Remember the popular television series “The Dukes of Hazard” and the signature Dodge Charger driven by Duke cousins Bo and Luke throughout the series’ episodes? Well we do and it’s one of out favorite television and film vehicles. Buddy Nelson of Wellington, Alabama remembers it too.

Nelson liked it so much that when he decided to build a mud racing Dodge Power Wagon, he not only painted it to look like the “General Lee,” but numbered it the same and nicknamed his powerful creation “The General.”

Although we don’t remember the famous Dodge Charger seeing a whole lot of mud, Nelson’s Dodge Power Wagon was built specifically for racing through it, but it didn’t start that way. It began as a $500 half-ton Dodge truck with a 318ci V8 motor, backed by 727 Torqueflite transmission, NP203 transfer case and 30-inch tires.

From there, what would become “The General,” went through many changes and modifications. The first of which was to replace the 318 with a 440ci big block built 40-over 10.5:1 pistons, an Edelbrock RPM intake and cam, Holley 850 carburetor, Dynatech headers, 3/4-ton running gear, 8-inch Skyjacker leaf springs, and a set of 42-inch TSL Super Swampers.

Then a friend of Buddy’s loaned him a DVD called “Trucks Gone Wild,” and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There were pickups and Jeeps running huge motors, 2-1/2 ton Rockwell axles sitting on 50-inch tractor tires. So after seeing that, Buddy was ready to go to the next level, and began searching for a 2-1/2 ton military truck.

He eventually found one just five miles from his house for only $1,500, and the owner also told Buddy that he had a big front end in the wooden crate that he found at a military sale. He would take $500 for it. Buddy looked at the front end in the box and it was the 2-1/2 ton Rockwell axle he had been searching for. Buddy did a bit of wheeling and dealing and ended up getting the military truck and the axle for $1,900!

A friend of Buddy’s donated a set of motor-grader tires and wheels, so Buddy had a set centers made for the wheels. Then he took the two Rockwell front ends and welded up the spider gears in them so the axles were basically locked, added a pair of Mohawk skid plates to the bottoms of the axles. He set about making 9-inch lift blocks for the axles.

The blocks are made out of 1/2-inch steel plate and are welded half-way down the axle tube. The top plates are made out of 1-inch steel with 1/4-inch side plates that run down both sides of the springs. The axle U-bolts are 7/8-inch round and 18-inches long. The truck’s suspension has link bars that run from the axles to the middle of the frame, and they are made out of 2-inch-thick square tubing.

Buddy used a wood splitter hydraulic shifter for the rear steer. The 727 Torqueflite transmission just wasn’t doing the job, so Buddy replaced it with a 435 top loader four-speed manual transmission with a hydraulic clutch.

He may not be done modifying “The General,” but like many of our off-road toys, it’s a work in progress. What we do know, and should be obvious by the photo of Buddy launching his brilliant orange Dodge Power Wagon out of the mud, is that he is having one heck of a good time with it. And isn’t that what off-roading of any kind it all about?

Want your rig featured in Off Road Xtreme? Send 10 to 12 high-quality photos, all the specs, how it was built, and the full story behind the pickup truck, Jeep or SUV through Facebook Messages and we’ll put it in our files for the next Readers Ride!