Björn “Björne” Carlström’s 1971 Dodge D100 stands as one of Sweden’s most intricate car builds, deserving recognition in any category. Its craftsmanship and thematic depth are so remarkable that it could easily fill an entire book. In part 1 last month, we skimmed the surface of this incredible build and now as the journey continues, we dive deeper into the build and the man behind it. Inspired in part by Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic film Apocalypse Now, this pickup’s artistry defies easy summary – but here’s a bold attempt nonetheless.
The fact that Carlström starts from the simple and inexpensive – in theory, at least – has its explanation.
“I really enjoy Hot Rod Deluxe magazine. It features stories about cars and people from the era when people did most or everything themselves. They’ve covered Barney Navarro, Victor Edelbrock Sr., Bruce Crower, among others. Very inspiring. During this time, from the ’40s onward, a lot was happening. Just look at drag racing back then. You could place the engine where the driver was supposed to be and put the driver in the engine bay. On a T-Ford. Or have two V8s in tandem. I think it was only in 1954 that NHRA fully introduced its safety concept and Safety Safari, if I remember correctly. Before that, you could fit a huge engine in a spaghetti frame and floor it. I think the media forgot to report how many people died in the process… There were plenty of cheap parts available back then. Like those V12s from World War II from Hispano-Suiza. They could be bought cheap as military surplus. They sold off these engines at junk prices, and you could run them as they were or split the engines in two,” Carlström says.
Speaking of war, there’s quite a bit of it in Carlström’s pickup. He himself is a peaceful, easygoing man in his prime. What have I missed?
“War and war. I think it’s more about peacekeeping efforts. That little coastal strip neither the coast guard nor the military handles, that little ‘scum strip’ – you could take care of that,” Carlström says with a grin.
He then shares that he chose to call the Dodge Combat Board Carrier, inspired by the concept behind the Dodge Weapon Carrier – a chassis Chrysler used for most things, from weapon and troop transport to ambulances.
And the build time? Hold on. 26 years. 312 months. 9,490 days.
“Yeah, they say that. Something like that. But I’ve done other things in between, too. I’ve also written down the days I worked on the pickup in a planning calendar. Everything I did is noted there. But… I’m not going to sit down and start counting the hours,” Carlström says.
He only has a few minor tweaks left, then the build will be complete. A few vibrations here, a few adjustments there. I happen to know there’s actually a plan, a time beyond the Combat Board Carrier. A new car build. A NASA Dart.
“Yeah, the idea is to build a gasser on a Dodge Dart. As if NASA technicians had done it in their spare time back in the day. A skunkworks project. Maybe with rocket paint. With the braces you see on the top of a rocket. I’m going to watch the movie First Man soon; it might give me some inspiration. I also have some books about the lunar module. There were some interesting instruments in it. Maybe I’ll bring in gravity as well. Incidentally, the weight of the lunar module is fascinating. NASA established the ‘Super Weight Improvement Program’ to lighten it. Grumman, the aircraft manufacturer who made the lunar module, got thousands of dollars for every ounce, or was it gram, they shaved off the construction,” Carlström says.
He then mentions that hardly a day goes by without him sketching on the NASA Dart.
“How long will it take to build it? I don’t know. But this time, I’m going to go all out and not hold back.”
It’s hard not to smile at Carlström’s ambition. As if the Combat Board Carrier were a restrained car without a hint of extravagance.
Well, most people can be quite sure that the NASA Dart, once it begins and eventually gets completed, will be as impossible to cover in one article as the Dodge pickup. The Dart will also likely need an entire book to do it justice. And once again, there will be a reporter foolish enough to attempt the assignment…
Let’s conclude this marathon article with four distinct details, as well as the whole picture. Let’s indulge
thoroughly, like a child at a birthday party with an abundance of sweets.
The Pulley:
Those with an eye for detail may notice the water pump shaft features a Gatling gun – well, in appearance, at least. The Gatling principle has been in use since the mid-1800s for weapons like the M61 Vulcan, used during the Vietnam War, mounted on helicopters, and later on planes like the F-104 Starfighter and modern A-10 Thunderbolt. “I initially had a classic machined piece with angled holes, but it looked too timid. So, I enlisted a garage friend, Guy Johansson, to make this pulley,” Carlström says.
The Steering Wheel:
A steering wheel with elements of painted rebar and cast epoxy! How fantastic is that? “My friend Peter Stalder milled a groove into an MDF board that I then painted to keep the concrete from sticking, using it as a mold. I started by casting the concrete and then used modeling clay to create a barrier between the epoxy and the concrete. You can use a wood rasp to round off the concrete when it’s fresh, and once it was sanded, the concrete was coated with epoxy. Is it comfortable to hold? Very cozy. This was actually my first attempt at using casting epoxy, and the wheel probably took about a year or two from idea to finished product,” Carlström says.
Concrete Pushbar with Barbed Wire:
This is probably something no one’s seen before. “It’s lighter than you’d think. When I exhibited the pickup in Lahti, Finland, recently, people asked if it was real. Of course, it’s real concrete. Only genuine stuff. The inspiration comes partly from World War II and D-Day, the coarse concrete used to make beach obstacles,” Carlström says.
The Combat Board:
Yes, over the truck bed and roof hangs a combat board, in case anyone thought otherwise. “Everyone has surfboards, so I made a ‘Combat Board’ instead. The cross on the board takes its cue from the Red Cross logo. It’s not a red Luftwaffe cross but rather a more humane story,” Carlström explains, adding that a favorite scene is in Apocalypse Now when the famous line, ‘Charlie don’t surf,’ is told.
The Rest:
I ask Carlström if I’ve missed anything. Quite a bit, as it turns out. “The headlights are custom-built, and a detail I’m quite proud of. They draw inspiration from the headlights of an Opel Speedster. There were only nine in Sweden, now eight. One crashed, ‘fortunately,’ so one of my garage buddies salvaged the headlights from that car. Other details I’m pleased with include the tailgate and the fenders,” Carlström says. Note how the fender lines differ from the original and how the bumpers are integrated with the fenders. Don’t miss that the hood’s pressing is from a 1959 Borgward Isabella, or that the cab has been lowered over the frame by nine centimeters and the drip rails removed. Examine the pickup and see if you can spot a detail that might be from a Volvo. Or was it Koenigsegg…
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