From 1989-1991, Dodge partnered with the American Sunroof Corporation to produce the Dakota Sport Convertible. In 1989, the year of the truck here, 2,843 were made. With only 25,146 original miles, this Dakota Sport Convertible has a lot of life left! It’s currently for sale at a dealership in Henderson, Nevada, and can be found here on craigslist. The asking price is $24,980. Thanks to Boot for the tip!
The exterior of this Dakota is in good shape, which should be expected from the low mileage. There were only a couple flaws that I noticed. First, some of the lettering on the tailgate is starting to chip off, although fortunately the rest of the decals look perfect. The front bumper has uneven gaps, meaning a minor collision may have happened to it at some point. The plastic housing for the fog lights are also a bit warped. There are no pictures of the manually-operated top closed, so it’s hard to judge its condition, but overall the exterior needs very little attention.
In the engine bay, things look to be in good working order. Other than some minor corrosion on the exhaust manifold, everything looks to be clean and tidy. It even has A/C, although I’m not sure how effective it would be with the top down! The engine here is a 3.9L V6 engine, rated at 125 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired to an automatic 4-speed transmission. Not a lot of speed to be found here, but the convertible aspect is what makes this a fun truck.
The interior has held up well, and that is a lot of red! The dashboard has a full gauge package and some upgraded trim. It appears that there are power windows, locks, and mirrors. The listing mentions an AM/FM radio, but it’s hard to tell from the photos if it’s original or aftermarket. I’m leaning towards original. There is a small wrinkle on the driver’s seat bolster, but no tears, stains, or visible damage anywhere. It looks like the seats might be sun faded in a few locations, but it’s inconsistent between photos so it may just be the lighting on the fabric. One big win is that the dashboard doesn’t have any cracks. That can be hard to find on a southern car!
Even though this Dakota Sport Convertible is 32 years old, it has been cared for by its previous owners and is ready for some more top-down cruising this summer!
Actually,A/C in a convertible works great when the
weather’s hot& humid.You put the top down & turn up the
A/C.I’ve done it in our Miata.Sounds weird,but it works.
Owning a couple of these, I know from experience a/c is a must.
Conversely, I used to drive around in December in my Spitfire with the top down and the heater going full blast.
Same with my “Z” Roadster – face the vents to the hands and split the heat to the feet … drove it to work top down every day no matter how cold it was, even in Reno in the snow … and the rain would blow over the seating area … only in downpours was the top up …
I always thought these are cool. Low miles and re-sale red. GLWS.
Very cool trucks and survivors are increasingly rare. If this had the available (and desirable) V8 she would be closer in price. As she sits the price is about 25% high.
I have over 200,000 miles on mine and still loving the Dakota convertible. This looks to be in great shape and also includes the original top boot cover which I think is hard to find. Looks to be one of the nicest original ones I have seen come up in a long time.
Dodge Shelby Dakota was the limited V8 Dakota in 1989
Only 1475 were build by.Carroll Shelby.
No convertible V8 Shelby Dakotas
seems like a good idea to me.
Didn’t see ’em much but when I did I remembered (twice) eyes followed that weird top (it wuz up both times) down the st AND around the corner…
double entry?
seems like a good idea to me.
Didn’t see ’em much but when I did I remembered (twice) eyes followed that weird top (it wuz up both times) down the st AND around the corner…
I have two Dakota convertibles.
Will watch this sale.
Mine may be the next for sale…
I want to see one of the eight 1991’s for sale..
That’s a lot of money for a boring 125 hp chryco motors pick up …
convertible…
I bought one of these in 1989 but mine was white. It was a fun truck to own and made people take a second look. I sold it to my uncle the day my first child was born. He called 2 days later and told me he took it to a dealer because the AC wasn’t working. I told him it was because it didn’t have AC. I guess he wasn’t listening when I told him the first time.
A small number of these were 4WD but not sure how many.