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Parts Truck Included: 1990 Dodge Dakota Convertible

When buying an obscure project vehicle, one of the biggest challenges inevitably becomes, “Where do I find parts for this thing?” As someone who has owned more than a few oddballs in my day, I have never been more compelled to own multiples of the same vehicle than when trying to find spare components or body panels for such a vehicle. The seller of this rare 1990 Dodge Dakota convertible has addressed that concern head-on by including a wrecked parts truck as part of the deal, ensuring that should you ever need a convertible-model-only component, you’ll have a useful carcass to pick from. Find the package deal of Dakotas here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $7,500 and the option to submit a best offer.

The Dakota convertible pickup was made in limited quantities and for only a few years, so it’s no real surprise that parts are hard to find. However, it gets even more complicated because the convertible pickup wasn’t exactly a runaway sales success, so it’s not as if the manufacturer feels much of an obligation to keep parts on the shelves for such an oddball. Now, plenty of components are shared with the standard Dakota pickup, but the seller didn’t buy a parts truck that took a hard hit to the nose because he was hoping for a spare grill; no, he was looking at everything after the hood that was specific to the convertible models. Fortunately, his truck doesn’t need a lot, but he did swap out the minty interior from the wrecked model into the driver.

That’s another benefit of a good parts truck: ending up with other components in better shape than what’s in your running project. The seller has already ported over the bucket seats, uncracked dash, door panels, steering wheel and other bits. I looked at picking up a salvage project from Copart, which I’m guessing is where he found the wrecked convertible, but I was far from the only person scoping out the particular car I was after. I was shocked to see the end result, as the hammer price was more than double what I thought it would sell for. Regardless, kudos to this seller for finding a parts truck for a fair price that will hopefully pay dividends down the road for the next owner of the Dakota convertible.

Here’s the smushed example, and as you can see, the nose panel isn’t among the usable parts. But the convertible top is still accounted for, and that likely means the frame is there as well. The doors and door glass, the bed, tail lights, suspension components, and presumably, the engine are all still accounted for, but I doubt the seller was too worried about having a spare bed to swap over. The running Dakota convertible seems like a good truck on its own, equipped with working A/C, good tires, and an aluminum radiator. It’s said to run and drive well and looks tough in photos sitting on steel wheels. The Dakota convertible is about as obscure as it gets for a domestic pickup, and this one should be quite a bit easier to preserve for the long haul with a parts rig to pick from.

Comments

  1. Avatar Maestro1

    They are interesting but to what end? I remember Izusu P’ups that were also convertible conversions when they were available.

    Like 0
    • Avatar duaney

      you could say that about ANY convertible. They’re all impractical. But most of us would die to get a nice convertible.

      Like 3
  2. Avatar Johnmloghry

    For $7500.00 you could do worse. Oddball for sure, usefulness limited, but likely to be the only one at a show n tell. Here you have a vehicle you can drive right away with operational a/c, nice interior and a parts vehicle. Perhaps it’s not a desirable classic, but for the price it does allow for an opputunity for an entry level car person to get started.
    God bless America

    Like 2
  3. Avatar chrlsful

    I remember looking for these (ca 1990) as I drove the rds and seeing so few. Some one posted “not too useful” & I would get a flip down windshield to counter that argument. I find THAT to be quite useful when the 2 R combined, esp off rd~

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Bmac Member

    I don’t get this limited usefulness, I’ve got a 2 wheel & 4 wheel examples of this truck and use them for all kinds of hauling in the summer. What else can you haul lumber, mulch, or whatever the boss wants with the top down & whatever hair I got left blowing in the wind. My two cents.

    Like 6
    • Avatar Bmac Member

      It’s a pickup with a drop top what’s not to like!

      Like 4
  5. Avatar Kenneth Burns

    I looked for one of these pickups for 5 years. I couldn’t find one. I took the money n bought a Harley-Davidson.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar angliagt Member

    I’ve seen a fair number of these for sale in the last year-
    even locally.I don’t think December is the best time to be selling
    these,as in the Summertime emotion tends to be a big factor in
    buying one.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Danno

    I seem to recall there being a few kits available, to make convertible pickups. Can’t help but think that a kit is the cheaper (wiser?) path to having an old convertible pickup.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar LEE MCGRAW

    is this 3.9 v6? mileage. is the parts truck also a conv?

    Like 0

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