From the outside, this 1985 Dodge D150 Custom SE Prospector looks fairly original. Its lowered stance and custom wheels suggest it might be slightly modified, but it looks fairly original. It turns out, it’s anything but stock, but in a good way! You can take a closer look at it on eBay in Prescott Valley, Arizona, and under the hood, you’ll find a 2019 6.4-liter Hemi engine and a modern eight-speed automatic transmission. Small wonder that the bidding has gone over $10,000. It’s likely to go much higher.
The build started with “a clean and very original truck,” and the very careful update retains a fair amount of the original patina on its two-tone gold and yellow external panels. The owner, who did all the work himself with the help of local shops, says he’s put “thousands of happy miles [more than 5,000] on it since the swap with zero issues. I drove it from Washington, DC to Arizona in two days, and it made it effortlessly.”
The top of the truck is a bit sun fried (Arizona, right?), but those are the original panels, and that’s the original paint—still shiny in places. The Dodge is reported to be 95 percent rust-free, with a few small spots (now coated with treatment) in the front fenders and behind the rear wheels. The truck bed is also original, and very straight.
The truck’s interior is also original, with decent-looking cloth-and-plastic seats—though the period color combination might not be to everyone’s taste. New carpeting hides pristine floor pans. The gauges are all new. A mini-heater has been added to keep the cabin warm, and that appears to be a modern stereo in the dash.
The engine and transmission came from a Dodge Charger with 19,000 miles. To make the swap work, they installed SRT Cherokee manifolds and Holley Swap parts were used for the mounts. Engine management is handled by a Mopar ECM Swap kit with a Sound German Engineering PCM handles shifting duties. There’s a dial from a Durango mounted inside the truck to select gears. Cooling all that Hemi power is handled by a factory Charger radiator and cooling fan. The original D150 rear end was retained but rebuilt, and a custom driveshaft was fabricated. The A/C compressor is still mounted to the engine but isn’t hooked up to anything. Providing fuel to the engine is handled by a 22-gallon Mustang fuel tank, and new fuel lines were run up to the enginebay.
The truck was professionally lowered, with Dodge van lower control arms and all-new brakes. “The rear was lowered by welding in the axle flip kit and repositioning the shocks to the correct angle. The frame is in great shape with no rust issues. A staggered set of 20×8 and 20×9 steelies have been added with custom throwback center caps.”
The result is a new/old truck that drives like “a new Challenger but much lighter. It starts with ease and sounds wonderful through the true dual custom exhaust that dumps out before the rear wheels. It is extremely fun and very fast.” And probably kind of hot in Arizona without air conditioning!
It’s very hard to price a vehicle like this properly. Classic.com puts 1985 Dodge Rams at $17,332, but that doesn’t have huge relevance here—the value is all in the labor-of-love work done to take this truck very far from stock.
Sleeper prospector ⛏️
Stan, something tells me this Prospector surprised way more than a few fast cars at a traffic light.
Really nice build, live the original paint and steelies too. Just looks right.
Professional swap out. Also lighter than the charger it came outta, makes this truck scoot down the road effortlessly, along with 8 speed trans. I also like the earlier grille nice “truck” here!
Now that’s patina I can live with. And I’m not a Dodge guy, but this thing is cool.
I think that’s the 392, 6.4 Hemi
Yep, looks like a 392, then the eBay ad shows the “392 Hemi” valve covers.
The seller says in the as it’s a 5.7L from a 2019 Charger.
Steve R
Well, Ron Porter is correct that it is wearing 6.4 valve çovers (which I understand will fit a 5.7 with some modifications) but on the other hand the ad says 5.7, so I suppose the question is “which is it?”
Steve R: you are correct that the ad says that it is a 5.7, but Ron Porter is also correct that it is wearing 6.4 valve covers, so I guess the question is, what is it? From what I understand, it is possible to put 6.4 covers on a 5.7 with some modifications, but why do it?
Oldrodder, I believe the seller is right. He comes across as competent and knowledgeable in his description.
I work in automotive for many years. When someone doesn’t know what they have, they always pick the bigger/better possibility. I cant tell you how many customers bought rebuild kits for Holley double pumpers then brought them back (opened and unsellable) because they actually had an 1850, 600cfm vacuum secondary. Valve cover gaskets for a Boss 302’s that were actually 302 Windsors, or Hurst shifters for a Muncie’s that turned out to be Saginaw, that’s just to name a few. These mistakes all went one direction, never towards the “less desirable” possibility.
Steve R
Nice, but the 20 inch wheels look very wrong.
They always do.
That’s a sweet little Prospector. Bet it’s a half-ton of fun too.
Nice build. If everything is sorted out mechanically, you could drive this every day (once the AC is sorted). My dad has a 2018 Charger with the 5.7 and 8 speed auto and gets mid 20’s mpg. I imagine this would do similar if you laid off the skinny pedal. But who wants to do that?
Was kind of hoping that it had an old school 426 Hemi under the hood with dual four barrel carburetors.
Love the original look maintaining the period colors. Gen 3 hemi will move this light weight truck right out. Open the vents and enjoy some nostalgia.
I like this truck a lot for many reasons, but most of all because it’s not a C-10 and its very cool. It is also practically in my back yard. I have my truck for sale and if the timing worked out, I would try to buy it, It is also obvious the price will be going up.
Not only not a C-10, it also thankfully does not have an LS stuffed in it.
Awesome build, just wish it had some inner fenders to help keep rocks and other debris out. Love the fact the truck body & interior are all original. Quite the sleeper for sure!
Hmmm…that front grille is from a 76-78 dodge pickup
Correct. You can see in some of the pics where the round-ish grille doesn’t quite fit and cover up the square hole. I would have rather seen the original 81-85 grille on this ride.
Well, to say that this is an interesting pick-up would be an understatement for sure. It appears to be fairly well done and because I live in the area, I can attest to the fact that there are some pretty competent hot rod shops around here if he did in fact have outside help. I’m surprised that the write up didn’t mention what appear to be after market gauges, (or did Dodge have those from the factory?) Also, as I only know enough about Mopar’s to be dangerous, (and even less about Dodge pick-ups) what is up with that crazy dial to control the gearbox?
Those are aftermarket gauges for sure. Maybe an older set of SpeedHuts? The look nice enough and will function substantially better than the factory ones. Probably should have gone larger though, the 4 1/2 inch gauges fit better in the factory bezel with less modification. Of course Dakota Digital makes a set for the 81-93 gas trucks now that mount right in and manage to look pretty darn close to factory.
As for the gear box dial, it’s Mopar’s way to control the 8 speed tranny in all their truck and SUV applications. It’s definitely a love it or hate it kind of setup in the new vehicles.
The “knob” has been around for a decade now and we still hear about it. Levers are cool but you’re not “shifting” anything. The gear limit/select switch achieves the need to be in a specific range. There are those who won’t find this acceptable but they won’t like the alternative either.
Nice truck done just right. Got the “knob” in our 2021 Chrysler Pacifica van and I don’t like it at all. Like all the other gauges you have to take your eyes off of your surroundings to use it.
Sold on 2/15/2025 for a high bid of $20,300, with 54 bids amongst 9 bidders.
Steve R