I had a 96 V8 5-speed 2WD just like this, only black. It was FUN! I put a Detroit TrueTrac in it and it was a HANDFUL in the rain, haha! Quick, cool truck, and crazy reliable. Sounded absolutely great with dual 2 1/2" exhaust with no cats, an H-pipe and Flowmaster 40s.
My wife bought a red single cab 1999 Dakota RT with 16000 miles on it. With trac lock diff and drove it every day to work in Toledo working as a nurse. 95000 miles now on ticker is still an excellent runner! Good women drivers need to be recognized and praised!
I had 2 Dakota's when I worked at a Dodge dealership. The first was an 88 4 banger, what a slug. I traded that when they came out with the magnum in 92. I bought the short bed 3.9 5 speed. We used to tell our friends, unless you want it for towing, just get the 3.9. We had a road behind the dealership we used for test drives. Very little traffic with a long straight section. We pitted my truck, against a demo 5.2 short bed 5 speed. We did it several times, even switching drivers to make sure. Unless you were asleep at the line, they ran nose to nose. Both had the 3:55 ratio rear. My truck was white and the paint began delaminating (peeling) from the primer, a known problem mostly with pw1 white and pc7 twilight blue pearl coat. I helped the factory reps trace down the problem, which is a long story itself. Anyhow, I got paid to strip and paint my own truck. 👍 Somehow, it came out pearl white tri stage. 🤔😉
I was talking to a retired Chrysler dealer owner and mechanic a few years back regarding this exact same thing. I can't recall the model years affected, however the 3.9 and 5.2 ended up identical for power and torque. He said he raced them just like you described with the same results ! He told me some of v6 trucks got camshafts .
Had the good fortune working on the first 1500 DakotaV8's in Whittier Ca. The truck underwent V6 to V8 conversion & a stamped steel beam was welded in front of main crossmember as a motor mount. When Dodge reintroduced the V8, they redesigned the fwd radiator clip to use a standard radiator fan & simply used the original stamped V6 motor mounts. ( deleting the Shelby design beam fwd mount)
Thanks Steve! Hope you heal completely, we need that brain power encyclopedia! My first brand new vehicle was a 1992 Dodge Dakota with the 318. I got a ticket a month after I got it for exhibition of speed, smoking the tires. It was a beast! Drove it from New Mexico to Alaska and back! Put 200k miles on it and not sure why I got rid of it. I've been keeping my eye out for it, I think I know where it's at. I have recently purchased a base model 2001 Dakota (V6, 5 speed) just to put a 360 (stroked to 408) in to it. It will be my little race truck. Looks very similar to Clay Millican's baby D.
Great video. I lucked into a cream puff 94 Dakota that been wrecked by the grandson of the original owner. Took the body off the frame and replaced it with a 1940 Plymouth Truck body. 318 and 5 speed really scoots with that light body atop. I kept the six lug wheels, but switched out the stock for steelies that were used for the full sized spares. Looks like an old truck, rides like a new truck!
I bought my aunt's '96 Dakota SLT regular cab, short bed 3.6 V6 auto when it had about 95k miles. She kept meticulous maintenence records on it. I loved this truck, it was the perfect size. It even had the 3.55:1 limited slip with the heavy-duty towing package. I had an app-based performance gps system on my phone, and ran consistent 8.5 sec. 0-60 runs. Always averaged about 19 mpgs. Just with the transmission didn't grenade itself.
An '06 Dakota quad cab 4x4. V8 H.O., J code. 3.92:1 Posi. Absolutely love this truck, and its size. Pleasure to drive & park. I wish regular trucks would become a thing, once again.
Bought a 92 Dakota 8" 4x4 with the 5.2 magnum new . On the test drive I pulled out into traffic from the dealers lot gave it a little too much trottle and the back tires went up in smoke . I pulled immediately back into the dealership and signed on the dotted line . Fun truck . useful and fast and fun to hoon . It would surprise a 5.0 or Z28 on the street .
My first truck was a 1996 with the 3.9l and the AX-15 5 speed. It was a pile- 267k miles, frame was cracked and rotting, bed side bulged out where it rotted. I miss that truck. It actually said DO G on the tailgate when my Pappaw bought it for me and one of my friends decided Kipper was a good name for a dog. Sold it to a buddy after 3.5 years of owning it and a little under 2 years of driving it and we proceeded to beat the snot out of it until it seized on him one day. R.I.P. Kipper.
I bought a 1994 SLT Dakota V8 automatic in early 94. It was a nice truck but I could never get it to smoke the tires. I remember a magazine that had article that use the title "I could've had a V8" where they had some one buy a stripped DAK to see how it would perform. The one option the guy could not live without was AC. Maybe you can find that article. That was the first vehicle I owed with ABS. I used it and loved it.
I owned a black 1995 Dakota 6.5ft bed 2wd. It was a magnum V8 5spd manual 392 posi, gray bucket seats with center console, ac, power windows. I put the Mopar performance computer and equal length headers from the Mopar performance catalog. That truck was tire fire all the time, it would drift on demand. It was definitely a fun little truck and very unique as I've yet to see another in the same configuration
I worked at Dodge during this era and doing PDI’s on V8 Dakotas was a guilty pleasure of a buddy of mine at the time that worked there also. We were gearheads in our very early 20’s without a care in the world until a V8 Dakota rolled in the shop. They undoubtedly were the most interesting vehicles Dodge had to offer at the time so much so that my buddy ordered one. Blue, V8, regular cab, short bed with the manual transmission and the sport suspension. He loved that truck so much he wouldn’t let anyone drive it and he parked it in his basement everyday. I thought he was gonna have a panic attack when he had to get rid of it (second daughter was in the way). Those trucks are gems amongst the current monster trucks sold today!
Dad bought a 92 Dakota new with a 5.2 an automatic and a 3.90 sure grip diff. It also had a 3rd party lil red express conversion. It was the quickest thing around for a long time. Still got it, but the hemi stuff wipes the floor with it nowadays 😅
I had an 87 2.2L in high school. Barely got out of its own way til we discovered it had two head gaskets due a washed out block and swapped a fresh engine in. Got 18-22 mpg regularly, but it was sensitive to gas quality. In 88 with the aquisition of AMC, they dropped the 2.2 in favor of the 2.5.
I a 4x4 long bed ‘88 bought slightly used in 1988, and later a ‘99 4x4 extended cab 6 1/2 ft bed I bought brand new. I loved both of them. But the ‘88 seemed to have more room behind the wheel. I wanted a convertible back in the day, but it never came to be.
I bought a new 1993 Dodge Dakota with the 318 and an automatic transmission. It developed an oil leak after just a few months. After several attempts by the dealer to fix it, they ended up pulling the motor to attempt to fix the leak. I never really knew what they did or what the real problem was or if they even fixed it or not. I left the Dodge dealership, drove to the Ford dealership, and traded it in on a Ford Ranger and drove it for years with no problems, but that Dakota would really get up and go!
Bought a 2001 Dakota a tad over a year ago for my teenage son to use as his first vehicle. Two wheel drive regular cab truck with a short box and the 3.9 V6 engine. Been spending the past year slowly going over all the preventative maintenance stuff and getting it into excellent mechanical condition. The thing is clean as can be - only 35,000 miles on it when we picked had it shipped down to Texas from Montana and the body is absolutely perfect! Spent a week going over the paint when we first got it and clayed and buffed and polished everything out until it gleamed! It obviously left the dealership with a plastic liner so even the bed in the thing is like new! Really too nice of a vehicle to give to a teenage boy, but so far, so good……..🤞 One thing that appears to have gone out of production for the truck - RUBBER BED MATS! I have looked everywhere and the things just aren’t available anymore for the Dakota’s! If anyone out there has a rubber bed mat sitting around their garage that they want to get rid of LET ME KNOW……….😂
Have you explored the possibility of sourcing a large sheet of industrial floor covering? Some of that stuff is like rubber and super durable. Maybe buy a 9 x 7 foot square and trim to fit the Dakota's bed / wheel houses? Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
I had a 92 with the 3.9 Magnum V6 & 5 speed. Loved that truck. My only complaint is that the odometer randomly set itself back, but it didn’t restore itself like Christine.
They where fun trucks for sure! I had a 1999 standard cab 318cu auto and it ran 15.4 at 88mph at union grove. Then later bought a 2000 sport 4.7 5sp manual standard cab and ran 14.41 with a 60ft 1.9 on a tire. Sorry R/T Dakota’s loved the look but they just couldn’t compete with the 4.7 5sp Dakotas. Thx Steve one of my favorite videos
Steve, Never apologize for honest journalism. The rags now do just like you say, pander to the sponsor, and I quit reading them because they are useless. The intake on those trucks, never tried myself but I have seen where people machine out the runners inside so the interior is totally open. It shortens the runners. Helps a little, according to numbers. But really, the runner size is more restrictive then the length. Thanks for doing this video, I just bought a 50k mile 98 Dakota 318/5 speed from under a tree at an estate sale and right up until now I had forgotten how much fun these little(let's be honest, new stuff is dump truck size compared to the 90's) trucks really are.
quick little trucks with the 318 magnum and 5 speed... the 318 became a option for the 1991 model year when the facelfted (longer slightly)front end came out. it was tight with the early front end (i had a Dakota Shelby) and they were tight and had to use a special radiator and electric fan to make it worth. 91 was also the first year of the short front cover and waterpump on the LA engines.
Hi Steve, great video on the 1st Gen Dakota. I drove a 2000 Dodge Durango R/T for a short time, and one of my techs had to have it so ended up selling it to him. So after a few yrs his, like many rear wheel drive Chrysler products, the automatic transmission decided to retire early. This fellow went out and found a 318 straight drive Dakota and swapped out everything (not the 360). His words were "fit like it was factory." He drove that truck for yrs without any problems until he installed NOS. The funny part was he got scared of it and he had it unhooked under the hood so there were no 'accidents'. Still had everything else there. I think it being registered in VA had something to do with it also. I think it's illegal over there, but I'm not sure. I never rode in the truck after it was modified. I know he tuned the computer some. When I had it, I was using it to pull my boat around, and if you caught it just right, that 360 would definitely smoke the rear tires, some with the trailer attached. But the 4 wheel or all wheel drive Jeep select track kept it planted. Best days of boat ownership, the day of purchase, and the day it sold! 😂 I really never had any problems with mine to speak of. I tried selling it as a package deal. I had my guy paint a similar graphic that was on the boat onto the Durango. Steve, I wonder why Chrysler didn't offer a 5spd in the R/T version 🤔. Did the Dakota R/T have an optional manual transmission? Mr Google? Oh, I get the title today, I knew yesterday's was some sort of creative twist to it. It's a shame we lost Frank at such a young age. I read most of his health problems were from when he was a kid, and dad would bring home Mercury for him to play with! WOW! Have a blessed day everyone 🤙🏼 Namaste 🙏🏼
Yeah, the R/T made too much torque for that 3 speed automatic. Replaced mine at 120,000 and it was done again at 296,000. Inexcusable that they didn’t have more gears. The customer survey did ask if we’d have liked a stick.
When the R/T came out in 1998, only a four-speed automatic was available. It either had to do with the strength of the transmission not being up to the task, emissions or just the idea of a manual transmission not being popular.
I remember asking our Dodge factory guy "are you going to do a stick R/T?" He said "we get into enough trouble with Viper owners power-shifting their 6-speeds and crashing". I agreed that something as light in the tail as a Dakota (or any unloaded pickup) with a stick and medium - large V8 would be a "tiger by the tail". Oh, I FLUBBED when I said it would be "twenty years" between 1998 Dakota R/T and 2008 Challenger. Errr, ummm...make that TEN years. But it sure felt like 20! Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
1989 happen to be the best year for the Dakota for the Overdrive 4speed automatic which was out in Dodge Trucks and van since June 1988, Shelby model only got the 318 V8 first year in 1989 and the Convertible for Dakota Sport models in 1989 and I happen to own a 1989 Dodge Dakota base model V6 as seen in my videos and still working on it to put a old 318 V8 from a 1985 Chrysler 5th Ave engine into it.
In my teenage years we had a 1989 Dakota with the 3.9L. It was a great pickup. She lasted until around 350,000 miles, and although she still ran and drove, she was burning oil, leaking oil, and was pretty tired. Would've probably lasted a little longer if my mom hadn't ran it out of oil a couple times 😂. But overall though excellent, tough little truck. I wouldn't mind owning another one. Also, my cousin has a 1989 (I think) but has the 318, and is a convertible.
Back in my day the owners manual was 14 pages long and told you how to lash valves, set the timing and rotating the tires. Today's manual is 400 pages long and says things like "dont drink the battery water".
In 1990 l drove a brand new short box red Dakota with bench seat, manual trans and no options for work. Deleted radio. One Friday I drove it about 800 miles from red deer alberta to manitoba straight in 14 hours or so. I was so tired.
Man I bet that pick up was a sleeper back in it’s hay day’s! A light truck with a v8 and a 5 speed transmission! It must of had a limited slip differential though! Great video!
i did a 5.9 Magnum w/ 5.50 lift cam..ported cast heads, behives junked the barrell , found aftermarket high rise alum intake, MSD fuel injection with MSD Dizzy and headers..my lil truck eats tuner cars for breakfast..
In 1987, my dad bought a new Dakota with a four-cylinder, and that truck was the biggest dog I’ve ever driven. Top speed: 65, maybe 70 if the wind is right. The truck itself was good looking, but that motor was garbage. Dad kept it about six months before he traded it off.
I had a 2000 Sport 4x4 with the 5.9 (360). The guy I got it from bought it new, and he had all the bells and whistles added to it. 5-speed, towing package, 31-10.50 tires, 4:11 gears, air, cruise, power windows and seats, and high output alt. It wasn't fast at all, but it could haul the heavy loads. I had it for 10 years, but living in PA at the time took it's toll on the frame of the truck. It rusted in half and broke between the cab and bed. When the truck broke I had 2 1/2 tons of cast iron on it and was in the scrap yard after getting weighted in. Felt weird standing on the scale with a box of personal belongs waiting to get paid to hitch a ride home afterwards.
I think David Vizard could break it down to the “brass tacks” as to why the barrel ram intake is good for what it was designed for (a truck engine), but not in a high performance application; and could also probably explain what intake is best to use on a Magnum V8 when searching for muscle car performance figures.
I have a 02 Dakota with a 5.9. I put Hughes upgrades (intake, cam, roller rockers and pre 93 exhaust manifolds), made a difference in power. But, the air gap manifold didn’t deliver on the 20+ mpg claims from Hughes.
Did you forget the all important "egg under the gas pedal"? If you don't smash the egg, almost anything can get close to 20 mpg. Well almost almost anything. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante I kept a mpg log, documenting each change: cold air intake, exhaust, cam & intake, etc. the mileage never changed more than a tenth or two total.
Great video Steve, owned a 2001 R/T in red. Awesome truck for the approximately 18 months I owned it. So easy to lay rubber and ruin those 255's... I ended up giving it back after the Mercedes merger. They found a typo in the towing capacity and offered either an extended warranty, an accessory pack, or a refund. I took the refund as the engine was making some new sounds...
those 15 inch ram tubes, acording to the Ramchargers RPM vs length equation like gave max torque at like 3 grand which is what you needed in a work truck :)
My father had a 1994. Club cab 5.2L auto 4x4. He ran it over 300k miles. I bought a 1999 as my 2nd vehicle ever. Club cab 4x4 3.9L auto. I took it mudding and ruined the trans (no 3rd gear), got water in the intake... was burning a qt per week when it was scrapped.
"Run that story!
F "em!"🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣
Steve were u fine all this throw back cars 🚗🛻& trucks great work 💪👍🤙✌️🏁
When I was a kid my uncle bought an 87 4x4 3.9 5 speed Dakota. Its the truck I learned to drive stick in around 94. Great memories with the Dakota.
I had a 96 V8 5-speed 2WD just like this, only black. It was FUN! I put a Detroit TrueTrac in it and it was a HANDFUL in the rain, haha! Quick, cool truck, and crazy reliable. Sounded absolutely great with dual 2 1/2" exhaust with no cats, an H-pipe and Flowmaster 40s.
My wife bought a red single cab 1999 Dakota RT with 16000 miles on it. With trac lock diff and drove it every day to work in Toledo working as a nurse. 95000 miles now on ticker is still an excellent runner! Good women drivers need to be recognized and praised!
I got a 95 Dakota sport 4cyl 5 speed during my senior year. Man was I proud of that truck.
I had 2 Dakota's when I worked at a Dodge dealership. The first was an 88 4 banger, what a slug. I traded that when they came out with the magnum in 92. I bought the short bed 3.9 5 speed. We used to tell our friends, unless you want it for towing, just get the 3.9. We had a road behind the dealership we used for test drives. Very little traffic with a long straight section. We pitted my truck, against a demo 5.2 short bed 5 speed. We did it several times, even switching drivers to make sure. Unless you were asleep at the line, they ran nose to nose. Both had the 3:55 ratio rear. My truck was white and the paint began delaminating (peeling) from the primer, a known problem mostly with pw1 white and pc7 twilight blue pearl coat. I helped the factory reps trace down the problem, which is a long story itself. Anyhow, I got paid to strip and paint my own truck. 👍 Somehow, it came out pearl white tri stage. 🤔😉
I was talking to a retired Chrysler dealer owner and mechanic a few years back regarding this exact same thing. I can't recall the model years affected, however the 3.9 and 5.2 ended up identical for power and torque. He said he raced them just like you described with the same results ! He told me some of v6 trucks got camshafts .
Had the good fortune working on the first 1500 DakotaV8's in Whittier Ca. The truck underwent V6 to V8 conversion & a stamped steel beam was welded in front of main crossmember as a motor mount. When Dodge reintroduced the V8, they redesigned the fwd radiator clip to use a standard radiator fan & simply used the original stamped V6 motor mounts. ( deleting the Shelby design beam fwd mount)
Thanks Steve! Hope you heal completely, we need that brain power encyclopedia! My first brand new vehicle was a 1992 Dodge Dakota with the 318. I got a ticket a month after I got it for exhibition of speed, smoking the tires. It was a beast! Drove it from New Mexico to Alaska and back! Put 200k miles on it and not sure why I got rid of it. I've been keeping my eye out for it, I think I know where it's at. I have recently purchased a base model 2001 Dakota (V6, 5 speed) just to put a 360 (stroked to 408) in to it. It will be my little race truck. Looks very similar to Clay Millican's baby D.
Great video. I lucked into a cream puff 94 Dakota that been wrecked by the grandson of the original owner. Took the body off the frame and replaced it with a 1940 Plymouth Truck body. 318 and 5 speed really scoots with that light body atop. I kept the six lug wheels, but switched out the stock for steelies that were used for the full sized spares. Looks like an old truck, rides like a new truck!
I’ve owned a 2000 Dakota R/T for almost 20 years and I love it. I will never sell it, thanks for the video 👍🏼
I bought my aunt's '96 Dakota SLT regular cab, short bed 3.6 V6 auto when it had about 95k miles. She kept meticulous maintenence records on it. I loved this truck, it was the perfect size. It even had the 3.55:1 limited slip with the heavy-duty towing package. I had an app-based performance gps system on my phone, and ran consistent 8.5 sec. 0-60 runs. Always averaged about 19 mpgs. Just with the transmission didn't grenade itself.
Fantastic video Steve! 👍👍💯🇺🇸
An '06 Dakota quad cab 4x4. V8 H.O., J code. 3.92:1 Posi. Absolutely love this truck, and its size. Pleasure to drive & park. I wish regular trucks would become a thing, once again.
I bought a 94 Dakota 5.2 brand new. Loved that truck!
Bought a 92 Dakota 8" 4x4 with the 5.2 magnum new . On the test drive I pulled out into traffic from the dealers lot gave it a little too much trottle and the back tires went up in smoke . I pulled immediately back into the dealership and signed on the dotted line . Fun truck . useful and fast and fun to hoon . It would surprise a 5.0 or Z28 on the street .
My first truck was a 1996 with the 3.9l and the AX-15 5 speed. It was a pile- 267k miles, frame was cracked and rotting, bed side bulged out where it rotted. I miss that truck. It actually said DO G on the tailgate when my Pappaw bought it for me and one of my friends decided Kipper was a good name for a dog. Sold it to a buddy after 3.5 years of owning it and a little under 2 years of driving it and we proceeded to beat the snot out of it until it seized on him one day.
R.I.P. Kipper.
I bought a 1994 SLT Dakota V8 automatic in early 94. It was a nice truck but I could never get it to smoke the tires. I remember a magazine that had article that use the title
"I could've had a V8" where they had some one buy a stripped DAK to see how it would perform. The one option the guy could not live without was AC. Maybe you can find that article. That was the first vehicle I owed with ABS. I used it and loved it.
I enjoy these so much that I let (some) of the commercials play!
Mopar big-blocks get all the glamour but their small-blocks are absolute jewels.
Favorite bodystyle of Dakota. Grandpa had a 94 extended cab with the V6.
I owned a black 1995 Dakota 6.5ft bed 2wd. It was a magnum V8 5spd manual 392 posi, gray bucket seats with center console, ac, power windows. I put the Mopar performance computer and equal length headers from the Mopar performance catalog. That truck was tire fire all the time, it would drift on demand. It was definitely a fun little truck and very unique as I've yet to see another in the same configuration
Another great video Steve thank you sir get well soon
I remember those Hot Rod Dodge pickups. My Ignition Edition RAM TRX makes me smile every day......except when I have to fuel it back up.
Loved Ro’s work. Big fan.
I worked at Dodge during this era and doing PDI’s on V8 Dakotas was a guilty pleasure of a buddy of mine at the time that worked there also. We were gearheads in our very early 20’s without a care in the world until a V8 Dakota rolled in the shop. They undoubtedly were the most interesting vehicles Dodge had to offer at the time so much so that my buddy ordered one. Blue, V8, regular cab, short bed with the manual transmission and the sport suspension. He loved that truck so much he wouldn’t let anyone drive it and he parked it in his basement everyday. I thought he was gonna have a panic attack when he had to get rid of it (second daughter was in the way).
Those trucks are gems amongst the current monster trucks sold today!
My 92 318 Dakota runs strong as hell to this day. So simple to work on
Thanks Steve. 🙏🏻😎
Dad bought a 92 Dakota new with a 5.2 an automatic and a 3.90 sure grip diff. It also had a 3rd party lil red express conversion. It was the quickest thing around for a long time. Still got it, but the hemi stuff wipes the floor with it nowadays 😅
I had the 93 catalog Dakota.....red/silver extended cab 4x4 red interior 318 magnum 4speed auto. Miss her!
I had an 87 2.2L in high school. Barely got out of its own way til we discovered it had two head gaskets due a washed out block and swapped a fresh engine in.
Got 18-22 mpg regularly, but it was sensitive to gas quality.
In 88 with the aquisition of AMC, they dropped the 2.2 in favor of the 2.5.
I a 4x4 long bed ‘88 bought slightly used in 1988, and later a ‘99 4x4 extended cab 6 1/2 ft bed I bought brand new.
I loved both of them. But the ‘88 seemed to have more room behind the wheel.
I wanted a convertible back in the day, but it never came to be.
I’m the original owner of a 1987 Dakota long bed 3.9 V6 and I love mine 90k miles on it all original still always garaged. I’m keeping it until I die.
I bought a new 1993 Dodge Dakota with the 318 and an automatic transmission. It developed an oil leak after just a few months. After several attempts by the dealer to fix it, they ended up pulling the motor to attempt to fix the leak. I never really knew what they did or what the real problem was or if they even fixed it or not. I left the Dodge dealership, drove to the Ford dealership, and traded it in on a Ford Ranger and drove it for years with no problems, but that Dakota would really get up and go!
I had a 93 Dakota with a 318. That thing was very fun.
Bought a 2001 Dakota a tad over a year ago for my teenage son to use as his first vehicle. Two wheel drive regular cab truck with a short box and the 3.9 V6 engine. Been spending the past year slowly going over all the preventative maintenance stuff and getting it into excellent mechanical condition.
The thing is clean as can be - only 35,000 miles on it when we picked had it shipped down to Texas from Montana and the body is absolutely perfect! Spent a week going over the paint when we first got it and clayed and buffed and polished everything out until it gleamed! It obviously left the dealership with a plastic liner so even the bed in the thing is like new! Really too nice of a vehicle to give to a teenage boy, but so far, so good……..🤞
One thing that appears to have gone out of production for the truck - RUBBER BED MATS! I have looked everywhere and the things just aren’t available anymore for the Dakota’s! If anyone out there has a rubber bed mat sitting around their garage that they want to get rid of LET ME KNOW……….😂
Have you explored the possibility of sourcing a large sheet of industrial floor covering? Some of that stuff is like rubber and super durable. Maybe buy a 9 x 7 foot square and trim to fit the Dakota's bed / wheel houses? Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
I had a 1996 dakota just after high school, wow do I miss that truck! It was a standard cab short box with a 5 speed and sadly the 3.9l v6.
I have a 1997 Dakota 318 5 speed 4x4 RCSB and it's a sleeper for sure!!
I had a 92 with the 3.9 Magnum V6 & 5 speed. Loved that truck. My only complaint is that the odometer randomly set itself back, but it didn’t restore itself like Christine.
Passed a mint Dakota Sport convertible on the way home from work today. Haven't seen one of those in ages.
They where fun trucks for sure! I had a 1999 standard cab 318cu auto and it ran 15.4 at 88mph at union grove. Then later bought a 2000 sport 4.7 5sp manual standard cab and ran 14.41 with a 60ft 1.9 on a tire. Sorry R/T Dakota’s loved the look but they just couldn’t compete with the 4.7 5sp Dakotas. Thx Steve one of my favorite videos
Long live the 87-96 dak’s! I put a 418 11:00 stroker in my 91, with a 4:10, good times. Thanks Steve for putting the spotlight on our trucks!
Steve,
Never apologize for honest journalism. The rags now do just like you say, pander to the sponsor, and I quit reading them because they are useless.
The intake on those trucks, never tried myself but I have seen where people machine out the runners inside so the interior is totally open. It shortens the runners. Helps a little, according to numbers. But really, the runner size is more restrictive then the length.
Thanks for doing this video, I just bought a 50k mile 98 Dakota 318/5 speed from under a tree at an estate sale and right up until now I had forgotten how much fun these little(let's be honest, new stuff is dump truck size compared to the 90's) trucks really are.
Keep up the good work Steve!
I bought a new 1994 Dakota long bed extra cab with the 318 & it was a great work truck & a my buddy had a new R/T which really was a screamer ✌💖☮
Thank you Steve
Great story and history 👍
I LOVE my little 88’ Dakota!!!
quick little trucks with the 318 magnum and 5 speed... the 318 became a option for the 1991 model year when the facelfted (longer slightly)front end came out. it was tight with the early front end (i had a Dakota Shelby) and they were tight and had to use a special radiator and electric fan to make it worth. 91 was also the first year of the short front cover and waterpump on the LA engines.
I had a 93 with a v6 and 5 speed. It was no slouch. Fun truck
Hi Steve, great video on the 1st Gen Dakota. I drove a 2000 Dodge Durango R/T for a short time, and one of my techs had to have it so ended up selling it to him. So after a few yrs his, like many rear wheel drive Chrysler products, the automatic transmission decided to retire early. This fellow went out and found a 318 straight drive Dakota and swapped out everything (not the 360). His words were "fit like it was factory." He drove that truck for yrs without any problems until he installed NOS. The funny part was he got scared of it and he had it unhooked under the hood so there were no 'accidents'. Still had everything else there. I think it being registered in VA had something to do with it also. I think it's illegal over there, but I'm not sure. I never rode in the truck after it was modified. I know he tuned the computer some. When I had it, I was using it to pull my boat around, and if you caught it just right, that 360 would definitely smoke the rear tires, some with the trailer attached. But the 4 wheel or all wheel drive Jeep select track kept it planted. Best days of boat ownership, the day of purchase, and the day it sold! 😂 I really never had any problems with mine to speak of. I tried selling it as a package deal. I had my guy paint a similar graphic that was on the boat onto the Durango. Steve, I wonder why Chrysler didn't offer a 5spd in the R/T version 🤔. Did the Dakota R/T have an optional manual transmission? Mr Google? Oh, I get the title today, I knew yesterday's was some sort of creative twist to it. It's a shame we lost Frank at such a young age. I read most of his health problems were from when he was a kid, and dad would bring home Mercury for him to play with! WOW! Have a blessed day everyone 🤙🏼 Namaste 🙏🏼
Yeah, the R/T made too much torque for that 3 speed automatic. Replaced mine at 120,000 and it was done again at 296,000. Inexcusable that they didn’t have more gears. The customer survey did ask if we’d have liked a stick.
When the R/T came out in 1998, only a four-speed automatic was available. It either had to do with the strength of the transmission not being up to the task, emissions or just the idea of a manual transmission not being popular.
I remember asking our Dodge factory guy "are you going to do a stick R/T?" He said "we get into enough trouble with Viper owners power-shifting their 6-speeds and crashing". I agreed that something as light in the tail as a Dakota (or any unloaded pickup) with a stick and medium - large V8 would be a "tiger by the tail". Oh, I FLUBBED when I said it would be "twenty years" between 1998 Dakota R/T and 2008 Challenger. Errr, ummm...make that TEN years. But it sure felt like 20! Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
1989 happen to be the best year for the Dakota for the Overdrive 4speed automatic which was out in Dodge Trucks and van since June 1988, Shelby model only got the 318 V8 first year in 1989 and the Convertible for Dakota Sport models in 1989 and I happen to own a 1989 Dodge Dakota base model V6 as seen in my videos and still working on it to put a old 318 V8 from a 1985 Chrysler 5th Ave engine into it.
In my teenage years we had a 1989 Dakota with the 3.9L. It was a great pickup. She lasted until around 350,000 miles, and although she still ran and drove, she was burning oil, leaking oil, and was pretty tired. Would've probably lasted a little longer if my mom hadn't ran it out of oil a couple times 😂.
But overall though excellent, tough little truck. I wouldn't mind owning another one. Also, my cousin has a 1989 (I think) but has the 318, and is a convertible.
I loved the 318 in my 98 dakota sport.
Those were neat little, I mean medium, trucks. Especially the convertibles.
We're all pulling for you Steve. Hope to see you soon
Back in my day the owners manual was 14 pages long and told you how to lash valves, set the timing and rotating the tires. Today's manual is 400 pages long and says things like "dont drink the battery water".
hahaha.. i laughed so hard i spit out the battery water.. 😂
@@rustbeltrobclassic2512BRO DON'T DRINK THAT
@@nathanielholmes79 Lmao.. all i wanted to do was find the URL for Ralph from "the Simpsons" where he says "Tastes like burning" hahaha..
Holley made carbs for Ford in the 1920s. There’s one on my Model A.
I bought my 98 rt because of that 1st article! still have it.
I remember seeing those old dakotas with a convertible option
In 1990 l drove a brand new short box red Dakota with bench seat, manual trans and no options for work. Deleted radio. One Friday I drove it about 800 miles from red deer alberta to manitoba straight in 14 hours or so. I was so tired.
Man I bet that pick up was a sleeper back in it’s hay day’s! A light truck with a v8 and a 5 speed transmission! It must of had a limited slip differential though! Great video!
i did a 5.9 Magnum w/ 5.50 lift cam..ported cast heads, behives junked the barrell , found aftermarket high rise alum intake, MSD fuel injection with MSD Dizzy and headers..my lil truck eats tuner cars for breakfast..
RIP LACR, it's sad it's gone. I'm just south of Palmdale in Santa Clarita CA.
Steve's Hot Rod Magazine stories!
My buddy had an 88 convertible he Shelbyized. Cool truck.
I remember reading the "Dog kota" article! Hey, you told it like it was!
In 1987, my dad bought a new Dakota with a four-cylinder, and that truck was the biggest dog I’ve ever driven. Top speed: 65, maybe 70 if the wind is right. The truck itself was good looking, but that motor was garbage. Dad kept it about six months before he traded it off.
Seen a few engines damaged from the screws falling out of the throttle body blades
My 93 has 345000 and still going and when the motor gets rebuilt the intake will go bye bye. Thanks for the heads up Steve!
Hi Steve, my 1999 Trans Am did 13.7 in the quarter, 13.2 after I did some modifications.
I loved mine, 96 black sport w/buckets. Had the chip added, engine bored with sway bars!
I had a red 89 convertible, was a fun slug.
I had a 2000 Sport 4x4 with the 5.9 (360). The guy I got it from bought it new, and he had all the bells and whistles added to it. 5-speed, towing package, 31-10.50 tires, 4:11 gears, air, cruise, power windows and seats, and high output alt. It wasn't fast at all, but it could haul the heavy loads. I had it for 10 years, but living in PA at the time took it's toll on the frame of the truck. It rusted in half and broke between the cab and bed. When the truck broke I had 2 1/2 tons of cast iron on it and was in the scrap yard after getting weighted in. Felt weird standing on the scale with a box of personal belongs waiting to get paid to hitch a ride home afterwards.
These are another of those vehicles I never see anymore on the road.
I inherited my grandfathers 92 4x4 ext cab 318 auto. It only The only complaint was the magical vanishing paint.
I went to school with a guy in 1992 that had a black on black Dakota sport 318 -5speed he put aftermarket headers and exhaust it was badass
I didn’t remember the Lil Red Express was actually a ‘performance’ vehicle. I thought it was mostly an appearance package. Cool trucks.
Steve, I had a 1995 Dodge Dakota SLT, 318, 2wd, 3.92 w/posi., automatic, extended cab pickup, absolutely loved it!!
My older brother has a 2000 Dakota R/T, super-cab, black with gray interior. He has a hard time keeping rear tires on it!
I think David Vizard could break it down to the “brass tacks” as to why the barrel ram intake is good for what it was designed for (a truck engine), but not in a high performance application; and could also probably explain what intake is best to use on a Magnum V8 when searching for muscle car performance figures.
I'm in the UK and everything I know about American cars comes from this man. Almost everything anyway. Lol
The Challenger was only 10 years away in '98. But I get your point!
Nice run down! Thanks
EFF EM ! We need more journalism like that !
I have a 02 Dakota with a 5.9. I put Hughes upgrades (intake, cam, roller rockers and pre 93 exhaust manifolds), made a difference in power. But, the air gap manifold didn’t deliver on the 20+ mpg claims from Hughes.
Did you forget the all important "egg under the gas pedal"? If you don't smash the egg, almost anything can get close to 20 mpg. Well almost almost anything. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante I kept a mpg log, documenting each change: cold air intake, exhaust, cam & intake, etc. the mileage never changed more than a tenth or two total.
2:03
Katie circling the Dakota 😅
Great video Steve, owned a 2001 R/T in red. Awesome truck for the approximately 18 months I owned it. So easy to lay rubber and ruin those 255's... I ended up giving it back after the Mercedes merger. They found a typo in the towing capacity and offered either an extended warranty, an accessory pack, or a refund. I took the refund as the engine was making some new sounds...
Had a '92 Dakota Sport in electric blue. Great truck!
I remember seeing those all over the place.
those 15 inch ram tubes, acording to the Ramchargers RPM vs length equation like gave max torque at like 3 grand which is what you needed in a work truck :)
Get well soon Steve! 413 represent!
they were the best small truck , the s10 and ranger were damn good too
Awesome video
You're the man Steve
The Comanche had to be axed in June 1992 as it was internal competition with the Dakota. However the MJ was unitized, unlike the Dakota.
My neighbor has a couple of the convertible Dakotas. Those are pretty rare.
I had a 91 SLT 4x4 and it was awesome
I had one that had four wheel drive with a V 8 fun truck 😅
My father had a 1994. Club cab 5.2L auto 4x4. He ran it over 300k miles. I bought a 1999 as my 2nd vehicle ever. Club cab 4x4 3.9L auto. I took it mudding and ruined the trans (no 3rd gear), got water in the intake... was burning a qt per week when it was scrapped.