I suspect you will find the difference in the width of the early Dakotas compared to the later models had a lot to do with the wheel offset. The rims on the 1st gen Dakota set in from the wheel mounting surface. I'm posting a picture of my 48 Plymouth (again), look at the differences between the front wheel offset and the rear wheel offset. The fronts are 15 x 6 from a 90 Dakota, the rear wheels are 15 x 6 1/2 off a Chrysler 5th Ave. Gene