Exterior Before

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The Last Tin Grille Wrecker

History: The Forest Service Survivor

This truck represents the end of an era—a 1980 model from the last year of the tin grille Dodge trucks. It joined the collection in the winter of 2021 after being saved from the crusher at a Copart auction in Reno. From everything we can tell, it lived its life in the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the California side as a US Forest Service truck. The bumps and bruises it carries are proof of a life filled with interesting stories and hard work.

When we purchased it, we couldn't tell from the auction pictures how long the bed was. Comparing the gates to our other stake beds, we were pleasantly surprised to discover it was a short-wheelbase four-wheel-drive model. That discovery got the wheels turning, and a new plan was born.

Present: The Transformation

We decided this truck needed to be a wrecker. Our vision quickly grew from a simple Holmes 440 bed on our 1974 Wrecker (hitting the market soon) to a more capable Holmes 500 with a dual winch setup. That spring, we found one for sale in a neighboring state with ties to Rod's old stomping grounds. One quick phone call and Rod had secured the Chevy donor truck, complete with the Holmes 500 bed.

Fast forward a couple of years to the spring of 2025, and the surgery started. With the help of our fantastic fabricator, Paul, we began the transition from stake bed to wrecker. When we removed the old bed, we were surprised to find that the frame had been lengthened at some point—right where we needed to cut it for the Holmes bed to fit. After a lot of pushing and prodding, the extremely heavy Holmes 500 was finally installed.

Future: Decisions and Details

The installation revealed the complexity that awaits our decision. We now face an obstacle course to power the winches: either get very creative with a PTO system flanked by a transfer case (with no PTO options), a fuel tank, and the exhaust, or install two modern winches.

Furthermore, we discovered the wheel lift was installed with only hoses, not proper hard lines, which will need to be redone using a 4-way electric over hydraulic pump we've installed. The ultimate goal is for this truck to be a parade toy, but built with the capability to go off-road if needed, though the wheel lift makes it a challenge for a true off-road wrecker.

For now, the project has been pulled out of the shop, awaiting its turn to come back in for more love, attention, a clutch, updated cooling system, and eventually, a coat of white paint with a face lift to the proper grille and hood to match the collection.