Known for its loud rumble, the 1977 Dodge Li’l Red Express had plenty of power and a larger engine than most cars were allowed in that year. In fact, it wasn’t allowed to be purchased in certain States.

Dudley Lund of Viking owns a 1977 Li’l Red Express Dodge truck.

“I found this truck in Viking 27 years ago. When I was growing up and first saw one, then I always wanted one. I had an opportunity to buy it, but it was all rusted and the boards in the back were rotten. It was rusted with the fenders gone. I bought it from him and it took me 18 years to restore it,” explained Dudley.

The Li’l Red Express was not available for sale in California, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, or Washington state because it did not meet special noise standards in certain locations. Because of this, the Midnite Express was born for those states.
“I’m not completely done yet. I still have the dash to finish. My goal is to restore it back to the original way it was. I had to rebuild the entire frame with undercoating, an all new steering box, brakes, lines, everything had to be done,” he shared.

The Midnite Express was not a factory option like the Li’l Red Express, it was a dealer-installed package. Dealers that could not sell the Li’l Red Express used high-optioned Warlocks, repainted them metallic black and ordered all of the Li’l Red Express parts through their parts department.

“I actually re-did the motor twice. I put in a three-quarter cam in it last winter at Streb’s in Camrose. I also have a Warlock truck that I’m working on. I bought it for my wife. I’m getting a cab from Manitoba. These trucks are a long process to restore,” Dudley laughed.

The Midnite Express was available for the 1978 model year only. This truck was equipped much like the Li’l Red Express with exhaust stacks, wheels and gold pinstriping.

“Besides the dash, I have some tweaking to do on the transmission. I also can’t find an original steering wheel, so eventually I want to replace that. I just have minor stuff to finish,” Dudley shared.

“I have a three-speed transmission, a GM transmission in it now. The motor is a 360 with the three-quarter cam and it is the original block,” he added.

The Midnite Express was painted black instead of red and featured a Midnite Express Truck decal on the door.

“I replaced the shocks,  radiator, all the running parts. It was worth it because I love driving this truck. It is a little loud because I don’t have mufflers on it. I put three-inch pipes from the headers to the back. The big pipes are for show at the moment. I’ll put mufflers on it before I hook them up. I want them coming out the back so it doesn’t bother me inside the cab. It can get real loud,” he chuckled.
“I could have bought a house for the money that I have into this truck,” he laughed.

The Li’l Red Express truck was introduced by Dodge in 1977 as a limited-production, high-performance version of their D-Series pickup trucks. It was released during a time when muscle cars were facing stricter emissions regulations, but the Li’l Red Express managed to circumvent some of these regulations due to its classification as a light truck.

One of the most notable features of the Li’l Red Express truck was its unique appearance. It came with bright red paint, gold pinstriping, chrome side stacks (exhaust pipes mounted behind the cab) and chrome accents throughout. The overall look was inspired by the aesthetics of American hot rods and drag racers.
Under the hood, the Li’l Red Express was powered by a potent drivetrain. It was equipped with a high-performance 360 cubic inch (5.9-litre) V8 engine, which was one of the largest V8 engines available in a light-duty truck at the time. This engine was paired with a heavy-duty automatic transmission.

The combination of the powerful engine and the relatively light weight of the truck gave the Li’l Red Express impressive performance for its era. Thanks to its powerful engine, the Li’l Red Express was capable of impressive acceleration. It could go from zero to 60 mph in around seven seconds, which was very quick for a pickup truck of its time.