My 1995 Dakota 2wd 318 has been delivered

Some members wanted to see this 2wd truck when I got it. Big Thanks to Rhinodart whom I hired to transport the truck from Florida to my home in Holland MI. My father gave me this 95 2wd Sport with the 318. Life long Florida truck. No dents, faded paint and only surface rust underneath. Runs good but will need my TLC. My plans now are maintenance items- fluid changes engine degrease and compartment cleaning. I will do the 5 lug conversion and relocate the leaf springs inboard and widen the wheel housings. Then I'm going with the widest Hoosier pro Street radial tires on the widest Weld Draglites I can fit. Skinnies on the front. Engine for now will remain all stock except for large outlet 92 93 exh manifolds and a cat back system.

Big thanks to Jim (Rhinodart) Truck delivered on time undamaged and the communication was great. I'm the bald guy.

NICE!!

The amount of surface rust concerns me a bit, I hope you don't find any hidden surprises!

If you decide to ditch that bug deflector, I'd be interested.......

Keep us posted!

Ill keep you in mind but with shipping nowadays the size of the deflector might be expensive. Wen the weather heads into spring I'm gonna rig up an apparatus in my back yard to remove the box and Ill get a good view of the frame and drivetrain. The Florida salt air is corrosive but NOTHING like a year round lifetime vehicle here in MI.

That's a nice truck! With a good wash and a little TLC it'll look 100 times better.
I dig the direction you're going with it.

Very cool truck! And standard cab short bed with V8. Good score!

get a new pair of headlights instead of trying to polish up the old ones.
nice truck by the way.

Definitely!

Once the leaf springs are moved in and the wheel houses are widened there will approx 16.5" from frame to inside fender lip. That will accommodate quite a tire. I'm hoping for a section width of 15" tire like a Hoosier 29x 15.5 x15 or the next narrower size down will look great too.

I'd like to find another 4wd 318 Dakota in that body style. Rhinodart had one that wasn't too bad body wise but needed a transfer case 318 club cab version. 93 I think?
That truck sat at a gas station by me for years and I had stopped in a few times, to see if could be bought. I couldn't get an answer on who the owner at the time was, just that they claimed that particular transfer case was made of "unobtanium".
I have a 96 4wd right now that I've had for around 7-8 years that the body and frame have seen better days on...

I took the Dakota to the car wash and blasted away tons of gunk from sitting under a tree. Cleaned the engine too. So it has 180,000 miles. It runs on 7 cylinders. I verified the plenum gasket is blown. Plus the cooling system is simply water. I put it in my garage and set the heat to 40 degrees. Ill replace with proper coolant after I replace the plenum plate with a Hughes thick aluminum plate. I will replace both valve cover gaskets at the same time. Ordered some wiper linkage bushings. Truck needs some TLC. But I can see the water pump and master cyl are recent replaced. My father inherited this truck recently when his elderly retiree friend passed away. My dad didn't need it so he gave it to me. Need a warm MI day to drain the cooling system and flush it with a garden hose.

Have you tried a different cap and plug wires? Compression test?

Not yet. Being a third shifter I'm only motivated to doing things around the home on the weekends. But I plan on flushing the cooling system fixing the intake plenum gasket and troubleshooting the misfire very soon.

i worked that shift for almost 45 years. in the early days when i got home, i would go to work at my junkyard until about noon or so, back home for a nap till about 6pm, back to the junkyard till about 10, then off to work.
did that 5 days a week, then saturday and sunday at the junkyard, back to work sunday night, 1972 until 1981 or 82.
i sold my 1/2 ownership to my partner then because the auto parts store he worked at as a machinist and engine assembler, closed it's doors.
as the shift foreman and machinist on the "night shift" progressed, and all those years passed doing so, i turned into a vampire, so doing things in "daylight" is "difficult".

Dang i wish I had a fraction of that motivation and hustle. I do better when I tend to things the moment I get home at 635am. But I need to be outdoors when I drain, flush and refill the cooling system with proper antifreeze and this January cold and snow has sapped my desire to do anything with a garden hose outside. But the good news is I'm not on a timeline. This does not need to be ready for summer although I still would like it to be. I shake my head that the former owner of this truck ran water instead of coolant. I realize Florida is always warm but its just cheaping out to run water- plus it promotes rust. I'm glad I checked the radiator because I was gonna leave the truck parked outside in the cold.

Those trucks are pretty hard to find in that configuration. Almost all of those left around here are extra cabs, V6, and/or 4wd.

And not many 4wd at that

I'm looking fwd to playing with this truck. I have had 2 440 Challengers and a 340 cuda decades ago. I recently sold a 71 Demon because I just didn't have the wherewithal to make it nice . This Dakota runs and drives as is so that's a big plus. The body is rust and nearly dent free. It already has a V8- another plus. I'm not under pressure to make it pristine which is how I would have wanted that 71 Demon. Granted Ill eventually prep the body and pay someone to paint it but its more acceptable to me that this Dakota wont be perfect. Slight bummer being OBD1 there is not tuning capability. I really plan to keep the fuel injection simply because it works. Eventually a wet NOS system and a 100 shot but that will be very very last. When I relocate the springs inboard and expand the wheel houses I plan to fit an approx 13" wide section width Hoosier radial under there on a 15x12 Weld Draglite. Skinnies up front. 6BBL or cowl scoop will be fitted to the stock hood. High 15 second Truck will look like it runs 11s- and that's fine.

Challenge for you. Covert that thing to a Mark III Conversion Dakota lol. http://www.dakota-truck.net/PICS/clark05.jpg and http://www.dakota-truck.net/PICS/clark03.jpg

That is sharp but I want the 1/4 mile look like this S10 has.

No compression test yet but I disconnected the power to the injectors and found cyl 5 dead. Ordered some Autolite coppers for it. I will do cranking psi test eventually. Plenum gasket is blown and I already have the thick aluminum plate to upgrade. This truck has 180,000 miles and Ill perform a rebuild in the future. I absolutely love how this 95 is still 1970s design in many ways- the hand crank windows and the tulip stem door locks. Also this is pre engine sitting back farther into the cabin and this makes it very easy to work on.

I think Dodge screwed up big time when they discarded the 88-96 Dakota for the next model.

Then each "upgrade" after that got worse.

They had a good thing going but killed it. Pretty standard procedure for Chrysler over the years. One would think they could figure out history repeats itself, especially as far as their company is concerned, and would learn something, Guess I expect too much?

I would have LOVED to have seen an '88-'96 body style 'Durango' made. Just can't bring myself to own an S-10........

Yup. I've had a few 87-96s and 1, 99. The 99 was junk compared to the older version.

My thoughts exactly

I was a bit worried about it when I picked it up, but I was running on fumes and forgot about it until I got to Indiana and the cold rain came on strong. It will definitely be a cool fun piece when you are done!

Thanks Jim. Poor truck has been somewhat neglected. But I did a garden hose cooling system flush and got some fresh antifreeze in there now. I'm already getting ahead of myself and thinking engine rebuild but with forged pistons to better handle some nitrous. No matter how I increase power that is lower priority. I'm chomping at the bit for the weather to get better so I can use a tree in my backyard to winch the box up and off. Then its leaf spring relocation and frame painting fun.

I like that look as well. I'd figure I'd share about the Mark Conversion Dakotas because people didn't know about them. The dealerships in SE KY had them on the lots new. Remember a red Mark III two wheel drive regular cab short bed. Funny thing they also got Mark Conversion Rams, SST Rams, and Richard Petty trucks too. Also, check your PM I'm going to send you something.

Here's my thoughts on the S-10, S-15; small one sum it up. During my high school days a friend had a GMC S-15 with the 2.8L V6. I remember changing the starter and what a pain that was compared to the Chrysler. The inside of the Cab was very small. I was 6'1 at the time and my head was pretty much touching the roof. Also, good luck fitting three people across the bench. It can be done but, tighter than a Dakota. Per granted my opinion is subjective, the best Dakota to me was the first model year. Got over 300k miles out of one and it was generally a good truck. It was a 1987 Long Bed V6, A998 or A999, 2wd drive and long bed. Crank windows, no A/C (Rear Slider), and no cruise. Oh yes, vinyl floor as well. I miss that truck and lots of memories. The only thing I hated was the carburetor on it.

My 1st Dakota was a 90. V6 5 speed OD, limited slip 3:55 rear gear, 2 wheel drive. I liked it so well I put an old car body on top of the chassis.

In 91 when Dodge added the V8 to the lineup, they had to curve the front bumper to gain the extra couple of inches the V8 needed over the V6. The curves nose was acceptable, but I sure liked the straight front bumper better. The redesign in 97 killed the Dakota's unique look as far as I was concerned, and that was before we knew the fact the quality also went down the crapper.

Yeah, 1991 was first year 5.2 LA TBI on those trucks. They curved the front to clear for a better cooling system compared to the 1989 Shelby Dakotas. I myself prefer the 1987 to 1990 front end. 1997-2004 Dakota is subjective and don't mind the styling. I'm not a fan of the 2005-2011 Dakota with regards to styling and other things.

Hard to tell but in this pic it has been to the coin car wash and blasted pretty good. The box is filling up with new parts to get the creature comforts working. Every wiper linkage bushing was sun cooked and crumbled away. Blower motor resistor and connector is quite corroded. Got me a Hughes knock off aluminum plenum plate for the intake manifold.

If you can't find the wiper bushings locally in the HELP section, they're available on Amazon. I bought these in Sept for my truck.

EDIT: I posted pic to show part #'s. If I remember correctly, you'll need three of the 440 style bushings (two packs). Didn't mean to confuse.

if i remember right, those wiper bushings fit a bunch of different years and models.
i think from somewhere around 73-up into the 90's.

Yup. My wagon has the same style.

Kinda nice something this small didn't changed with each model year.........

when i owned the junkyard back in 1972-85, it seemed Ford went out of their way to change stuff about every three months !

Chrysler sometimes changed stuff or at least part numbers mid year. I've seen two different part numbers for the same model year and specific model.

Chrysler was famous for implementing upgrades during a model year, especially in the 50s-70. The difference with Chrysler compared to the other companies was those improvements were usually implemented as a unit and were changed out on the production line. A part number change often designated that a unit was upgraded, or they changed a supplier, but usually the old part number worked in place of the new part number, but not always. Chrysler also did a lot of part number reassignments, part numbers were superseded to a different number, sometimes simply because of a model year change, sometimes several times, but the part itself may never had changed.

This was especially a problem with larger trucks, some may have set on dealership lots for a long time and may have missed a few running changes that may have happened on the production line between the time the truck was built and the time it was sold. The bigger the truck, the more the issue became apparent. Then add the ability of the customer to pretty much order a vehicle to be built any way they wanted it, some truly unique parts got installed on some vehicles.

As a general note, GM usually held back upgrades until the new model year, very few changes were made during the model year, until recently. Ford would make changes on the production line as well, but usually at Ford, the changes were usually something was completely different, and nothing from the old transferred to the new. Running changes at Ford were based on a date, or a serial number of the vehicle. Sometimes Ford would change a part 2 or 3 times in a model year, and then at the model year as well, but nearly always, a part number change meant the entire deal wouldn't work with the corresponding part numbers that changed with the one. If you needed Ford parts, you needed the build date, the serial number, and a part number, to get the correct replacement, then hoped they still made the part you needed.

Great to know and thank you for sharing especially about the Ford Motor Company parts system.

Any updates?

Well not really. Waiting for the weather to consistently be better so I can use a tree limb to come a long up and off the box. I have a prearranged deal to buy a complete 8.75 rear end from a member here as soon as he gets his new Dana. With the box removed Ill enlargen its wheel houses and move the leaf springs inboard. Then install the 8.75. But no real work done on it as of late. I have decided to go old school with the powertrain. I'm accumulating parts for the future engine and trans swap and bought a new used Weiand tunnel ram and a Hurst pistol grip quarter stick shifter. The engine will eventually be a forged piston 360. Trans will be a RMVB 727. Goal is 400hp naturally asp with a 150 shot of nitrous. I bought some new chinese EQ heads. They checked out as flawless by Holland Automotive and Machine. I had them cut down the guides so now I can safely run a 550 lift cam. I began porting those heads. I may be driving it yet this summer with the stock drivetrain but with the big Hoosiers radials out back and skinny frontrunners.

Sounds like a fun and fast truck. That's good to hear about the New EQ Heads or you just got lucky to get a decent set. Anyways,thank you for the update and enjoy.

Some head porting pics. Exhaust port and bowl before and after. No where near done though

Hey now everyone can see why they flow way worse than a stock magnum head, they are rough as heck and the dimensions are quite a bit smaller as well. Politics aside I can't believe people would rather run a set of those over a set of stock heads with totally harmless cracks that were there when new.

. I bought them from a shop out of las Vegas. Vegas parts and cores. They receive raw castings then machine and assemble in their facility. They have the LA intake bolt pattern.

Your Build sounds like its coming along nice. On the bed they are not that heavy
I removed the one off my 91 sport by myself. By picking it up and sliding it off the back of the frame. Two people ought to beable to remove it by hand pretty easy. I have been thinking about putting a tunnel ram on my dakota. But then I get stuck and can't make my mind up if I wNt to build a 408/426 stroker magnum engine or a 392/ 426 gen3 hemi engine. I have a block and syeikee kit to build a 392 out of a 5.7 hemi. So what to do. Lol please keep the pictures coming on your build.

I've used 3 sets of EQs. The first set was great (bought bare and built up myself) the 2nd set was questionable the freshly built engine they went on drank oil, my son re rebuilt it at 6000 miles and turned it into a 408, and sent the EQs thru the machine shop with the rest of the engine) don't know if it's thirst for oil was in the heads or bottom end) the 3rs set was a complete disaster. (Engine didn't go 6 miles. Valves stuck and kissed pistons)
2nd 3rd set were bought complete "ready to bolt on out of the box" which they certainly weren't.
The first 2 sets came from Vegas, the 3rd set I picked up off the dock here in Chicago, got the last head off if 1 pallet, the 1st head off another pallet)
first set was bought in 2009, 3rd set late 2016, 2nd set bought somewhere in between.

Quality isn't what it used to be on a lot of things. Around here, I don't see as many Magnums lately and have slightly more 4.7L and a couple of 5.7L Hemi truck sprinkled in at the salvage yards.

I knew going in that the current EQ heads are not the superior Australian cast units of the past. But with my careful porting I'm confident my goals will be met and its just nice to have truly brand new castings. The LA intake bolt pattern is nice too for my tunnel ram.

Nice truck. I have a 94 very similar.

That's a clean machine. The Dakota in the mid early/mid 90s was so highly praised. The magazines testing the 318 couldn't believe how powerful the 318 was.

Even the Mopar Magazines praised them especially with the Mopar Performance Parts.

I have the passenger leaf spring temporarily mounted where it will eventually be permanently mounted. Directly under the frame. Created about 4.5" of tire clearance. Remember fellas this picture is just of mock up/ bolted together. I will soon disassemble, remove all the rust- box the frame at the mounting points and weld it all together. The 7.25 rear in the pic will be replaced by a stout 8.75 soon too. Top pic is of the UN MODIFIED driver side. Bottom pic is the modified passenger side.

The rear slider will be welded last. At rest with the full weight of the vehicle resting on it the eye bushing bolt should be about 70% toward the rear. I sat my 250lb butt right on the center of the rear frame to simulate the box being bolted back on and get a start position. But I will slot the mount holes to get it ideal with the correct weight on the frame (The box) then final weld it. This pic shows the position with no box and no substitute weight on the frame. It moves a little bit when I sit on the rear.

Fun build to watch, see it develop. I agree, the mid 90's Dakota is the best looking, I like the curved bumper and grill versus the flat front. The 96 to 2004 it ok looking, but the 2005 and on are butt-ugly. Chrysler screwed up on the development of the Dakota.

Seeing how rough those ports are in the head makes me wonder if Chrysler did any better with the heads on the 4.7.

Andy the pics of those head ports are of current Engine Quest brand and not OEM Mopar. EQ used to be cast in Australia and were fantastic heads- performance heads but now they arecast in China and "just a head." Great quality- thicker castings but not a performance head as is. Thus my porting.