CarShowz Features

1977 Dodge B100 Tradesman

Published on May 22, 2023

1977 Dodge B100 Tradesman – Legacy Classic Trucks is famous for expertly modifying rugged Power Wagons, classic Jeep Scramblers, and restoring historic national park buses. Ahead of this year’s Coachella music festival, Legacy Classic Trucks introduced a new van restoration to its vehicle offerings by reviving a retro cool classic with a vintage 1977 Dodge B100 Tradesman restoration.

Discovered by Legacy Classic Trucks Founder Winslow Bent earlier this year on an unassuming street in Chicago, the van was found on his wedding day with a Waylon ‘W’ rear tire cover. When exploring the inside of the van, Bent found an outlaw country cassette in the tape deck that matched the tire cover and an array of colorful videos still available for the on board VHS machine. Bent purchased the van on the spot before his wedding with the intention of restoring the Tradesman ahead of Coachella and driving 930 miles from Jackson Hole to California for the music festival.
“Old school vintage vans command such goodwill in the vintage landscape for truck and car enthusiasts, but the space is in this weird in-between area that sometimes falls through the cracks of the marketplace’s nostalgia,” Bent comments. “There are few things cooler than a super clean, well restored van. Our new Legacy Tradesman van restoration is exclusively made for partying. For music festivals and road tripping, this is the van you want. Classic colorways, amazing interior, restored to drive roads for long periods safely, and modernized with enough battery power to hang with the AC on at idle for days. The new Legacy Tradesman custom is cool on every level.”

When originally discovered, the van was in running condition but far from being in a place to take long road trips reliably. Under the hood, the Chrysler 318 V8 engine was completely rebuilt by Legacy and stroked out, giving the Tradesman 450 lb.-ft. of torque. Legacy kept the original paint scheme of the van, opting to install a pair of moonlight windows towards the rear. Legacy then integrated a completely new, state of the art electrical system with a large lithium battery capable of powering the vintage TV/VHS, beer cooler, 18-speaker 2,000-watt sound system, and two air conditioning units for up to two days on a single charge.