The Dodge Dakota R/T was Chrysler’s brief but glorious attempt to split the difference between a muscle car and a pickup, stuffing a 5.9-liter Magnum V8 into a regular-cab truck and pretending practicality was still part of the mission. Today’s next feature is a 1999 example that leans fully into the bit with an upgraded […]
I’m sorry…you did what? You put a Mercedes-Benz OM617 5-cylinder turbo diesel into a Dodge Dakota pickup truck? Could you not find a Mercedes-Benz custom El Camino or a rare as hen’s teeth Argentinan W114 DOKA? I guess the next logical thing to do is swap that Benz clack-itty-clacker into a Dodge pickup. Find this […]
The first generation Dodge Dakota was built on Chrysler’s “N-body” midsized truck platform from 1987 through 1996. The Dakota isn’t known as a collectible today despite the fact that it used rack-and-pinion steering in the 2WD version and could be optioned with a fuel-sipping inline-4, torquey 3.9 Magnum V6, or a 318cu Magnum V8. Today’s […]
We continue our weekend of celebrating America with something that is as American as Apple iPie. American, what do you mean? It’s a performance pickup. Nobody outside of the USA (or Australia) ever looked at a pickup and thought, “I bet that would make a good sports car platform.” Carroll Shelby was a legend in […]
The first-generation Dodge Dakota was built in large quantities for the 1987 through 1996 model years, but from 1989 through 1991 there was a special version that features one of the most unusual configurations of the car. It was a convertible pickup truck, which is as strange as it sounds. Find this 1989 Dodge Dakota […]
This next car comes as a tip from PA Cyclist who calls it a “Time-warp Dodge pickup 36k miles on a 24-year-old pickup!” Don’t be shocked at the asking price which is approximately the same as the original MSRP. This seems to be a trend with low mile trucks and cars these days but is […]
A wise man once said: just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I’d say that applies to custom chopped pickup trucks, but I’d also posit that just because you did something in poor taste (such as chopping up a car) doesn’t mean the end result is terrible. I will leave it up […]
It is said that the Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk first put in a letter to Thomas Cromwell in 1538 the expression “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Shortly afterwards, Cromwell was beheaded by mad King Henry VIII, so I’d like to use this car to emphasize that cake statement and perhaps add the corollary; “You can have your cake and someone can take your cake, eat it, and behead you too.” Because you can have modern reliability or vintage style, but you can’t have both…well…unless you are billionaire who can afford an Icon or Singer or Lynx Eventer, but here we are. We’ve got a $4k budget and car that looks like it came from Leepu and Pitbull’s custom shop. Find this 2000 Dodge Dakota Sport offered for $3995 in Sturtevant, WI via faceforradio marketbarf. Tip from Matt C.
I’m not a huge fan of recommending that people buy cars to squirrel away in barns waiting for some crazy speculative price bidding at all of the over-hyped auction sites around the web. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I recommend that you buy cars that are cheap today so you can enjoy them by driving around and putting (GASP!) miles on the odometer and letting the wind flow through your permed mullet. So buy this next car, drive it, enjoy, and maybe sell for about what you paid for it in a few year. Find this 1989 Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible offered for $5,000 in Boca Raton, FL via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
There is no hallowed ground in the world of automotive swaps, but there are some swaps that make you say “why?”. And this next one is a real head scratcher — not that putting an OM617 Mercedes diesel into a small pickup would make for a bad vehicle…it is just strange. It’s not like you are going to increase your towing capacity or beat the torque from a Magnum V8…but that flapper valve tipped exhaust stack certainly has some style. Find this 1989 Dodge Dakota diesel swap offered for $2000 in Cazenovia, NY via craigslist.