Hoonigan gauges ahead of that. Music needs are handled by a Vintage Radio with Bluetooth compatibility and four 6.25-inch three-way speakers.

I said earlier this truck is nicknamed Navy, and that's because the military branch is the one that originally ordered it in 1958. It's unclear where it served, but there is a Navy Department plaque with an inspection stamp in there that certifies the fact it was involved with the American naval forces.