Hey guys, back after a bit of a hiatus. Last login was 2014, but I never stopped owning/wrenching on my Daks. Still have my first Dakota, a 92 2wd that now has almost 300k on it, still truckin'. My 92 4x4 in my signature was unfortunately rear ended and then t-boned, in separate accidents and was totalled. I had been really missing that truck lately and ended up buying another first gen Dakota, this 1996 318 V8 4x4 auto. This one wasn't terribly rusty, just a bit under the fender flares and some on the bottom of the doors. Looks good enough with the flares on!





Anyways, I got it in a fairly neglected state. The front end was entirely worn out. I replaced the control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, wheel hub bearings, shocks front and rear, tie rods inner/outer/connectors as well as the pads and rotors. I also changed the oil, undercoated the whole thing with fluid film and put a set of Cadillac SRX wheels on it. I have a set of seats from a 2010 Dakota, new headliner and LEDs for the moonvisor waiting to be installed. Drove it about 80 miles today after having it aligned and it runs very strong and smooth, I'm enjoying it so far.

 

Took off the Lund moonvisor and gave it a few coats of paint plus a little sanding. Then I wired up five amber eagle eye LEDs and did a test fit. Looks pretty good to me. Just need to tie it into the headlight switch and fasten it to the roof. Maybe I'll use sealant this time, because last guy didn't.

Also pulled down the headliner board, gave it a good scrubbing and then laid down a new piece of headliner fabric. Haven't put the new one back in yet, waiting to finish up the visor wiring.

 

Thanks for posting up the pictures!!! Seems like there used to be more interest in modding these trucks in the past. Hopefully the interest will pick up again. I know I enjoy seeing pictures

 

Glad you've enjoyed it so far! I've always had a soft spot for these trucks. My 92 was my first truck way back in high school and its a tank, still truckin'with 300k miles on the original drivetrain.

Here's a shot of my 96 up on my lift, before I swapped tires. It spent a couple weeks up there as I slowly found time to get the mechanical parts straightened out.
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FWIW, I would have never thought of using cadillac wheels.... But they really look good!!

 

I did some googling on bolt patterns and I think our trucks are 6x115mm and the Cadillac SRX is 6x114.3. I figured I could make em fit 0.7mm with a hammer if necessary, but they slide right on. The hub depth and offset isn't quite the same, so I'm running 1.5" spacers. They do stick out a little bit, 1.25" would probably be perfect, but good luck finding those. They're also staggered, with wider wheels in the rear, which I think looks cool. Picked up the set with good condition tires for $200 on FB marketplace. I also think they look pretty sharp, so I'm keeping an eye out for another set to put on future builds.

 

Got it mostly back together. Visor lights are wired into stock headlights switch, headliner in, interior trim reinstalled, overhead console redone, LED bulbs all over. Need new sun visors, mine are trashed. Could have done a better job on the console, not happy with the wrinkles, but it'll fly for now.

Also added a dash cam to it, easily hardwired while I had all the trim off.

Next up is figuring out the new seats.

 

Exhaust was about to fall off, so I stole the dual outlet magnaflow off my hemi parts truck. It actually fit up really easy, just had to move a couple of hangers. The bends over the axle fit nicely. It sounds frickin amazing now too. Went for a rip after getting it installed and it is just pure music to my ears.

 

The hitch was killing me. It looks awful, wasn't centered and was bolted to the bumper brackets instead of the frame. Totally worthless how PO had it installed. I have a Cummins as well, so may as well clean this up. Also saves about 50-60lbs of payload, so that's nice.


Much cleaner looking imo.

 

I like that..... Are you still running the stock manifolds and converter? Id love to hear the sound.... I been thinking of using the magnaflow mufflers on my truck when I swap my 5.9 into it....