The Dodge Dakota was Chrysler’s foray into mid-size pickups. It was on the market for 25 years but was always outsold by the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S-10 (later Colorado). Its claim to fame was that it was the first in that market segment to offer a V8 engine as an option. The seller has a sweet 1992 Dakota R/T which has been modified and its 5.2-liter V8 is said to produce 450 hp. So, this truck was built more to go fast than to haul lumber. Located in Orland Park, Illinois, this latter-day restomod is available here on craigslist for $15,500. Another gonzo tip from PRA4SNW!
Dodge rolled out the Dakota in 1987 and it saw two generations of production before they retired the pickup in 2011. There was nothing unusual about the design with its conventional body-on-frame layout and live axle rear end. Mid-way through its life cycle (the year 2000) the Dakota was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award but didn’t win. The seller refers to this as an R/T and the truck has the decals inside and outside that say that. But online sources seem to think the R/T didn’t come along until about five years later, and it was mostly a trim option.
We’re told this pickup has a 5.2-liter V8 which works out to 318 cubic inches. Is this motor that engine on steroids or did they drop in something more potent than anything ever to come out of the plant in Warren, Michigan where the Dakota was built? Whatever the case, it’s a fire-breather now and the truck looks to have been lowered and the rear suspension modified to accept the really wide rear tires.
Should it matter, this truck is said to have spent its life in the South and the body is rust-free and the paint nearly perfect with no dings or scratches. If you were looking for a beast of a truck (as the seller puts it), this Dodge might be the one. How fast is it? You’ll have to clock it yourself doing the quarter mile to find out. The seller is agreeable to considering a trade.
I always liked the first gen Dakota. Clean and simple lines and has aged gracefully. As far as the owners claim to 450hp with a 318 engine? Sounds like the numbers on my shop vac. Slightly optimistic and anytime someone tells me how much HP their custom engine produces I just kindly ask for the Dyno sheet to prove it. Regardless a potent 318 in a first gen Dakota will make this one fast truck that will continue to produce smiles anytime you nail it. You can’t build a nice one like this for his asking price so I would call this a good deal if this turns your crank. I would probably give it the name Dragkota though.
Its possible to get that out of that engine, but it would take alot of work, and its probably not very “streetable”. If the work was done, and done properly, and its really putting that power down, it somewhat justifies the price more, but I still feel its kinda high. This should in all reality be closer to the 8-10k range.
These trucks are common, and so are they with the 318. They used to be a dime a dozen. I bought my 93 sport in great condition for $450 back in like 2010. This does seem to have alot of work done too it other then the engine and is in really nice shape, but as a rule you hardly never get out of something that you put into it.
I beg to differ. In 1990, I owned a 1971 Dart swinger 383. I street raced a duster 1974 duster automatic with a very potent 318. This dude absolutely blew my doors off!! At launch he lifted the front tires at least a foot off the ground and had at least 4 car lengths ahead of me. After, he showed me the dyno sheet showing it was in fact a 318 making 468hp at the rear wheels. 318s are extremely rock solid engines that are buildable.
The default position when anyone claims engine output is they are making up the number to impress whoever is standing within earshot. The one place people don’t talk about horsepower is a racetrack, they know they’ll sound like an idiot, even if they aren’t exaggerating.
The better response than asking for a dyno sheet, is to ask what does it run, last time I checked, nobody races dyno’s.
Steve R
Yeah no way 450hp lolol
trailer queen
It’s actually a gen 2 and not a real R/T although I run the R/T emblem on mine as well with it’s factory 318 the R/T trucks didn’t come out untill the gen 3 body and with the 360 motor…..nice truck but not everyone likes a Dodge…
1st gen is 87-96 2nd gen is 97-04 3rd gen is 05-11
“dragota” and it will fit on a personalized license plate. Whether one likes these or not, it is not exactly a cars and coffee hit yet. But this particular one will definitely command respect there, and at the red light!
Nice little rig. 450hp on a 318 isnt something you see everyday. Like alphasud, id love to see the dyno curve.
…and like Steve said, I like to see 1/4 mile times; I don’t see a turbocharger or supercharger so I’m skeptical too. It does have a nice interior though. I understand the seller wants to recoup his investment into this truck but I wouldn’t pay more than 8K here.
A sleeper until you look in back and see those big Daddy Don Garlits rear tires!
I just looked Garlits up he is 92 years old, raced An EV racer to A record speed at 87 years old, pretty cool.
I’m guessing that 318 put out around 220ish horsepower stock.To add over 200 more ponies without a blower, Nitrous,or a nasty built naturally aspirated engine would take more than the headers and bigger carburetor (and chrome air breather)
May be he added the claimed hp increase of each of the mods like my neighbor did on his tbi 350. “I should be pushing 400 hp,” he said. “Stock is around 300 (no), K&N filter should be good for 20 hp, headers another 25 hp”, etc. I told him it didn’t work like that – you can’t just stack claimed hp increases on top of each other, even if they did happen to be true, but he knows better. Stock heads and cam and he’s thinking 400 hp. He’s probably “pushing 250” on his 1987 tbi tree fiddy, but I digress.
It would likely take a big cam, ported and polished heads, bored and stroked….450hp isnt a stretch.
My brother had a Dakota years back. He toted his motorcycle up to his vacation cabin in it, and while he was out on the bike one day the truck spontaneously combusted. Fortunately a neighbor spotted the blaze and the FD got there before fire spread to his cabin. Truck had been sitting a couple of days too.
He rode the bike home from that trip.
I absolutely love this one because at first glance you’re not going to see those rear wheels on it and have no idea what’s under the hood unless you hear it coming. Also I’ve seen excessive amounts of horsepower come out of a motor that didn’t look like it had any horsepower at all. You have no idea what’s inside of it and it’s what’s inside of it that counts. At any rate, at this price if it runs good if it’s fast I don’t care if it’s 450 or 400 horsepower. Either way it’s worth the money. You’re not going to build anything like this for that price so I don’t see why not. The Interior is clean as the outside and it would just be a blast to drive. Worth every penny
One of the first “fast” vehicles I owned was a 1993 Dakota with the 318 that I bought in 1994. 220hp and around 300 ft-lbs of torque. Mine was a regular cab long bed with the exact same interior as this one and painted red. It was surprisingly quick for a pickup truck, and I beat several 80’s and early 90’s muscle cars, including a Trans Am, which really annoyed the owner. It looked just like every other V-6 Dakota, except for the V8 badges on the front fenders, so people weren’t really expecting the acceleration it was capable of. I really enjoyed driving that truck, and if this one has anything close to 400-450 horsepower I bet it’s a blast to drive and will probably burn those fat meats on the rear axle for as long as you want. Heck , even if it’s only making 300hp it’ll still get up and go. I would seriously consider buying this super truck if I was in the market, the price is right and it’s in excellent condition with all the necessary modifications for the power it’s making.
Hmm… I’ve got a fuel-injected 370-inch iron-block aluminum-head LS motor with a 2.3 liter TVS Eaton TVS blower. Tuned to run on 91 octane California pump gas, it makes 475 dyno-proven horsepower at the wheels through a built 4L80E and a Ford 9-inch rear end.
I doubt that this truck is sporting an N/A 318-inch motor with 450 horsepower – crank or wheel – unless it is built to the hilt, tuned to the very ragged edge of destruction, and running on race gas.
I was thinking the same thing. In order for the 318 to make 450hp, it would need to be bored and stroked, with high compression pistons, big valve heads, a really lumpy cam and at least a 750cfm carburetor. I’m also curious what transmission it has- is it the original 3 speed with push button overdrive, or something else? Maybe that’s exactly what this one has, a hugely built engine and transmission, but I’d sure like to take it for a test drive and find out.
A lot of people are calling this dude (or dudette) out on horsepower claims, but nobody’s contacted them to see what’s up. Personally, I think it’s a pretty cool build, even at say 300 hp. Cross between a sleeper and a menace to the roads, in a daily driver package. I wouldn’t have the guts to build something like this today, so to me the price seems about what I would expect. It’s clean top and bottom.
The thing is this is not 2010 and I doubt that your $450.00 sport was that great of condition. Some people think that if something will crank up its in great condition. The Dakotas are actually coming up in value now and 15-k is certainly not too high of a price for this truck.
Nice truck , even if 450 HP is a stretch, try and build one for 15.5
I have owned three Dakotas and non of them were dogs,my first one was a v6 and it had some get up and go and could tow a 25 ft cabin curser over the Bourne Bridge no problem. The problem with the Dakota was the frame rot but I live on Cape Cod and no matter how careful I was between the ocean and salted roads–kinda a lost cause. These trucks were very reliable.
It’s a little bad as truck, but I would like to see 800hp at the wheels.
Someone should tell the seller that horsepower estimates don’t work by adding up the claims of individual aftermarket parts in your build.
That said, it’s a pretty clean little rig for the money.
In 1994 I special ordered a Dodge Dakota 318 V8 5-speed heavy duty everything short bed short cab. My final payment was $13,800.
Took it to the local drag strip quarter mile and ran a 13.5.
With 3.55 gear ratio in the back.
Fun little truck wish I still had it.
Total weight 3,300 lb
No disrespect intended but a stock 318 5-speed didn’t run run 13s. I don’t care if it’s in a 2,000lb truck. 13.5 was Mustang Cobra times.
It’s not that unlikely. It would need some block work, stroker crank, rods and .30 or .40 oversized pistons, beefy cam and bolt ons to complement the higher hp internals…intake, carb, headers. This would make 450hp.
n20 ?