Hi folks, just joined as I have a brand new 32-year-old car.

Usually, I try to keep my toys stock, but this I could not pass up... Found it on Craigslist, and well, you see, now I'm staring a new journey.

The previous owner picked it up in Kentucky, used, and brought it down to the Pensacola area. Then massive changes happened. Dodge Lime Green, new engine, and fun. His life changed and it was up for sale.

This is where it spent a few years...


This is how it left it's home...


And this is where it sits, waiting to start some repairs....


I was told it needed a fuel pump (cheap part, big labor), and as a result I knew it wouldn't start. I was told it needed a battery as well.

Dropped in a battery, and the engine cranked. Checked the oil (no water), checked the water (no oil)... and that's my test drive.

It's in the shop for a fuel pump and a once over, then off to the detail shop for an interior deep clean. Hope to get it on the road in a week.

As I am new to Mopar, I'll have a lot of questions over the next few months, but I will post some updates on the progress.

Vincent

 

Oooh - a convert!

Purdy.

First purchase should be a copy of the factory service manual; plan for doing the suspension and brakes complete (primarily because you don't know the condition of everything!) to make it uber reliable.

The FSM can be had used on eBay, or new from the reproducer for Mother Mopar, Bishko Books ( http://www.autobooksbishko.com/ )

RwP

 

When, if it is to be believed, the former owner spent 18K in the overhaul before he could no longer enjoy the vehicle. That is why it's in the shop now, to give it that shakedown. Besides fuel pump, all liquids (oil, coolant, brake fluid) will be replaced.

 

Don't cheap out on the fuel pump. Delphi, or Denso, maybe Carter. Change it once, and be done with it, instead of changing it yearly......

 

I came really close to buying a new Dakota convertible new back then. In '87 I was driving an S-10 regular cab when a big car with bad brake slammed me forward a 1/2 block. My head left a major dent in the back wall of the cab. Since the rag top Dakotas only came in regular cab, I didn't get one. I ordered an extended cab S-10 built to my specs. It turned out to be the biggest pile of junk I've ever had.

 

My brother ordered an S-15 back then. He needed it for his job, and thus, put a LOT of miles on it. (and it was the 2.8 v-6..... with a 5 speed) He drove that thing everywhere, and then I daily drove it about 60 miles per day for work for a couple more years. The floor pans rusted out, we patched them, and drove it for yet more years....... I bought myself something a bit more comfy to drive, even though the s-truck still was in great mechanical condition, with over 200K miles it..... It just leaked everything everywhere. And the body was about gone. It got stuffed into the garage for a few more years.... After that, I have no idea what happened to it.

 

My '88 had tilt, cruise, air, 2.8 and 5 speed. One of those neat odd ***** you don't normally see. I changed the ugly factory mags for black steels. Put some baby moons on it and it had the look I wanted.




It looked great. It was a pile of poorly fitted parts. 14 trips to the dealer the first year I had it. I kept hearing a noise in the back of the cab. I had my sister drive it while I poked around. It sounded like it was behind the jack. Great, just a loose jack. I took the cover off and there was a couple of metal washers on a string with a note that said "Congratulations. You found one".I always thought it was started on a Friday and finished on Monday. Driving in rain it would spit water in your face from under the windshield. It's also my first experience with the infamous "Silent recall". I had bought an extended warranty and when my oil kept getting dirty fast and I was losing coolant, rather than fix it myself, I figured I'd oay the copay and let the dealer do it. When I went to pay, there was o charge. Had I fixed it, it would have been out of my pocket. That truck is why I rarely buy GM vehicles.

n the other hand, when I would draft semis, I could get 35 mpg.24-25 just going down the road.

 

LOLOLOL. Now THAT sounds familiar.

When I was working at the Chevy dealer, we got a brand new van in for warranty work, and the complaint was "rattling noise on rear passenger side".... When my tech pulled the trim in the back, he found a beer can with a couple marbles in it, hanging from a string..... and the note said "How long did it take you to find this one?".........

Guess that wasn't an anomaly. The guys at the factory obviously have too much time on their hands.

 

I endorse this comment. 100,000%.

RwP

 

It wasn't just GM. I ran a salvage yard from 1980 to '84. A regular customer had a tree jump out in front of him (drawn by the smell of beer) and he totaled his pristine 1977 Lincoln. He had just cancelled collision insurance on it. He had bought it new and it was in pretty good shape, except for the frame and front end. A local body shop bought the right rear quarter panel off it. As I was cutting, an empty whisky bottle fell out of the quarter panel. I mentioned it when he came in to look at a project. His reply was "Ever since I bought that car, I'd hear a clunk going around corners hard. I never could repeat it."