This 1987 Dodge D150 pickup is a spartan but straight driver that looks quite tidy with the exception of some clearcoat fade. The truck is from the era when you could still buy a simple pickup with a single cab and no frills interior. With just under 40,000 original miles, it’s see relatively limited use and the seller notes it runs and drives smoothly with no accidents in its past. Find it here on craigslist in Charlottesville, VA for $5,000. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Ian C. for the find.
The interior reflects the limited miles put on the Dodge, with the bench seat upholstery showing next to no major signs of wear and tear. Door panels tell the same tale, with matching oxblood coloring and no signs of major color fade anywhere. The dash appears to be uncracked and the rubber floor liner looks like it will clean up nicely (if you’re into that level of detailing.) This D150 hails from the era of trucks that didn’t overload the interiors with luxury and technological wizardry that is likely to only cost you money as time goes on.
The bed is the most impressive part of this truck. While 37,500 miles is low, it’s not time-capsule-grade mileage; the Dodge was still used throughout its life. Despite this, the paint inside the tailgate looks like new, I’m assuming the plastic bedliner has done a nice job of preventing the paint underneath from getting scratched up. Seeing a hand cart in the back reminds us that the seller still used this truck like a truck; they’ve just done a better job than most at not letting it look like it just emerged from underneath the rubble of a nearby rock slide.
There are some small details that make me like this Dodge even more: the seller notes it comes with the original Dodge keys – two of ’em – both with the Chrysler Pentastar logo. I know I’m weird, but I just love that the owner(s) cared about this truck enough to keep both original keys with it. A new battery has been installed under hood, and the truck just passed its annual inspection. You’ll never call it sexy, but there’s a lot to like about a nicely preserved and super basic truck that doesn’t break the bank and can still be used for Home Depot runs.
Nice truck
I have been trying to work out the sticker on the passenger door. I have figured out it says “University of Virginia”. Can’t make out the lower line, but I am assuming it was a grounds/ maintenance vehicle.
Slant 6? I can’t quite tell.
Offset air cleaner plus you can see the PCV atop the valve cover – definately a /-6
Slant six with an auto and air conditioning. Don’t expect to get anywhere fast but you will get there. Nice truck, wish my 85 was this nice.
This has to be about the end of the line for the slant 6, these got the 3.9 V6 not long after this.
First year for clear coat?
These trucks bored me to tears when they were new and I was a kid. Now they attract me for they very same reasons they used to repel me. I like the toys in our newer cars, but it drives me crazy when they break. This truck is from a much different time.
How I would have wanted my ‘lil red truck to look. Plain without stacks and a hot 360 cop motor under the hood ,haha.
You’re supposed to put the bedliner in WHEN you sell a truck,
as it will cover up any scratches,damage,etc.
Bed liners tend to scratch up the bed,as they’re made of hard –
plastic,& any dirt,rocks etc. will get ground into the bed.
This is a nice,basic truck,but most people wouldn’t be willing
to drive a stripper like this.
I sure would own and drive a truck like this! I’ve gravitated towards the base model trucks ever since I was a teenager. NEVER got caught up in needing or wanting all the bells and whistles on a truck. P/S, P/B, and I won’t turn down A/C but that’s the limit of what I like and want in a truck.
Couldn’t agree more David – this Ram is one of the last true strippers before any truck became cluttered with all sorts of power everything.
I’ve wondered what sort of ‘must have’ features we’re gonna see in future trucks – maybe the buyers of tomorrow won’t even consider a truck unless equipped with a CPAP machine or a fully automated loo/bidet assembly integrated into the bench seat…?
I dropped a plastic bed liner in my 91 Toyota pickup when new. I never carried much of anything back there but when I pulled it out after a few years, I cried. The paint was almost completely gone.
That’s an annual State Inspection Sticker.
They used to be in the bottom center of the
windshield,but now are in the bottom left corner.
This truck has been repainted some time in its’ life. Fender bolts painted and over spray on door tag. May explain the clear coat flaking…not sure Dodge used clear coats in 1987. And a proper factory bed liner, installed correctly will not scratch the bed. My GMC had a GMC bedliner installed when new and years later I removed it to check out the bed…perfect. The spray on stuff is miserable when trying to load and push items into the bed…like trying to push a box on a rough asphalt road. It’s a matter of choice. For me spray bed “liner” looks like undercoating gone wild. lol
This Dodge, even with a six, looks like a decent truck to have around and would be easy to fix.
Takes me back to my 1988 F150 I drove for 11.5 years. It too was a plain jane with a six, only with a stick shift, a bedliner like this, and a truck box. Good, rugged and simple.
I had the ’86 F-150 version of this. Stripper, dog dishes, rubber floor mats, vinyl bench seat, silver painted step bumper, small V-8 and the automatic. Cheap, ran forever, hauled anything, a simple piece of 4×8 plywood was my bed liner. Flip it over or change it out when it got splintery. When I traded it in, in ’96, for a new Ram, the dealer employees fought over who got to take it home, which tells you something about the appeal of a good, old, simple truck.
Absolutely love this truck. A good honest truck ready to earn its keep.
A regular cab, plain Jane with PS, PB and A/C. Along with the rugged slant six and it’s Spartan no-frills interior, it reminds me of several pickups I had back in the ’70s and ’80s. I like this one a lot, it would make for a perfect daily driver and handy for any household chores/hauling that pop up. It looks pretty clean in and out and the price seems more than fair for a turn-key 32 year-old pickup. I don’t care for extended cabs, supercabs or whatever they’re called now; I don’t need the extra seats and I’ve always liked to have a full-size bed.
I didn’t have A/C in a pickup until I bought a used ’95 F150 XLT in 1999. It was pretty well optioned compared to all my previous pickups but it’s still got a third pedal and a floor shift manual. I still have it 20 years later and have just gotten it back on the road after restoring it mechanically and cosmetically (mostly). It wasn’t a cheap project but it was a lot cheaper than a new Ford pickup. I wouldn’t want a new Ford pickup anyway; I haven’t liked any of the F-series pickups after ’96.
If I was in the market for a pickup, I’d seriously consider this D150 even though it’s not a Ford.
Perfect home owner truck. It is old enough to register as a classic in many states and an antique in some. Cheap license and insurance should be possible, if I was not in Texas I would bid. Gave away my 78 F-100 to my neighbors son to fix up as I drove it 500 miles a year now I kinda miss having a knock around truck.
Ok, 1st, great find, and 2nd, apparently, most of you don’t know what a “plain jane” pickup really was. Maybe compared to today’s trucks, but this, for the time, was actually a moderately optioned truck. I’ve driven plain jane pickups as company trucks, and they had nothing. This has A/C, radio, PS, PB, aftermarket bedliner, automatic, outside right mirror, all these things were extra. Even that rear bumper was extra. I certainly wouldn’t pull anything except a fishing boat, but try and find something comparable today for 5 times the price. Someone going to get dad’s pride and joy. Sadly, seems like a lot of that lately.
It’s a shame this truck isn’t equipped with Dodge’s “Fecal Aroma Reduction Technology” package, or FART for short.
Just the fact that BF called this truck Spartan might show the writers expectations of what he requires in a truck too…like Howard A says, this was a fairly optioned truck at the time. It obviously was a base line model but the extras certainly raise it from the ‘Spartan’ class in my book. I want it :)
The fact that he didn’t mention the last appearance of the Slant 6 is something I would have mention if I was the one writing the article…..
When I view the photo of the exterior of the tailgate it looks as though several dents have been painted over; anyone else see this? It’s a beautiful truck even if it didn’t have a tailgate! Good luck to buyer and seller!
My Dad had a dark blue one with the 6 and 4 spd. He used to tow a utility trailer with a Fairmont speeder that was about a 1000 lbs and would put it on its knees but it pulled, just not in a hurry. The New Hampshire winters rusted the crap out if it and the 95 F150 , 6 / spd he replaced it with. That had much more power. Neat to see in such nice shape…
Nice truck. The asking price doesn’t seem out of line considering the overall condition and mileage. The front fender liner shows red overspray, so some paint work in the past. Chrysler clearcoat failure during this era is a well documented problem, so no surprise there. Based on the drivers door hemming seam and no visible rust, my guess is it’s an honest and solid truck. I wish you could still buy a basic work truck.
The only reason I wouldn’t want it is the lack of cruise control, & that could be added on. I wouldn’t even need the air conditioning.
I really like this ol’ red lady. I wish I knew the outcome of a couple legal situations I have going on. If I knew already what the outcomes will be, I might actually make a couple calls and buy it. Too bad my crystal ball is broke.