The Dodge Ramcharger, like the Ford Bronco and Chevrolet K5 Blazer, enjoys a certain level of stability in the collector vehicle market. These older trucks are highly capable machines even to this day when put to the task of going off-road, which is likely why their values have held. The truck shown here on eBay is a nicely preserved 1983 Ramcharger with the Prospector package that included some cosmetic tweaks and a few more options inside. The seller notes it benefits from an older restoration and an engine swap with a more powerful 360 V8.
Bidding is at $5,300 with no reserve, so there’s a chance this one goes for a fair number for all parties. The Ramcharger with the Prospector package got you nice-to-have features like air conditioning, decal stripes, occasionally two-tone paint, and other interior enhancements. It wasn’t necessarily what most of us hope for in a 4×4 upgrade package – no heavy duty lockers or beefier suspension settings – but the Ramcharger was already a pretty capable machine out of the box. It’s nice to see examples like this that weren’t turned into plow trucks back in the day.
In fact, the seller claims it hasn’t seen much road salt or snow at all in its history file. It’s been a California truck since new and the seller notes it has never been in an accident. The big work happened in 2009 when the truck was repainted and the engine upgrade, going from the factory 318 to the 360, was performed. The seller notes that it apparently stopped being used much around 2016 and the recent work included flushing the fuel system to likely address the years of stagnation. The transfer case and axles are both said to be in good working order.
That said, you’ll still likely find a few things to sort out. The older restoration is overall a plus, even though it seems like the term “restoration” may be a bit generous considering the paint has noticeable flaws. It was likely a hobbyist-grade job, which is fine for a driver, especially one that isn’t hiding rust in places due to exposure to salt and snow. Assuming the 360 was a motor sourced from the same period when this truck was originally built, it will provide around 175 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, and as an added bonus, the seller notes the engine and transmission were both rebuilt prior to being installed. Overall, a lot of value for the money in this California Ramcharger.
What a great truck! I’ve owned a couple of these while living in Monterey, CA that I truly wish I had kept and taken back east with me. These were always a favorite of mine when it came to the SUV market and IMO were better than the Blazer or the Bronco of the day. Mine were always at home either at the beach or in the mountains and served us well. This is a unique vehicle and one that if it was on the East Coast, it would be in my garage but given vehicle shipping costs today it simply is not an economical proposition.
That green is a really nice shade, I’d pay a little extra for this one just because of that.
“Always drink upstream from the herd, don’t squat with spurs on, if it don’t seem worth the effort, it probably ain’t, consarnit”,,just some 19th century prospector lingo that has nothing to do with this Bronco/Blazer knockoff. Oh, come on, Chrysler was behind the times with the Cherokee and they knew it, and a full size 4×4 SUV was sorely needed. Too bad the public didn’t need another full size gas hoggin’ truck. Splitting hairs really, which was better, the car makers threw everything they had at these, usually from well proven pickup truck mechanicals and cushy car interiors, but you paid dearly for that with single digit gas mileage the norm, and high initial cost, about $12grand, comparable to a Bronco/Blazer, or almost double what a 4×4 D-100 cost. They were all good trucks.
Handsome in its green finish. Everyone I knew who had one loved it.
I had a 88 for nine years and a 90 for twelve years! Both were fantastic vehicles. Both had the 318, but the 88 had a manual transmission with A/C and the 90 was automatic. The 90 had the same paint as this one, but it was two tone with tan from the lower moldings down. The 90 was a SE model, so it had every option you could get. It would turn from blue to green with a hint of purple depending how the sun hit it. It was the factory paint.
Nice looking ride. It’d be great to have. There’s a lot of 2WD versions here in North FL. I don’t have a clue where you’d get viable parts for these today.
SOLD for $9100.
29 bids.