Perhaps inspired by the Li’l Red Express pickup from a decade or so earlier, the 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota was a one-year attempt at a smaller performance truck. Besides special trim, the Shelby Dakota had a V8 engine that was installed by Carroll Shelby’s group. This one look to have been sitting out in the desert for a long time and will require a lot of attention. It’s also #82 of the 1,500 that were produced. Located in Tucson, Arizona, this rare find is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,000.
The Shelby Dakota began as a standard, mid-size pickup that had its stock 3.9-liter V6 engine removed by Shelby. In its place, they shoehorned in a 5.2-liter V8 that produced 175 hp. Space was kind of tight, so electric fans had to replace the one that was driven by the motor. It was a torquey little truck at 270 ft-lbs. After that, Shelby added special trim and new wheels so people would know you were driving something other than a regular Dakota.
And just as Dodge had done with the Express in 1978, we’re told this was the fastest pickup sold at the time. Dodge and Shelby limited production to 1,500 copies of which 995 were red like the seller’s pickup. This vehicle has been well used with an advertised mileage of 250,000. The truck is no longer in running condition and there’s no indication of what it would take to change that.
The paint is well-baked, and the interior is past its prime, so considerable time and effort are going to be required to get this back in as-new condition. But we’re told the body is otherwise solid. The special wheels it came with when new are long gone with four rollers in place with tires of unknown age. If you decided to take the plunge, this is a truck you’re not likely to see duplicated anytime soon, Thanks for the tip, Barn Finder Jeff!
Is there a manufacturer that Shelby did not
put his name on?
This one could be stored in one’s backyard
for the bragging rights at the favorite watering hole,
“Gots me a Shelby!”
I want to say later model Dakota’s got factory 5.2 liters as an engine option. Kind of stole the thunder from the Shelby Dakota.
Good luck whomever buys her.
This is a cool truck. I know the old codgers will knock it because it’s not a “real” Shelby, but in about fifty years this truck will be worth about $30k.
To compare this to “real shelbys” is a disservice. This is a cool, unique truck. An there are not thousands of clones of it on the road. Sure, it may be costly to make it right, but I bet it has little rust if it lived in good ol’ AZ for it’s life span :-)
Given that the same 5.2 engine was also available in regular Dakotas (my ’91 Dakota has the same engine) and the Shelby wheels are gone, I’m not sure there’s really much here that’s special, unless of course Carroll Shelby signed the glove box.
The question is ? Wich glove box did he NOT sign !
LOL. If it’s not signed it’s worth more because it would be an anomaly, like a baseball card or comic book with a weird misprint or feature.
Call 📞 1-800- the-hook 🪝 🛻
This truck’s race has been run. Yikes.
Sometimes you’re better off to just send it to the crusher, the paint doesn’t bother me, I can work with the interior, but the 200k miles no thanks
I wouldn’t even give 2000 haha’s let alone $. Crusher bait indeed
Haters, I remember when these were new. Yes it’s been used and put out back and these still get no respect, 1989 was a tough year for manufactures and performance. Sure it’s not an English car with a Ford V8 but the big Texan had some input on the build. As far as signing cars, people took that part off their car to be signed, easier than carrying a dashboard.
It made be rare, but I have a friend here in Georgia that has 3 white ones. Which apparently is more rare. And to have 3 of them …