Anybody in to early Dakota's

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68383GTS

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I have a 88 Dakota Mopar Express V6 5 speed 4x4. Can I get rid of the transfer case and front axle and shafts and bolt on 2 wheel drive A arms and brake spindles? I want to convert it to a 318 LA rear wheel drive only. Or do I need to find a 2 wheel drive frame? My frame is solid.
 
Get the correct frame.

find a good 2wd truck and save a lot of time and sell your 4wd. Those frames were known for rust. I’ve Replaced my dads 96 4wd frame twice now. Rotted bad just under the back of the cab. Getting hard to find good frames. Only 80k on his truck too. Old man truck. He loves it. Never even sees winter. Sad design.
 
Come on down to Abilene Texas. We have a huge junkyard named FM600 wrecking. Lots of trucks , all are rust free. People junk them with lots of miles because they are worn out and have no rot.
 
Come on down to Abilene Texas. We have a huge junkyard named FM600 wrecking. Lots of trucks , all are rust free. People junk them with lots of miles because they are worn out and have no rot.
That’s funny- up here in the North East- we have what’s left of rotted vehicles with not a lot of mileage.
 
Get the correct frame.

find a good 2wd truck and save a lot of time and sell your 4wd. Those frames were known for rust. I’ve Replaced my dads 96 4wd frame twice now. Rotted bad just under the back of the cab. Getting hard to find good frames. Only 80k on his truck too. Old man truck. He loves it. Never even sees winter. Sad design.
I was thinking if frame rot bad and mine is solid just convert it.,if possible.Short bed frames are harder to find.
 
Are the 4x4 5 speed tranny's and transfer case electronic at all? I thought of bolting in my 318 LA to the 5 speed and transfer case.I am sure a 88 Dakota has some kind of computer so I am not sure what to do there. Other than eliminating the computer. I could always use a painless harness to replace the wiring
 
I'd be into them if I had one. I love the early square body Dakotas. They are miniature versions of the 82 to 93 Ram trucks.
 
I was planning a big block 96 reg cab sb dakota.

Then I realized that I should just pull the sb stroker from dart and put into dakota. Then build a monster 512 bb for the dart.

Covid hit and everything has slowed to a drip. Not even a trickle.
 
I know people think they're ugly, but I really like the '97+ design. I do like the older trucks as well, but I've owned several (still have one) 2nd generation Dakotas. How many people remember the D50/Mighty Max?
 
As the former owner of an '87 Dakota V6, you've gotta keep a really good and properly-adjusted choke thermostat and choke pull-off diaphragm on those engines in order to have them start and run properly when cold.
 
I've got an 89 Shelby Dakota, 230k miles, runs like a top. 0 to 50mph it's really quick. Shelby must have been paid for every time his name was used on it. Must be a couple hundred "Shelby" all over it.
He practically disowned it afterwards. Can't get any of the Shelby specific parts from them.
 
I'd be into them if I had one. I love the early square body Dakotas. They are miniature versions of the 82 to 93 Ram trucks.
Here's my 2. The white 2 wheeler had a bad spot on the frame. I found a solid chunk at a local yard and had the local welding shop weld it in.

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Here's my 2. The white 2 wheeler had a bad spot on the frame. I found a solid chunk at a local yard and had the local welding shop weld it in.

View attachment 1715599192

Hell yeah! That's dedication! Down here, we'da just chunked that bad boy and got another whole truck. LOL Well, "I" wouldn't have, but 90% of folks would. lol
 
I have a couple dakotas, good trucks.
This is a pic of a friend of mine (Rip) big block dakota, his dad still takes it to shows. Its a nice truck.

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Hey, I have a 87 V6 4wd 5spd. I am converting to a 5.9 magnum.....
Here is a list of things that I know are different, 4wd vs 2wd.
1. Rack and pinion used on 2wd vs ball on 4wd.
2. Coil springs on 2wd vs torsion bars on 4wd.
3. Motor mounts are totally different. 4wd is bolted to the front diff.
4. Body mounts are different, at least polys are only listed for rwd......
5. The axle is mounted below the springs on 4wd and above on 2wd.

All that aside, on another forum I frequent, there is a 96 2wd that was converted to 4wd, but he used a SAS on the front.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing more!!
 
I know she’s a 2000 model... but can I still hang with the cool kids? V8, 4wd, auto she’s a fun little truck. Sometimes I just get tired of driving my full sized diesel Dodges and she is just the ticket!
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That’s funny- up here in the North East- we have what’s left of rotted vehicles with not a lot of mileage.
They told me back 50 years ago, buy mechanical parts up North and bodies down South!!!!!! Or back when I was in good ole Missouri, buy it all right there, because parts and bodies are cheap!!!!!!! Ks also!!!!!
Just don't buy any that spent winters in KC or St Louis!!!!!!!
 
I am putting the v6 back into the dakota while i slowly gather big block parts.

This way it will be a driver when/if step son borrows our vehicles. At least i will have something to wheel around in.
IMG_20210106_123929_241.jpg
 
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