“Rugged elegance” is how a Dodge brochure describes the 1982 Dodge Ram pickups. The seller has this 1982 Dodge Ram D150 Custom Prospector Package Short Bed pickup posted here on craigslist just northeast of beautiful Tucson, Arizona where I should have moved after high school. The seller is asking $16,500, here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for the tip!
For the record, Rugged Elegance is definitely not my nickname. In researching this short bed Dodge, I ran across another one in Boise, ID but with a Utiline (stepside) bed here. It also has a 225 slant-six but it has a manual with a floor shifter and is a whopping $10,000 cheaper. I don’t know if I’ve ever threadjacked my own post before, sorry about that, Rocco!
The seller has the original wheels (rims, as they said in ancient times) and original wheel covers for this truck and they show two photos of them, but we don’t see inside the box/bed. They do show many underside photos so that’s nice. Dodge created the Ram for the 1981 through 1993 model years and the seller says this truck is rust-free.
The interior looks like…hey, what the? In an about face most likely never seen here on Barn Finds before, the seller has included exactly zero interior photos! I kid you not. They show 21 photos, eight exterior photos, a whopping nine underside photos, and even two engine shots, but not one glimpse of the interior. All they say is the interior is in good shape, but you’ll have to get in touch with them for photos if this truck interests you.
This is the base engine for this truck, Dodge’s 225-cu.in. OHV slant-six with 145 horsepower and 215 lb-ft of torque. It sends power through an automatic to the rear wheels and has power steering, power brakes, and AC. Interestingly, they don’t mention how it runs but I have to believe it runs well. Hagerty is at $11,600 for a #3 good-condition truck, how much would you pay for this example?
145HP was the old gross HP rating, not net as would be used in 1982. Plus, 145 HP was what a 1970 had, by 82, not the case. Cars with slant sixes were 90 net HP in 1982, trucks maybe a little better, but not much. The poor slant six did not fare well in those days. A long way from its 1959 roots.
Thanks, Curt. I got the horsepower/torque info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_D_series – at the bottom, on the engine chart. I see where Hagerty lists the HP as 95 so you’re probably correct that it wouldn’t have had 145 in 1982. Thanks for the follow-up information.
Nice truck. It looks to have aftermarket AC. Also a note to the author – these trucks were body on frame, I am not sure from where the reference is that is quoted at the top of the article about unibody welds.
Roland, it came from this 1982 Dodge Ram brochure, page 3:
https://xr793.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1982-Dodge-Ram-Trucks.pdf
scotty that section refers to the vans. scroll on down to to pg 5&6
oops
wicked clean lil’ truck.
without an interior shot i can’t tell if it’s dealer or factory air
Whoa, my bad! Thanks for catching that, eric22t and Roland! My apologies, it’s been four+ decades since high school English class… Sorry about that.
I’ve had a few of these trucks and I always had good luck. But I don’t think it’s worth half of what they are asking. If it had a V8 I could see maybe $10k.
I had one like this one mine was gray with red interior and had the slant six and auto. trans. It had no problem keeping up with traffic even when hauling a load in the bed. They sat low enough so this guy at 5’7″ could easily get in and out not like the behemoths they build today. Wish I still had it. This one looks like a nice example and in good condition. Seems a little pricey but with what mopars are bringing and the cost of new pickups the price just might be in line. To the seller good luck with the sale. To the buyer keep in mind it’s not a race truck it’s a work truck understand that and you will enjoy it.
How does this one run? Slowly. I’d still be happy to tool around in it all summer until ma nature lays down the slip n slide like today.