A Dodge Li’l Red Express Truck is Perfect for Those Last-Minute Deliveries

Unless you’re behind a team of flying reindeer, being a package courier with a massive delivery route and a tight deadline is not a fun job.

But back in the 1970s, Mopar made that gig a bit easier with the aptly-named “Li’l Red Express Truck”.

What is a Dodge Li’l Red Express Truck?

First released in 1978, the Li’l Red Express (often shortened to the “LRE” acronym) was Mopar’s attempt to regain some of its performance swagger by exploiting a loophole in the rules regarding truck emissions.

Some context:

After 1975, all cars sold in the United States had to have a catalytic converter—and early-on that nascent emissions tech could strangle power output. (Though that’s FAR from the case nowadays. In fact, read this.)

As it turns out—certain light duty trucks were exempt from having catalytic converters until 1979, so Dodge went to its parts bin and assembled a tire-smoking muscle truck based its short-wheelbase D-Series Utiline pickup.

And with typical Mopar marketing whimsy, the factory hot rod hauler was rechristened “The Li’l Red Express”.

The plan worked too.

In 1978, the Li’l Red Express was the fastest domestic vehicle you could buy off the showroom floor from zero-to-100—and yes, that included the Corvette.

Better still, that power transformed into sales, where despite a late March release, Dodge was able to move over 2,000 units in 1978.

A year later in 1979, that number more than doubled, for an overall total eclipsing 7,000 Li’l Red Express Trucks sold in 1978 and 1979.

Dodge Li’l Red Express Truck Engine & Performance

The Li’l Red Express started off as a D-150 truck optioned with the upscale Adventurer trim. But the real magic sprung from under the hood, where checking the Little Red Express options package got you a special version of the venerable Chrysler 360ci LA small block.

Dubbed the EH1, the hot 360 was derived from Mopar’s police vehicle program and, thanks to a four-barrel carburetor and better-flowing E58 cylinder heads, was good for 225 horsepower—although that number is often considered to be conservatively rated.

Power is sent through a LoadFlite (truck) variant of the trusty 727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic. Out back is a Dana 60 rear end with a Chrysler 9.25″ Sure-Grip differential running a 3.55:1 gearset.

The relaxed emission standards for 1978 meant that Dodge engineers could get a bit creative with the exhaust system.

…and creative they got.

The 360 exhales through unique Hemi-style mufflers that exit into semi-truck style exhaust stacks. Though contrary to popular belief, it’s not a true dual exhaust—the factory system used a crossover pipe between the two cylinder banks.

Want to learn more? Read this: What is the Purpose of a Crossover Pipe

In 1979, the government got wise to Dodge’s game and closed the emissions loophole, which meant the later trucks all got their requisite catalytic converters, yet were still able to retain the iconic exhaust stacks. But it’s interesting to note that performance didn’t appear to suffer here, as marketing literature still listed the 1979 model’s power output as 225 hp.

Dodge Li’l Red Express Truck Exterior Trim

But the beauty of the LRE goes well beyond its smile-inducing performance. Released in the heyday of convoy culture, the Li’l Red Express styling certainly captures a moment in the late 1970s zeitgeist.

With a one-two punch of both a western and trucking aesthetic, the truck got real wood paneling on the tailgate and bedside, along with a wooden bed floor. The wood was complemented by embellished graphics and pinstripes.

The factory slot mags are just icing on the cake here.

Other Performance Sport Trucks from Dodge

To be clear, the Li’l Red Express wasn’t Dodge’s first foray into the sport truck market. In fact, Dodge had launched an entire series of trucks in its “Adult Toys” marketing blitz that included truck variants like the Macho Power Wagon and Warlock.

The Warlock is particularly interesting, as it actually came out a few years prior to the LRE. The Warlock wasn’t a one-size-fits-all package either, and allowed for a handful of drivetrain combinations and color palettes.

In a way, the Warlock’s popularity demonstrated to Ma Mopar that the demographic for the average truck buyer was changing—and it was worth targeting the younger end of the market.

There was also a short-lived, super rare “Midnite Express” truck that, cosmetically speaking, was a near-doppelganger of the LRE, save for its all-black paint job.

Never officially released by the factory, the Midnite Express was a dealer package built on the Warlock and sold in some of the more smog-restricted states that prohibited the sale of a Li’l Red Express outright.

A Li’l Red Express…Dakota?

Despite the end of the original D-150 based LRE trucks in 1979, the Li’l Red Express did enjoy a brief resurrection about a decade later.

When Dodge introduced the mid-size Dakota truck in the late 1980s, a specialty conversion company named LER Industries saw a unique opportunity.

Though not officially authorized by Dodge itself, LER took the Dakota, sprayed it in iconic red, added a stepside bed and slapped-on similar throwback-style decals, and the door graphics read “Li’l Red Express Dakota”.

Though there was no one stopping you from equipping a four-banger, you could option these trucks with a 5.2L and, yes, the Li’l Red Express Dakotas all got the requisite exhaust stacks—except this time, they were purely cosmetic and non-functional.

A Little Red Legacy

The Li’l Red Express Truck is a textbook case of giving folks what they want.

With power output suffering across the board and a market eager to return to the glory days of the 1960s musclecar era, vehicles like the Little Red Express helped keep the performance torch burning for gearheads in the 1970s.

Pretty soon after that, the Foxbody Mustang would become a common sight at the dragstrip, Chevy’s new Tuned-Port SBC would restore the Corvette to its former glory, and folks at Dodge would begin whispering to Carrol Shelby about a certain snake-named sportscar of its own.

Better yet, even though the Li’l Red Express would be discontinued after 1979, the business case had been made for future muscle trucks like the Chevy 454SS, the Dodge Dakota R/T, and the Ford F-150 Lightning.

So if you’re a delivery driver or courier looking for a quick way to deliver packages to good little boys and girls, give the folks at Dodge a call—they might have a V8 and a pair of exhaust stacks to help you do it.

…if the reindeer don’t mind, of course.