When you see an achingly nice version of a classic car or truck, you’re reminded of the thin line between truly outstanding vehicles and ones that are merely “nice.” This 1987 Dodge Ramcharger strikes me as being firmly on the side of “outstanding” given its beautiful, bone-stock condition and low mileage of just 74,710. The Ramcharger comes with a near-spotless interior and is equipped with a 360 and the Prospector package. Find it here on the Mecum Auctions website where it’s slated to go to bid October 14-15 in Chattanooga.
There are plenty of ratty Ramchargers out there, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with one of these being found and used in driver condition. After all, they weren’t intended to be treated like collector’s items when new, as they were built to withstand a good amount of abuse and take you where the road turned unkind. But that’s exactly why nice ones like this are such standouts, owing to the fact that relatively few have survived in this sort of condition, despite enjoying healthy production numbers. The turbine wheels, chrome bumpers, and factory paint all present quite well.
The interior is even better, showing virtually no flaws across that stunning cardinal red cloth upholstery. The carpets, door panels, and seat upholstery all look to be in mint condition. While the miles are low, they’re not low enough to guarantee a cabin will survive to such a high level of obvious care. The black surfaces still appear lustrous and the fake wood trim around the binnacle looks good enough that I almost feel bad calling it fake. The listing notes it comes with air conditioning, the power convenience package, and the LE trim package as well.
Mechanically, the Dodge is equipped with a limited slip; optional skid plates; and optional 31 inch tires. There’s no info provided about its maintenance history, but given how clean it is inside and out, I have to believe a previous owner has made all the right moves related to maintenance. The combination of the condition with the equipment list and low mileage will make this a must-have for a square body collector and we can absolutely understand why.
I wonder why Stellantis is leaving billions of tasty American dollars by not building a RAMCHARGER on the RAM 1500 platform.
They built several in Latin America after they stopped in the USA. It is difficult to know why they discontinued them at home. Good question to pursue.
Had one as a factory tech rep back in 89. 360, tow pkg, would pass everything but the fuel station. Extremely comfortable , iffy handling, but would tow a house. There was NO business model that would show enough sales to justify the expense….remember DIAMLER got control, (“merger of equals”), when it was time for the redesign. Jürgen Schrempp, the head of the company just did NOT understand our car culture. During the “reveal” at the proving grounds in Michigan, both Mercedes & Chrysler had one-of-each of their products on display. Each had an MSRP window sticker, and the number of prior year sales. The STAR of the show was a Dodge (not called RAM yet!), Diesel Dually 4×4. Schrempp walked around it, eyes slightly bugging out at the MSRP and numbers sold…then turns to to the toadies and says ” I did not realize there were so many vegetable farmers in the USA!” …. at which point several Chrysler folks looked to the sky, and requested his attendance at the I-75 overpass… to WHITNESS what we were driving… (Schrempp returned to Germany with a Jeep Wrangler, Bob Eaton, the guy that sold Chrysler down the river and is currently hiding under a rock somewhere got a full boat Merc and ( rumor has it) $35 mill.
They finally wised up. The new Wagoneer is based off the RAM 1500. Jeep gets the fancy SUVs, and RAM just does trucks. When they announced the Wagoneer someone asked about a RAM version and whoever was answering questions at the time said they’re trying to stop competing with themselves like GM and Ford does.
Love it! Rare back in the day and even more so now.
I had a blue and silver one. Another of the many that I should have kept.
This is a mint example for sure. There’s a few tweaks here and there, but it’s a good 95% factory. Obviously this SUV saw a lot of time in the garage or some kind of enclosed storage. The side marker badges are one of the first things to fade and turn completely silver (center is metal), but this truck they’re practically brand new! This truck being an 87, gets saved from the wonky EFI system. Well wonky in the sense of these days. With as clean as this truck is, a OEM EFI might have still worked perfectly since everything seems to be there for all the smog control and everything else. So many of these trucks with the EFI have parts of the smog deleted or just cut, so the truck runs like total garbage. This one is a great looking truck though and will bring in some coin for sure!