Sleepers come in all shapes and sizes, but we expect nobody out there on the road to figure out that this 1975 Dodge Long Horm semi truck is part of the breed. At least not until the 3,000 horsepower of the machine kick in and it’s too late.
Nowadays, it would seem odd to see a Class 8 commercial truck like this—the largest one there is—with a Dodge badge. And that’s because Chrysler’s financial troubles back in the 1970s meant the Big Horn, which was built between 1973 and 1975, was Dodge’s final exercise in the U.S. heavy truck arena.
The company only built a little over 260 units of the Big Horn over the said three years, with the enthusiasts who keep track of these things expecting that less than half have survived.
Now, before we get up close and personal with the deets of this devil—the truck’s Vibrant Red is a Dodge shade—allow us to point out the particular look of any Big Horn. The conventional truck (this designation is used to differentiate it from a cabover setup) mostly owes this nature to its rather compact cabin. You see, this was borrowed straight from Dodge C-Series pickup trucks built between 1956 and 1960, with the wraparound windshield being a giveaway.
This final-year example is something else
The said feature gives the Dodge commercial truck an almost cartoonish look, which this example further builds on thanks to the slab of chrome that makes up its front bumper.
Joe Gambino, the owner of the vehicle, grew up in a truck-addicted family and you can tell. So while the average enthusiast we know had a Lamborghini Countach (maybe this barn find one?) or a Dodge muscle car adorning the bedroom wall during the teenage years, Joe grew up dreaming of a Big Horn.
So, when he came across this rare bird—about 16 years ago—he took the shop home to his New York-based diesel shop. More recently, the Dodge semi received a frame-off restoration, which involved a plethora of fresh metal, frame rails included.
With the nose in its normal position, this looks like a mint-condition vintage semi. However, once you look under the hood, you’ll find a Cummins KTA, a 19L (1,150 ci) straight-six that’s been pushed to around 3,000 hp with the help of a monstrous turbocharger. The diesel beast is mated to a 13-speed transmission and we can only imagine how banging gears must feel in such a machine. Heck, the sheer soundtrack of the video below (mic tip to Dane Scotts – TRUCKERS LOUNGE) is enough to give us the giggles.
For the record, the driver used to haul in this truck and while the Big Horn is still road-legal, those days are gone. Instead, the man uses the vehicle for competitive pulling—we’d be curious to see how the old Dodge stacks up against the also 3,000 HP semis that battled on America’s only uphill drag strip earlier this year, trailers and all.
