BMW Ultimate Grocery Getter Blog

Apr 29, 2008 - Dodge Dakota family heirloom

Video shows my Dodge Dakota restoration project.  This truck was purchased by my Dad in August, 1987.  He drove it from 1987 to 2005 when he replaced it with a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Hemi.  Ironically, he purchased both trucks from the same sales representative at his home town Dodge dealer.  His salesman's comment to him after buying the Ram, "Don't wait so long next time."

The truck has 109,000 miles on it.  The engine was showing some signs of wear and my Dad's mechanic advised us that the main bearing clearances were pretty loose.  Also, had some other issues that needed to be addressed including a main seal oil leak.  I had a local engine rebuilding shop rebuild the 3.9 V6 to factory specs.

The truck has no rust and was never in an accident.  The rest of the driveline is solid and pretty much everything works.  Some people think I am insane for putting money into it but it is a first year Dodge Dakota and I think it is worthy of preservation.  It has been in my life for almost half of my life and our family has some wonderful memories of road trips taken with it.  Hopefully, we can keep it in the family. 

7:38 pm | Categories: 1987, dodge, dakota, restoration Permalink | Alert Administrator

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