Oppopinion

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 04/18/2016 at 08:58 • Filed to: None

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Anybody know much about these trucks? 1990 3/4-ton Dodge RAM with 160,000 miles on it. Runs and drives great, except the speedometer spazzes out all over the place. $1200OBO. I kinda want a truck after I get rid of the Mustang for purposes of hauling around my not-really-streetable Miata to and from autocross. Also I like trucks. Them vinyl seats tho.

Viking03 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:09

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I love these old Dodge trucks. I’ve had a few of them. They run well, easy to maintain. Just make sure it doesn’t have a lot of rust to start with. Very poor fuel economy, acceptable power but not overly powerful, old original carbs suck. I usually just throw a Holley 650 on it and it is good. The main issue is the steering. They all have worn out steering boxes. Good news is parts are cheap. Change the fluids, get a rebuilt steering box and tie rod ends and it will last as long as you will own it.

BigBlock440 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:21

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Wow, that one looks clean, and for $1,200 I’d jump on it. Me personally, not saying you have to. Though it’s probably a V6 and 2wd, but if it’s as clean as it looks in the pictures, I’m not sure it would be a deal-breaker as the V8 and 4x4 parts would be easy enough to scavenge.

Nibby > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:21

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Don;t know anything about them other than they look great

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nibby 04/18/2016 at 09:25

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It needs to be flat black and lowered.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > BigBlock440 04/18/2016 at 09:26

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It’s a 2WD 250, which came with one of two V8s. The engine bay itself looks clean and dry of any leaks. The body is straight though the driver front quarter has a huge section of paint missing. If I bought it it would be getting a flat black paint job and I’d be lowering it since it will live entirely on tarmac.

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:28

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how come the miata is no longer streetable???? what else happened to it that you are not sharing??

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 04/18/2016 at 09:36

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I’m thinking of going full racecar with it since the body is so beat to hell. It’ll be *usable* on the street, just completely miserable above 50mph.

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:40

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i thought the body was mostly clean except for that light pole thing ?

BigBlock440 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 09:44

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I just can’t do a 2wd truck, but everything can be changed if there’s no rust. Rust is the important thing. And if it’s a 250, it was built to handle a Cummins, so it’s also got that going for it. It’s also my favorite year(s) for grille/front end styling.

As for the rest of it, it’s an old truck. It’ll be reliable and easy to fix, but it’ll be slow and get terrible fuel mileage. My dad used to have an ‘87 W150, I don’t remember anything big wrong with it until the clutch went. At that point it was just an old truck, bed was rusted through, exhaust was rotted off, and it wasn’t worth dropping the transmission on a couple hundred dollar truck. I was disappointed when he got rid of it because I wanted to fix it.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 04/18/2016 at 09:47

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The car has been in several wrecks before me and it shows. The front bumper is all kinds of mis aligned and the lights don’t go up and down anymore due to being misaligned relative to the hood and bumper, the door and rear quarter are bashed up a bit from the pole incident that I did... meh. I dunno. I kinda wanna make it a drift car/autocross dual-purpose car. Drifting looks like fun and there are some venues for it a couple hours drive away.

Urambo Tauro > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:12

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DODGE-LOVE RULES OK

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:19

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yeah, i hadnt heard about the previous front end stuff.

you know....... you could always drift it AT the autocross course. you think they might kick you out if you knocked over half the cones??

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 04/18/2016 at 10:23

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Honestly Miatas are garbage drift cars. Maybe I should get the Dodge, drop it on its nuts, make some MOAR STEERING ANGLE knuckles for it and drift the truck. Drift cars all have lots of torque, low ride heights, stiff suspensions, and RWD. All things this truck could have. Hmm.

Takuro Spirit > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:29

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Perfect color to replicate this livery:

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:31

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you have already found out the miata will kick the tail out pretty easy.

its not that you would need lots of torque, just get crappy tires for the back.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:50

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I think the rear end is the weak point, rest of truck should last till the end of time, nobody bought these new, they got them second hand from fleet and city auctions, then continued to work the shit out of them for another twenty years. old farmers will say buy a chevy for the ride, a ford ( the reason escapes me) and a dodge if you plan to torture it nonstop. (this doesn’t apply to new trucks) looks good. I’d imagine any running pickup is worth a grand, and that old dodge looks pretty decent.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 10:51

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Bonus: miata will fit in box!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 04/18/2016 at 11:06

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I didn’t look very closely but it seemed free of major rot. I’d like to put a more modern powerplant in it but the engine is so cherry it seems wasteful (and a waste of money). I’m not quite sure what I’d use a 3/4 ton truck for. Definitely would get lowered and probably painted matte black for a sort of Muscle Truck thing. Honestly a lowered truck like that could have handling potential from the super stiff suspension and a lowered center of gravity from, you know, being lowered.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Die-Trying 04/18/2016 at 11:06

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Donut spares. Go to town with a screaming ~90ish wheel horsepower

Die-Trying > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 11:31

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it might not have to be doughnut spares, but maybe some trailer tires, that are built with hard rubber compounds(for durability). those would last more than a few runs. just keep GOOD tires on the front, so you can steer.....

i mean look at those drift carts/ trikes. they have what 3horse briggs motors? maybe 5? they just run with little to no traction.

something to look into at least....... or you could pioneer the pvc pipe covered car tire, and bring drifting to the underpowered car masses

ranwhenparked > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 04/18/2016 at 21:09

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We had one in the fleet at work up until about 3-4 years ago. I didn’t mind driving it, and it seemed durable enough. But, it was starting to get a bit rusty from spending too much time sitting around in the woods, and we were actually running into some issues with parts getting harder to find. Sold it for $1800, running, with rusty floorboards, tailgate, and rear wheel wells. Plus, a badly busted suspension from decades of snow plowing and wrecked padding in the driver’s seat from obese coworkers.

So, for $1200, in decent shape, I’d say that’s a good price.