There may not be a better location to own a convertible than Redondo Beach, California, in general, but when it’s a 1990 Dodge Dakota Convertible it’s even better. Just think of all the surfing and beach gear you can haul, and having the convertible top down sure makes for an eye-catching and fun ride. Thanks to Rocco B. for sending in this topless tip!
The seller refers to this Dakota Convertible as the perfect surf truck and they may be right. Out of the four 1990 Dodge Dakota Convertible pickups that we’ve seen here on Barn Finds, only one has been without bold Sport graphics like this example. The others have had wide striped and “SPORT” decals.
The clean look works well and this looks like a nice example in Colorado Red. The seller says that the body and paint are in excellent condition, but also that there is a bit of rust on the lower passenger side fender. Dodge offered the Dakota Convertible for only three model years (1989 through 1991) and just under 4,000 were reportedly made in those three years. They were available with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive and this is the former. The bed floor appears to be in great condition.
The interior looks like new and this truck has 64,164 miles so it’s not a trailer queen but it sure looks nice to me. And, no steering wheel cover or dash cover! Sadly, customers weren’t buying this concept, literally. They sold just under 3,000 in 1989, just over 900 in 1990, and only about eight in 1991 the final year of production. American Sunroof Corporation did the chop work and they were manually operated convertible tops. The single-loop rollbar adds a visual buzzkill to the look but adds a bit more safety.
The engine is Dodge’s 3.9-liter fuel-injected V6 with 125 horsepower. It sends power through a four-speed automatic to the rear wheels, and it runs and drives great, according to the seller, but the AC and stereo aren’t working. They have it posted here on craigslist in Redondo Beach, California, and are asking $11,500. Here is the original listing. Have any of you owned one or even seen one on the street? It’s been two decades since I’ve seen one in person.
Every doggone time. On the wrong side of the country. I love these trucks. I’ve been looking for one for ten years.
LOL!!!
I said the sane thing.
I like these truck verts and low miles plus decent body is cool.
Fyi:
Shipping..
I bought over xmas a 68 California Spec Stang dropped off in Washington state from Canada 🇨🇦
2000 to ship .. at least Cali is better than the tip of Washington state (BFE) 😎that most hauling bidders passed on picking up.
Good luck on sale…
Fly out and drive it home one last adventure before winter with a willing co driver and little sleep you can get it home in a weekend.
Move Jim!
I got to sit in one of these in an LA junkyard years ago. I owned an 8′ bed ’88 with the 3.9, which is a 318 missing two cylinders. The truck had okay power, got mid-teens for mileage, and could not stop with all new brakes – both feet on the pedal as hard as I could push and I could not lock the wheels. The convertible felt a bit awkward: even though one sits upright and high in the seat it still felt like I was sitting in the bottom of an appliance box with the vertical interior panels and high windshield.
What a cool truck! Nice writeup, Scotty!
You’re way too kind, Jamie, thanks! (and hey, the thumbs up is working!)
Ok, it quit working again, bummer.
The thumbs up only works in the initial article. You can’t do it for a follow up reply.
What’s better than a v6 convertible Dakota. A Shelby Dakota with a v8. That’s a collectable combination
These were not brisk sellers in our neighborhood. The dealership I work at had one for over a year before it found a new address. May have sold better if it had a V8. The idea wasn’t unique. We had a sweet looking S-10 soft top at the proving ground back in ’86-7. IIRC the work was done at ASC. Red with black buckets, BBS wheels and the top stack was removable. Also a 2.8 V6 with a 5-speed. Purely for show but what a cutie. Seems like I saw the PO for it was over $100,000 almost forty years ago.
Yep….another one I lusted over…..maybe some day – is the lotto tonight ?
The 1989 convertibles were All the top trim package called SPORT.
Bought my white one in Florida.
My black 1991 is the one of one with the 8 foot bed.
Mine are both pictured on the dakotaconvertible web site.
I’ve never seen one what a great looking pick up truck.Love it.
needs some kinda tonneau for the downed top.
These caught the (corner of ) the eye even w/top up and
my head would whip around, back in the day. I think due to their rarity.
Looks great top up or down, I dont mind the bar. Wish for 4WD & windshield that dropped.
My black 1991 is the one of one with the 8 foot bed.
My two are pictured on http://www.dakotaconvertible.com/
Listing update: the seller lowered the asking price to $9,999.