[Laxy]

Hi All,

Been lurking for a year or so and about time I joined up. I see there's a few other West Aussies on here, this is my '73 W200 Power Wagon with a 440/727, still LHD - absolutely love it!! Imported here by a farmer in 2003, last US rego sticker is Oregon '97.

 

[Laxy]

While I'm here talking to myself, I've been desperately trying to find a factory height measurement for a W200 to help with a license inspection. I've got the factory service manual and spent literally days/weeks googling brochures, dealer cards and road tests from '72 to '93 and height is the one dimension Dodge just refused to list. Best I can find is some Canadian dealer sheets showing 74 inches for late '70s Ramcharger and W-150, but they seem to sit lower than the earlier W200 and with smaller wheels. Any help with a reference document greatly appreciated!!

 

[jungle]

That is a huge winch
Nice find!!
Jim

 

[Canadian country boy]

Hello and welcome. Nice Power Wagon. Not many if any manufacturers gave the vehicles ride height I think. Also you need to know what size tire the truck came with because tire size also dictates ride height. The old 4x4's didn't sit as high as today's new full size trucks do. My '79 with a 3" lift on 35's STILL sits lower than some the heavy duty trucks from Dodge, Chevy and Ford. I don't know if you will find any info on actual ride heights. One would have to find a bone stock Power Wagon still sitting on stock suspension and tire diameter and measure it. What height measurement are you looking for? Frame height? Wheel well height? Roof height?

 

[RCCADMAN]

And you would also have to account for spring sag.
To know what tires your truck came with, you would have to have the original "under-the-hood" options tag. Mine is one of the only ones I have ever seen to still have that sheet still affixed to the underside of the hood above the washer fluid bottle. It wasn't until I believe 77 that dodge added the options tag to the core support on the trucks.

 

[Laxy]

Thanks guys, sorry I should have specified I was looking for an overall/roof height measurement, as an 'all-in' measurement to work towards. This W200 looks to have at 2-3 inches of lift with blocks front and rear (rear blocks aren't factory) and extra leaves. Currently measures in at 79" roof height.

No underhood tag but I've grabbed some 16 x 6 F-250 steelies to take the big tires out of the equation for licensing - it was already licensed but copped a defect for height so up to me to prove it's legal. Thanks to trawling this forum I discovered the F-250 8 lug rims would work, I'll just run 7.50 x r16 or similar which should drop it 2".

Worst case I'll just pull the blocks out of it for now, trying to avoid blowing $$$ on new suspension given it drives perfectly and sits evenly with the current setup, I don't think the lift is excessive.

 

[Laxy]

Have this old pic from cutting out the hideous home-made towbar.

 

[712edf]

Seems like the factory rear blocks were taller than what you have now but I could be mistaken. Yours has the odd 72-74 suspension which has the inverted u-bolts. I spy the divorced NP205!

As for a front blocks, it didn't come new with them & they're considered a no-no.

That's a good looking rig!

Bucky

 

[440 4spd Power Ram]

At a guess I'd say it's got four inches of lift, maybe a little less as the early divorced trucks did sit higher but nowhere near enough to clear 35s.

Here's a picture of my stock '77 W200 for comparison, it hadn't sagged much being a 318 truck, the one beside it is taller being a D60f plow truck.

 

[Laxy]

Seems like the factory rear blocks were taller than what you have now but I could be mistaken. Yours has the odd 72-74 suspension which has the inverted u-bolts. I spy the divorced NP205!

As for a front blocks, it didn't come new with them & they're considered a no-no.

That's a good looking rig!

Bucky

Thanks for the info!

 

[Laxy]

At a guess I'd say it's got four inches of lift, maybe a little less as the early divorced trucks did sit higher but nowhere near enough to clear 35s.

Here's a picture of my stock '77 W200 for comparison, it hadn't sagged much being a 318 truck, the one beside it is taller being a D60f plow truck.

View attachment 636227

Thanks for the pic, mine definitely looks a few inches higher, the front guards have been trimmed to clear the 35s also. We're allowed 2 inches of lift here before requiring a mod-plate so I'm probably going to struggle!

 

[Canadian country boy]

Yes, front blocks are very unsafe. They are illegal here.

 

[Lukechappy]

i just recently got my dodge over the pits in Collie WA, and i thought i would have issues with the lift but nothing was said and it passed no worries.

 

[Laxy]

i just recently got my dodge over the pits in Collie WA, and i thought i would have issues with the lift but nothing was said and it passed no worries.

Oh wow, maybe I need to take it there - yours is a beast! I'm in Perth so not that far.

I think I need to just put it over the pits and see what happens now, just wanted to have my facts straight beforehand.