I have an 88 2wd, 5 speed. Frame is rust free and is actually being restored and painted over this winter. It will have no real value when it's finished as the Gen 1's don't carry any real value (maybe the convertible or Shelbys, but even then you can get change from $10K).
I bought mine for cheap and my uncle is doing the bodywork and paint so I won't be out too much. When it's done it's probably worth $3000 tops, but I haven't bought it to sell I bought it for my summer only ride.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrjoelo

In pa. I did buy it. It was only 450. I know the brake line is blown in one spot. It was running last year. I plan on taking the plow off. Selling that separate. Then i figure I'll use the truck as a daily/winter truck. I drive a mustang so I'm just trying to flip this after some work, or hanging on to it for a fun 4x4. But the frame worries me also. Up here rust like this is common. I'm gonna do what i can before it gets worse and replace what needs replacing if it fires up tomorrow. I haven't had it running yet. I realize it's not a holy grail, but i don't wanna go chopping this thing up or using "custom" means to rig stuff up so they work if ive got something special. It seems maintained. Same guy had it for years.

Well IMO at 450 you got one heck of a deal!! If it was mine, I would do the following
1. pull the wheels and look at the frame around the control arms and the spring hangers. Assuming it looks fairly solid, wire brush the heavy rust off, and seal with a rust encapulator. I used por 15, but there are others on the market.
2. Change the brake lines, Personally, I would change them all. 30 years is a long time on the rubber lines, and esp. the steel lines in an area that uses salt on the roads.
3. Change diff. fluids. 75-90 and if it has a limited slip rear, put the additive in for that.
4. Transfer case fluid. (automatic trans. fluid)
5. Transmission used 10w30 ENGINE oil.
6 Flush the antifreeze and put in new
7.I take a turkey baster and pull as much ps fluid out as I can, and refill. Drive and repeat a few times.
8. Engine, air filter, oil filter, oil, plugs, wires, cap and rotor
9. You can get a walker stock exhaust from rockauto for about $100.00 That is from the converter back and even includes a repair kit for the air injection tube.
10 Tires.
11. depending on their condition, and how much you want to spend, look hard at the wheel cyl. shoes, calipers, pads, master cylinder, etc. Although, I can tell you, mine still has the orig. master cylinder, (87 83000 miles) and seems to be fine.

All of these things are what I believe would be normal maintenance for a 30 year vehicle.

Good luck!!! And again, I think you got one heck of a deal!!

 

I'm happy for you guys on here who are doing so well but a value of just under $10K is still Real money to most of us out here. One should not take the prices Detroit and other auto makers ask for as if they indicate the actual value of the thing, they don't, it's just what they have been able to get away with.

 

Couldn't agree more with what onemore94dak said ^. There's are reasons why vehicle prices are high but this isn't the place for that discussion.

I will say though I don't think the buyer did badly on his purchase unless there is some terrible frame issue that hasn't been found yet, and based on the one photo there could be some problems, we will see.

While I think the gen 1 Dakota represents a pretty good value if you can find one that's in decent shape, hasn't been molested with lots of 'fixes' etc, a person has to be mindful of how much they dump into one of these given that they're not worth squat in the used car market, which is one reason (but not the only one) I drifted toward the Dakota to begin with.

I watch local Dakota sales on CL, mostly gen 2 since that's what's out there, and they don't seem to be moving all that much even at prices around $1k. Granted some of these have a lot of foregone maintenance and / or trans problem etc but the popularity of the Dakota isn't all that big, not like it is for Toyota trucks or even S10/S15 trucks.

Unless you're just overflowing with cash (not me) I see no reason to dump a boatload of money into one of these, unless you mean to drive it for years. I do see keeping maintenance up to date and in good running condition a priority but otherwise I'll keep my wallet closed unless something I want (different wheels?) presents itself at a good bargain.

Steve

 

I got it to start if i pour gas in the tb. Seems like it's not getting fuel. Looks like the previous owner customized the fuel system too. The vent tube is capped at the tank. Cant get pressure at the engine. Fuel pump id imagine.. Sigh

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by onemore94dak

I'm happy for you guys on here who are doing so well but a value of just under $10K is still Real money to most of us out here. .

Oh, its a lot of money to me as well!! But when you start talking about a car or truck having collector value, as a general rule 5-10 thousand will not buy a lot. That was the intention of the comments. Even shelby's and convertible dakota's are hard pressed to bring that much money. (5-10 thousand) And a base dakota will never be worth that!!

 

I generally don't buy them to flip. so I don't care what the "value" is to others. To me it is priceless to have a dependable truck to get me where I need to go any time I need to go there. so if the body and frame is in good shape and I otherwise like the vehicle, I spend what ever I have to to get it into solid mechanical shape. I aint spending $35k+ on anything brand new, no way no how, so to take something I spent $1k +/- on and drive the snot out of it with NO payments is worth it every day of the week.

I pd $1100 for my 92 318 club cab that came with brand new exhaust and tires, with 167K miles on it, a year and a half later with 202K on it I still drive it 70+ miles a day. has only let me down once when the fuel pump died. still uses no oil between changes.

Almost a year ago I bought a 96 4X4 318 club cab with trans laying in the bed, brought it home and went thru the trans, added shift kit, reman T/converter and external aux cooler, and my wife drives that one daily, I take that one over on weekends.
I have put some money into this one but since I have done 100% of the labor, it has been cheap. put new tires on it, new idler and pitman right off the bat, then after another 10K miles I replaced all 4 ball joints, besides that all new belts and hoses, brakes in rear, incl wheel cylinders, new brake hoses in front.
I didn't buy these to flip I bought them to drive into the ground which should be a long time coming since I have caught them up on needed maintenance and keep up on them.
My previous truck to these was a 93 318 club cab that came to me with a dead trans and actually didn't run when I got it for $500. swapped injector wires back to correct position and replaced 1 dead injector and it ran. (had parts on hand) I then swapped in a 5 speed to replace the dead auto and got 72K good miles on that truck before it was wrecked--- badly. bed was shifted a couple inches in relation to cab, buckled firewall and bent frame bad enough to puncture oil filter. there was no bringing that one back again. had it not been for that wreck I can tell you I'd still be driving that truck as it remains my favorite of the bunch for reasons besides getting a solid 20MPGs as a daily driver w/o even trying.... my current 2 aren't as good as that one was, but are at least equal to what my 2 Dakotas before that were and they were only 6 cylinder reg cab ones.... drive em til they die.

and for the post-er that said 10w30 ENGINE oil on the OP's truck, where do you get that? I have never put engine oil into any auto tranny. (pics show the P-R-N-D-2-1 on the dash)
that said especially with the plow I would have been all over the one the OP bought for that price!