This was a model Highway 61 was supposed to produce but never made.

Well, at least according to the rumor. 

In the early days of H61, when they had an appetite for financially unviable "one-offs" like the Hurst Hemi Under Glass Plymouth Barracuda, the twin-engine Hurst Hairy Olds, and the Arnie Beswick '66 Pontiac GTO funny car, there was a rumor circulating that H61 was going to produce the Little Red Wagon truck.  I've never been a fan of wheelstanders as they've always appeared a bit too "circus-like" for my tastes.  However, because of the racing history and the uniqueness of the Little Red Wagon, I was looking forward to adding it to my collection.  

Fans of mid-sixties drag racing know that the original intent of the Little Red Wagon was to be a serious drag racer.  It was built by Jim Schaeffer and John Collier.  They had difficulty keeping the truck's front wheels down, and eventually was turned over to Dick Branstner with Roger Lindamood (Color Me Gone) to try and fix the horrible handling of the truck.  Jay Howell (builder of the Don Gay '66 Infiniti GTO)  took over the driving chores but never could get it to perform properly.  The wheelstands pleased the crowds but not Chrysler Corporation.  They forbid their factory effort cars from those kinds of antics and eventually arranged to have Bill "Maverick" Golden purchase the truck.  The rest, as they say, is history.  

The rumor has it that Highway 61 and Bill "Maverick" Golden couldn't come to a licensing agreement.  Hence, the Little Red Wagon Dodge pickup was never made.  Here's some photos of the very early days.  

And of course, a little Photoshop fun.  If the truck were configured with a long wheelbase, the iconic truck would have had an entirely different history.