1970 Dodge AT4 with 2023 RAM 1500 running gear

Sam Southwell gives a classic truck the smooth grunt of a brand-new RAM

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Photographers: Chris Thorogood

Our favourite truck at Chopped 2024 was Sam Southwell’s 1970 Dodge AT4, which he drove up from Tassie, via the Spirit of Tasmania. Sam essentially jammed the chassis, 5.7L Hemi and eight-speed auto of a wrecked 2023 RAM 1500 under the beautifully patinaed skin of the ’70 model. From the outside, only the modern, five-stud mags give the game away.

“I wasn’t particularly interested in buying the truck when I heard about it, but when I saw the condition of the paint, I knew I had to save it,” says Sam. “I was really careful to only cut it inside the tray or on the guards, so as not to disturb the paint.

“The chassis is shortened 700mm to make it a 114in wheelbase,” he continues. “I had to move the fuel tank and shorten the tailshaft, but that was about it for changes. The big job was figuring out the wiring.

“It is a smart, efficient way to have a cool old car. If you close your eyes, you’d think you were in a brand-new RAM. The fuel economy is amazing.”

And yep, the whole deal is road-legal and engineered.

Sam had the Dodge sorted the Thursday before Chopped and was on the ferry that night! “I’ve got a few things to finish,” he says. “I need to hook the air con up, and I want to chop a few inches out of the seats.

“I’d like to try putting a square-body Chev pick-up over a Silverado next, but I think that would be a much bigger job.”

The other car Sam had at Chopped was his insane, LS-powered Vauxhall coupe. Sam pranged the car hard in the wall at Symmons Plains during Supernats ’23, but he got it fixed in no time. Yes, the coupe is road-legal too, with a 28-page engineer’s report to prove it.

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