Old trucks from your local department of public works or other municipal agencies are great buys as hobby vehicles, usually because mileage isn’t terribly high and the supervisors have specified their rigs to have the best heavy duty equipment available. This 1989 Dodge D-350 pickup still wears its “safety orange” paint that was likely shared across the fleet of vehicles that were in service for the Central Maine Power Company. The seller maintains that the truck, listed here on Facebook Marketplace, is in excellent running order with just one spot of rust through on the driver’s side rocker. The asking price is $10,000.
The interior of the Dodge is actually in very nice condition for a truck of this vintage regardless of history, but especially so considering it was a publicly owned and maintained vehicle. When I worked for a bridge authority in New York, clean cosmetics weren’t necessarily a concern of the guys who were using the trucks, free of charge, so someone clearly made the effort to keep this Dodge looking clean. The untorn vinyl bench seat is a rare find, but the manual gearbox is nearing unicorn status for a truck that was used by a power utility (or any state agency). The dash is also near perfect, with no visible cracks and clear gauges.
This era of the Dodge D-Series was almost like a swan song of some of the classic Dodge engines from years of truck building. The Slant Six, 318, and 360 were all options in this era of Dodge trucks, and it was also the generation where the Cummins-built diesels became more mainstream. The seller has addressed some key maintenance items as part of the prep work getting this Dodge ready for sale, including a new alternator, fuel lines, fuel pump, spark plugs, oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, and more. He plans to replace the transmission and differential fluid along with installing a new thermostat prior to it going to a new owner.
I love these huge mudflaps, as they seem to give the truck an extra few inches of width. The cosmetics are far from perfect, but it’s really not bad for a workhorse. The seller claims that despite its years in Maine, the frame is in beautiful condition, which doesn’t surprise me given how many of the trucks owned by utilities and municipal agencies were regularly stored indoors and driven only sparingly. Since this isn’t a bucket truck or some other vehicle a power company might use to send out into the storm to repair downed lines, I’m guessing this Dodge didn’t see much winter driving – it’s really the only way to explain how its survived to such a degree. Find an old Central Maine Power Company logo to paint on the doors and just drive the thing!
Seller lists it as being in “EXCELLENT” condition.
Some rust is not “EXCELLENT”.
Some rust? There is a rusted out hole beneath the driver’s door. Definitely not a $10K truck.
What is orange and sleeps six?
A county truck!
10k for this? Wow, and it’ll sell quick I bet. Used vehicle market is crazed.
I bought an ex-USFWS truck earlier this year, a 2002 Silverado 1500 RCLB. I paid $5500, which seemed like a lot at the time, but given the current market, maybe not. The kicker was that it only had 94k on the clock, and commensurate engine hours. The GMT800 trucks commonly last 200k or more, and if I bought 106k of use out of the truck for $5500, maybe it was a good deal.
What, no mention of the exact engine it has? A V8, I gather that, but which one? Lazy seller, obviously a flipper. Flippers are okay if they improve on the vehicle, give you good info, etc, but here, just looks like a quick money grab and who knows what they are hiding.
No useful information like displacement, type of transmission and rear axle ratio included. You know, the kind of information that a truck buyer would be interested in. The Barn Find write up is also unhelpful. It’s rustier than it looks and not worth$10K.
Located in Bridgton, ME
Located in Bridgton, ME
Located in Bridgton, ME