I’m building a 55 dodge truck street rod and plan to put the 55 body on a Dakota chassis. I also have a complete gen III hemi drive train for the project. I have found a 2005 chassis three miles from my house that I can pick up cheap. Has anyone used a 2005 Dakota chassis for a street rod. I was told to look for a 2000 or earlier chassis. Is there a big difference between the 2000 and earlier chassis and the 2005?

I'm using a 95 Dakota for my 39 Plymouth project. So far the project has been simple and pretty easy. If you look on the HAMB there are a few projects using the Dakota chassis.

The rack being up front makes locating the engine easy. The only change I have to make on the chassis is the fuel system because I'm using a carb instead of fuel injection. Cutting the bed sides off made the bed floor easy since it was in place. The bed floor will be shallower than stock but I'm fine with that. The bed floor kicks up so trying to make a deep bed will be a challenge.

Setting the ride height and making the cab mounts was a little challenging since I didn't have a lift to hold things in place. Changing the bolt pattern is a matter of changing the rotors. The truck us wide enough that a b body rear end is two inches narrower than the stock Dakota rear end.

After 96, changing to the 5 bolt wheels gets real complicated. You would be better off using the 6 bolt wheels. They make nice 6 bolt wheels now.

Can't tell you any difference between a 2000 and a 2005, those are way too new for me. Gene

The older caps fit the spare steelie wheels so it's. Cheap fix for a minute or until you decide on wheels.

I’m getting ready to put a Dak front clip on my 55 Dodge pick up and would like to see some photos of Dakota clips already done. Can any of you guys that have already done a Dakota front clip on an early MOPAR street rod post photos of the attachment point? I decided to keep the back part of the 55 chassis but will be using a triangulated coil over rear suspension instead of the leaf set up. Thanks.

I married an 88 Dak frame with a 57 truck frame. I joined them with a half-lap joint at the rear of the cab. I didn't like the idea of all the stress being at the front of the cab. After you join the frame halfs, it is just a matter of cutting off the truck cab mounts and rewelding them to the Dak frame. You can set your cab ride height then. If you need some pics, I could send them from my home computer.

Rattler,
I thought about joining the chassis behind the cab, but didn’t know if it would allow for lowering the ride height. I would like to see your pictures; I’ll send you my email via back channel.
Thanks
Da Beast

I'll try to send you some pics this weekend if I don't forget.

Thanks!

88 dakota on to a 47 desoto. i had no references to go by and did what i thought was right. hopefully i wont die the first time i drive it.

Thanks that looks close to how I’m thinking I need to do mine. Having never done this before I’m looking for confirmation I’m not about to do something stupid. I have built full tube chassis race cars before but this is my first street rod project and attempt to mate two chassis.

That looks good. One of the reasons I didn' do mine like that is that 57 trucks narrow quite a bit just behind the motor center, making pipes and sush a tight fit.

A friend of mine dropped his field-find '52 "Binder" onto a late 1990's LWB Dakota. He said the length of the frame is much easier to modify than the WIDTH, and the the width of the Dakota chassis fit perfectly once he shortened the frame. He even kept the Dakota floor, firewall, dash, ECU, gas tank, etc.

It was a 6-lug truck, so he ordered black steel wheels (cheap) and used some old wheel covers he had lying around.

Most important: pay attention to the track width comparisons between your truck and whichever Dakota you use.

Agreed on the track width. That is the biggest problem when people use a full size truck frame under an old truck. The track is just too wide and the don't look right.

The point that is being missed here is that a 2005 Dakota tread width is much wider than the earlier Dakotas. I have a 55 setting on an 89 Chassis and with proper wheel selection up front everything will work out. Measure twice cut once!! Take your tape and check the original 55 width against the 2005 and earlier width, My own opinion is the earlier chassis are lighter and easier to fit the early cabs to. You can also buy dropped spindles for them! Joe

if im not mistaken,the later dakotas starting in ?? are strut front end,not using an upper A arm,,i would think that would make it super involoved to use a strt front end frame,,

65 dodge your splice looks great,,

anything ever come of this? i dropped a 58 on a 92 dakota chassis

Well I'm making progress on the 55 pick up. I have the triangulated rear suspension in and have the Dakota front clip tacked on. I'm going to fit the gen III Hemi engine, transmission, cab and fenders in place before I do the final weld on the Dakota clip. I tried fitting the engine and transmission this afternoon. It' going to be a tight fit. The engine mounts need to be moved back so the pan will clear the crossmember.

Well I'm making progress on the 55 pick up. I have the triangulated rear suspension in and have the Dakota front clip tacked on. I'm going to fit the gen III Hemi engine, transmission, cab and fenders in place before I do the final weld on the Dakota clip. I tried fitting the engine and transmission this afternoon. It' going to be a tight fit. The engine mounts need to be moved back so the pan will clear the crossmember. I'll try posting photos later once I figure out how to reduce the photo size on thisI Pad.