At a point in the midst of their lives, some people will spend an inordinate amount of money on some shiny, youthful automotive bauble. It seems the intent is to help salve the angst an elevated age can sometimes cause in a person.
Ever the nonconformist, I bought an old $2,400 Dodge pickup.
www.meaww.com
The aging process has never really bothered me. If you take a moment, there is actually a lot of humor in it. Things start to wrinkle, droop, or leak, hair in places below your collarbone starts to gray (so I hear), and your body likes to taunt you with stiffness and other maladies.
When such happens with a person it is typical.
Such is also typical for a vehicle but vehicles aren’t your physical self, thus options exist. When my Ford decided to go on a weight-loss regimen, it seemed a good option was to allow it to find happiness in somebody else’s greener pasture.
So what the hell happened for me to make such a retrograde move?
Another benefit of aging is the perfect cocktail of mental clarity, pragmatism, and not caring what others think. The red F-150 was only traveling about 4,000 miles per year, indicating my need for a pickup exists but it isn’t a high utilization proposition. When a coworker texted me this incomplete picture of a 1991 Dodge Power Ram 150, my brain started working.
Yes, I could have kept the Ford, rust and all. But there was still the issue of exorbitant property tax, insurance, and further depreciation.
This Dodge is practically free in those regards.
All else being equal, the old Dodge suits my current needs better than did the Ford. While that Ford had fit my needs at one time, things evolve. I was back to needing an 8′ bed while keeping something with four-wheel drive for getting to work in bad weather. The last year of the pre-Magnum 318 is no powerhouse, but my need to pull a trailer is rather infrequent these days. Rather, I’m into hauling brush, dirt, bricks, and various other debris.
This Dodge is ideal in that regard.
Years ago I remember seeing some form of this Dodge commercial on television. While normally not one to fall prey to such syrupy drivel, it somehow resonated with me.
While I often mention Cape Girardeau, Missouri, I grew up ten miles and a world away in Illinois. Since becoming an adult that part of Illinois has found a new home in a place that lies beyond terminal decline; it was not to that point when growing up. We only lived where we did due to my father having grown up in the area; even then it didn’t make sense.
The county seat of Cairo (pronounced Care-Oh and a place I did not frequent) has fallen off its once admirable perch in such spectacular fashion various documentaries have been made about its implosion. Even as a pre-teen I knew my life would lead me in a direction that did not include the State of Illinois. While having no clue where it would lead – Alabama or Georgia generally came to mind, perhaps due to warmer weather – the imagery of the young guy having found success and driving his new Dodge back to visit family resonated with me.
That has mostly come true; the sole missing ingredient is the new Dodge Ram pickup.
Yes, these Dodges have wormed themselves into my brain.
Figuring we all have just one life to live, I acted uncharacteristically and bought this old Dodge. It spoke to me.
Buying any vehicle this age is a pig-in-a-poke proposition. There was a distinct leap of faith involved but these old Dodges contain a certain hard to describe figurative opiate. They are delightfully simple and I just enjoy driving it.
So far the ownership experience has been about what I expected, both good and bad. But let’s talk about that later.
I have been using this Dodge as intended since Day 2. It has happily performed all assigned tasks – it has hauled dirt for the garden, debris from removing a deck, and bricks for a retaining wall plus countless loads of brush.
The first load of stuff to the landfill was 880 pounds of deck I had pulled off the house. My being methodical in truncating the deck quickly yielded to my general impatience and wanting to be done with the job. Needling the Dodge through the various obstacles of tool shed and trees that comprise my backyard, I utilized a saws-all and my trusty log chain to jerk free the portion of the deck to be eliminated. With the Dodge in four-low, a smooch on the throttle made short order of removing that deck from the abbreviated remainder.
The events of leaning the deck onto the tailgate for slicing it into two pieces for easier loading sealed the deal on my ownership. After blazing down the middle of the eliminated portion of the deck with said saws-all, the two halves did an Olympics worthy synchronized flip onto the rear fenders leaving matching dents and identically sourced chunks of tail light deposited onto the ground.
So how does the Dodge drive? Hearing it has a 130-odd inch wheelbase, a solid front axle, shock absorbers that retired likely during the Clinton Administration, and a 170 horsepower 318 to move around 4,500 pounds of two-tone Dodge, one could make a few incorrect assumptions.
Hit the starter and it turns over rapidly. The Highland Park Hummingbird was last seen in 1987; throttle-body injection came along the following year as did a new, uninspired sounding starter. If anything under the hood changed between then and 1991, it was little. This Dodge always starts immediately regardless of ambient temperature. It starts just as readily in -10 degree Fahrenheit weather as it does when it is 110 degrees warmer.
Place the four-speed automatic into gear and she’s ready to go. The steering is slow but certain as I’ve made some enhancements. All the tie-rods were shot when I purchased it (despite having passed inspection, surely something nobody has ever pencil-whipped) so those were changed. Another source of slop was the rag joint steering shaft which I replaced with an aftermarket universal-joint type in October 2020.
The old girl tracks great and power delivery is steady but not overwhelming. The only discernible difference between being loaded with a thousand pounds versus being empty is the Dodge upshifts later and the ride is somewhat smoother. Otherwise, this Dodge is unfazed with being loaded.
It would seem any vehicle built like this Dodge would be rough, noisy, and not at all nimble. That would be somewhat wrong. Ride and noise insulation was never its forte, but in regards to nimbleness, this Dodge flys way under the radar. It has a profoundly comfortable driving position and a relatively tight turning circle so one could easily drive it all day on the farm or city streets without any form of undue challenge. Of course, visibility is unfettered by much of anything which also helps.
Fuel economy? Let’s not dwell on that.
As stated earlier it has not been perfect. But that’s okay. While I drive it to work most days, on those rare occasions when it is suffering from age, I simply take a different vehicle. After my initial tune-up, which included replacing the original distributor cap and rotor, that 318 really woke up. Since then, it has required the mentioned tie-rods, ball joints, a wiper motor switch, and a water pump. Some proactivity prompted replacement of heater and radiator hoses along with the front wheel bearings.
When purchased, the paint was flaking on the hood and roof. A coworker repainted these areas for a grand total of $250.
The tires were nearly new.
The totality of what I have spent on the Dodge is still less than what I would have spent for new tires on the Ford (it was needing them) plus three years worth of property tax. Depreciation is a non-issue.
If this Dodge has an Achilles heel, it would be the electronics. What I suspect to be a fusible link has killed power to a particular fuse in the fuse panel. Thus, I have no heat as the blower motor gets no electricity. Really, that’s no big deal. My drive to work is three miles so this last winter, when temperatures had dipped into the negative zone on the Fahrenheit scale, I garaged the Dodge and arrived at work before it got cold inside. Besides, the engine would not have warmed up in that time period, so there wouldn’t have been heat anyway.
The wiper motor switch recently decided to work overtime as the wipers were at full chat with the switch turned off. A new switch was procured and was obscenely easy to install. Despite such petty distractions, the old girl starts every time, runs like a champ, and does what it is asked to do. Can one really complain about that? To me, that indicates a certain degree of fortitude.
Few vehicles can brag about longevity in the same manner as these Dodges. These amazing beasts were designed in the 1960s, introduced in the 1970s (the 1972 model year to be precise), were mildly updated in the 1980s, and this example was produced in the 1990s.
Years ago when I first met editor Jim Klein we talked about regional differences in automotive composition. For some this Dodge may be something novel, an example of something rarely seen in their area. Conversely, in this neck of the woods, half-ton Dodges of this vintage can be seen anytime you venture out. These half-tons are more plentiful than are the contemporary Ford and Chevrolet examples.
These are still so prevalent there is a location a few miles north of me in which two houses facing each other both have a half-ton Dodge pickup of this vintage parked in the driveway. All are still being used; none of them are pampered garage queens. If one is ever here and sees someone with his approximately 1990 Dodge half-ton hauling scrap metal, they would agree these pickups are still working day-in and day-out.
That is exactly what is still happening with the Dodge seen here. Purchased new by an old man who used it to haul firewood, then purchased by someone who used it as a spare in his farming operation, I am the third owner and this Dodge continues to work without complaint.
In the course of this series, every vehicle I have owned has been covered except my 1963 Ford Galaxie. Of the bunch, none has ever generated the number of positive comments as has this Dodge. It has been called awesome, beautiful, bad-ass, and cute. While I don’t seek such attention, I have certainly received it.
All that said, this Dodge is nirvana on four, fifteen inch wheels.
Will I own this Dodge for as long as what Paul has owned his 1966 Ford F-100? I don’t know. Circumstances may change, problems to test my tolerance my erupt, and life can evolve. What happens happens.
We all have but one life to live and we need to make the most of it. Having turned fifty during the course of this series has once again spurred me to reassess my outlook on life. In other words, I want to enjoy my Dodge for as long as I can, whether that means an additional three days, three years, or three decades.
I figure if I can have the stamina of this old Dodge I will have been successful. There is no hurry for this my Dodge to enter the next chapter of its already long and fruitful life.
——————————————————————————
This installment concludes my COAL series. It’s been quite the journey as it has exhumed a lot of things I had simply forgotten about; with any hope you have found it to be enjoyable and perhaps even insightful. There will undoubtedly be more chapters to add but those will come in time.
(Author’s Note: One Life to Live aired on ABC from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012.)
“This installment concludes my COAL series. It’s been quite the journey as it has exhumed a lot of things I had simply forgotten about; with any hope you have found it to be enjoyable and perhaps even insightful.
Thank you Jason. This COAL series has been both enjoyable and relatable.
I do not believe these uniquely CC peeks into the lives of others that we kind of know (somewhat) through the vehicles we all have owned, driven, and worked on, is available anywhere else on the internet.
It also helps people living in one part of the country or world (CC is a true whole-world group) understand the many other places where similar people live interesting lives while they handle whatever life throws at, or offers, them. I suppose that is one reason so many people like to read traditional biographies (auto or not); they are interesting, relatable, and educational.
There is something cathartic about putting all of the details of a COAL series into writing. It helps define one’s life to-date in a time machine manner where one can fly over it at a high altitude, or swoop down and recall detailed sequences, then fly up again and move forward or backward (in-time) to look over and accurately recall one’s past life-time details.
Would we spend the time needed to examine our lives like this if we were not writing a COAL series?
This recollecting of a COAL series details also delineates the multiple lives that we have lived even if it wasn’t obvious to us at the time we were going through these lives, hours by hour, day by day.
1999 Dodge Power Ram 150
One my son William’s favorite movies is “Twister”, basically a 1996 movie with two actual missions:
1. Promote the recent 1993 Dodge Pickup re-design, and
2. Show-off Helen Hunt in a tank top.
I think I still prefer the honest form-follows-function design of your 1991-vintage Dodge pickup to the now ubiquitous big-rig-like Dodge Ram series.
Helen Hunt though, was just fine as-is.
Thanks for the ride Jason.
Thank you.
For me, I had to be in the right frame of mind for writing these. I had been playing with the concept for a while but just didn’t move forward. However, back in June my wife and daughter were out of town and I was alone for a week. I worked around the house during the day and wrote these at night. It was a good formula.
Diving into life’s historical details does better show the trajectory of life. While there are some key things I intentionally omitted with this series, it has shown consistency in personality traits – firing real estate agents (and a painter within the last two weeks) does go along with telling a college professor he’s an orifice. Writing this series does allow one to connect all the dots of their life.
Oddly, one of the things I was most cognizant of was to properly set the context in various situations and not have any acronyms or nicknames that are not relevant to the reader. For instance, several times I have seen commenters talk about “PCH”. Huh? Publisher’s Clearing House? No, wait…do they mean Pacific Coast Highway? One needs to elaborate and set the context – which I think I sometimes achieved too well.
This series, in some ways, was like a vacation. You enjoy it while it’s going but you also enjoy when it is over.
Also, I must say, there was some guy from out east who wrote a series of COALs a few years back. He rather set the bar for this type of series – I’m fairly confident I got nowhere close.
I’ve been enjoying the abundance of excellent COALs here at CC for sometime now and was shaken from my bliss by the unexpected end of yours.
I should have been checking the year of your vehicle’s stories rather than the year of the vehicle itself, and doing some finger counting, but it was more fun to just dive in and enjoy them with coffee and an English muffin or two.
But your COAL did take me from a record breaking heat wave to a frosty morning where the Tacoma, loaded with 12-14 giant contractor bags of well mulched and very wet leaves (not only kinda heavy but mud and slug covered as well) and downed tree branches was parked facing the South/East waiting for the sun to melt the frost off the windshield. So the abrupt ending was really not so abrupt at all.
I’ve experienced similar good-things-ending losses when reading novels (especially those by John Irving and Lee Child) as well as long, well researched articles in The New Yorker magazine.
I even felt some regret for not getting an ex-cop car in the past. Around here that would now entail a Ford Explorer with black steel wheels and tiny polished hub caps. It’s a good look.
Close. Bob Lutz’ Peterbilt-looking Dodge light pickup showed up for 1994, and the truck market has never been the same.
Still, it’s a shame Chrysler could never improve the body integrity of the D150 pickup (the Dodge ‘Ram’ got the added ‘0’ to make them a 1500) to that of Ford or Chevy. The bodies of the old Dodges would, quite literally, rust away around the stout drivetrain.
There’s still love for those 1972-1993 Dodge Sweptlines. If one can, somehow, keep the body intact, they just never quit. For one thing, parts interchange easily since, other than the grille, the rest of the body is essentially the same truck for over two decades.
My preference would be for a slant-six version (available thru 1987).
Now THAT is a vehicle to end the series with. As usual, RLPlaut’s comments ring true, because you can tell a lot about a person through the car(s) they own and drive. It’s clear that this Ram is a fitting conclusion (for now). It’s hard-working and no-nonsense, which seems to describe you pretty well. 🙂
Thank you. Life is too short to fill it up with a lot of drama and baloney.
You have a great point about the connection between a person and what they drive. Had I unveiled this last vehicle as being a 7-Series BMW or Mercedes S-Class it would have been perceived as an April Fool’s joke. :). This Dodge rather stays in character, doesn’t it?
Excellent series, I’ve really enjoyed these past few Saturday morning reads. What a great note to end on, thanks for sharing!
Thank you. It’s been a trip in many ways.
The mystery truck is finally revealed, and my suspicions were correct! I don’t know what it was, but ever since you mentioned selling the Ford, I had a feeling that you had gone to an older truck. With you consistently mentioning your fondness for this generation Dodge, it was my prediction you ended up with one, although I didn’t know the specifics. Your specimen is an awesome example. I remember when these trucks were new and I thought they were an anachronism that only a cheapskate or an old man would buy. However, with time they are much more appealing in my eyes, in particular because they have have the appeal of a 1970s truck that has been modernized with things like EFI. Your version is certainly more practical as a daily driver than say a 1979 Dodge pickup.
You mentioned that you also saved on property taxes because of the age of the truck. I am curious how you are taxed on our vehicles? Where I live, we pay taxes at time of purchase but never again. The only government expense is the annual plate registration, which has recently been made free.
It is interesting that you mentioned in that these Dodge’s are thick on the ground your area just as you mentioned VWs last week. That is definitely not the case where I live, where old GMs Fords out number Dodges by large margins. That said, the only old semi-regularly used truck within a 2 mile radius of my house is a beat-up circa 1990 Dodge half/ton 2wd. I am also quite surprised the how nice of a truck $2400 bought you; it would have been substantially more expensive here. Old trucks are quite valuable around here.
I currently have a pickup that is the same vintage as your Ford, and it better suits my needs at the present time than any vintage truck could. However, I have to admit a touch of jealousy over you being able to have this as your commuter truck. I have long wanted to replace my modern truck with a basic old pickup like yours, but the reality is that it’s just not practical for my situation, nor would one last long in my climate. Further, there would be no savings in insurance (which is already dirt cheap on my current pickup) and certainly more fuel and maintenance costs with an older pickup. Maybe when I retire and the kids have moved out an old truck might work, but in the foreseeable future a modern pickup is really the best choice by far. At least I do get to commute in my vintage cars on occasion, which I do thoroughly enjoy.
Thanks for an excellent COAL series Jason! Let’s hope that Dodge keeps on truckin’ for many years to come.
If anyone was going to figure it out, I figured it would be you!
You are indeed in an area that will be more harsh to an old pickup. But one would be a great fair-weather proposition for you.
Rereading the article, I failed to mention I purchased this pickup in September 2019. Had I waited I could have gotten a lot more for that Ford, but my crystal ball is rather murky at times.
Drivability on this Dodge is really good. Unlike my ’87, this ’91 is geared much more favorably for highway driving plus the four-speed automatic helps also. I haven’t driven it that far, but mechanically it has given me zero issues. However, the ancillary components keep showing their age, with the heater core having thrown in the towel recently. But, again, short drive to work, so not a huge thing – other than that sweet smell of a needed repair.
The only rust is just above the rear wheels, a typical place for most any pickup, sadly. It’s progressed on the passenger side from what is seen in these pictures. Perhaps that will be a project next spring. While I have driven it in the snow the last few winters, my plan is to work from home this winter if the weather is too cold or snowy. It’ll help minimize further exposure to the salt.
There is a guy here in town with a real rarity – a 1990ish Dodge one-ton dually with a flat-bed and a gas engine. It’s in great shape.
To be candid, this Dodge has made two sneak appearances in these pages. The first was here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-comparisons/cc-comparison-new-pickups-vs-old-pickups-bring-on-the-hyperbole/
The second was a photobomb here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/fieldside-classics-recycling-1964-and-1965-ford-galaxie-500-plus-surprise-bonus-unraveling-and-finding-a-few-mysteries/
Like most of us, I missed your hints.
Until recalling your other Ram – count me in the camp who never would have guessed – or understood – such a downgrade from one possible subjective sense.
Although I swapped a 1996 Japanese car for my 1990 Mustang 2.3. There were reasons involved.
Ironically my love affair with an old beast of burden would be a Ford Club Wagon/E-Series like your van. Seriously.
Forgot to mention taxes…Missouri has annual property taxes, which really irks me. In fact there has been legislation to eliminate it, but it hasn’t yet passed.
The way it works is each county can tax automobiles, trailers, real estate, and live stock based upon what you own January 1 of each year; taxes are due in December for that calendar year. Tax rates vary by county within Missouri, with my county being somewhat more realistic than another county just north of me.
To somewhat compensate, license plate fees are quite reasonable here compared to other states with the fee being based upon taxable horsepower. A two-year registration for the Dodge was like $65. For comparison, since I mentioned Illinois in the article, it was $75 per year per vehicle regardless – in 1995.
Last year my property tax bill for the van, Galaxie, VW, and Dodge was around $150 as three of the four had depreciated out. However, that Ford pickup was 7 years older than the VW and they were equal in property tax being charged during the time I owned it.
The tax structure around the state is a hot-mess. Jackson County (which contains the bulk of Kansas City) has a 1% city income tax.
Sales tax on vehicles is 4.25% but increases to match your city sales tax if you live within the city limits. Thus it may be 5% in one town put pushing 10% elsewhere. Luckily, I got money back when I sold the Ford and bought the Dodge.
That is a hot mess! Here, we pay 13% sales tax (comprised of federal and provincial) on new and used car purchases. After that, we’d pay $60 per year per vehicle on plate renewals, but that was recently abolished so now renewals are free. We do have property taxes here too of course, but it’s only based on the value of your house/land (vehicles do not come into play) and it is paid to your city/township/county depending on where you live.
I remember your post above comparing the Dodge to the late model GMC. I didn’t clue in at all it was yours at all at the time. One thing you could do to the Dodge to help preserve the body is rust proof it. You probably can’t get Krown in your area, but I bet you can get Fluid Film. Spraying the undercarriage in inside panels will greatly help protect it in less ideal weather.
Here’s the best part – the check is made out to the county. No state or federal taxes within the property tax as it’s all county. Of course, mortgage companies are so nice as to add the real estate tax into the payment and they take care of it annually.
We’re saddled with similar personal property taxes here in Virginia. This year we paid $600 for taxes (for our 2010 Odyssey and 2018 Sedona… neither particularly valuable vehicles). For newer cars, the taxes are astronomical, and a significant disincentive for buying a new car.
About 25 years ago, a Virginia governor promised to eliminate the car tax, and was able to get the General Assembly to go along. The state passed a “phaseout” of the tax – but a few years later, the Assembly froze the phaseout, and two decades later we’ve still got the car tax.
Of course, the 13% sales tax that Vince mentions is probably equally onerous, but these annual property taxes are particularly rough on people because you’ve got to write a check to the state for hundreds (or in many cases thousands) of dollars every single year.
One of my shop’s customers and his wife were both severely injured in a car accident back about 1990. They lived modestly in a nice older home in Leesburg, VA and had been given 2 special wheelchair accessible Chrysler-Braun Mobility minivans thru insurance.
I heard they were selling the house and moving to Morgantown, WV. When I asked why the move, he said the Virginia state, county, and city property taxes each year was 1/6th of his total Social Security Disability yearly gross amount. Yikes!
Virginia used to tax antique cars too, based on the current ‘average’ values in the vehicle value guides, however about 30 years ago a few old car collectors took the state to court, and having proved the values of their cars were less than what Virginia was claiming the cars were worth, the state finally relented and said all cars with Virginia antique license plates would be valued at $300 for tax purposes. I heard that they finally dropped that tax on antique cars because it cost more to run the program than it brought in tax revenue.
I operated a vintage limo service and sometimes needed to pick up people at local airports, including Dulles in northern Virginia. Fairfax county decided to solve the problem of too many commercial limousines circling around the “arrivals level” traffic loop, by creating a special lot for the limousines to wait until the client was ready [this meant all the drivers had to have a cell phone]. This lot was not in the airport’s physical area, it was within Fairfax county’s jurisdiction, and Limo services were charged $20 per vehicle, per client pick-up, to pay for the cost of creating and staffing the lot.
After a couple of years with the yearly limo lot tax costing more to operate [by a factor of 10], along with a lawsuit by the National Limousine Association [NLA] when they tried to massively increase the lot fee, Fairfax county gave up on the idea, and made the lot free to any limo.
Interesting how there are so many different variations on taxation that seem to arrive at roughly the same place in the end. In Michigan there is no personal property tax for individuals aside from real estate, however the registration fees are based on the original msrp for the vehicle if newer than 1984 and therefore can get a bit steep. My rusty 01 Silverado, which is only a mid level trim, still costs nearly $150 a year to register. My wife’s 10 Sentra, which despite being about a decade newer, is over $50 less as it was less expensive when new.
I remember those along with L and BL plates for trucks. Back in 1994 we skipped town owing Newton County for our assorted vehicle fleet and moved to Oregon the land of no sales tax.
Very nice conclusion to an excellent series, Jason. Your truck looks great with the two-tone gray and red pinstripe. While I prefer the eggcrate grill that these had in the 80’s, I think the chrome crosshair grill was an effective update. Since I grew up in a Dodge household I’ve always been biased towards these trucks over Ford and GM, but I believe you mentioned at some point that the Dodges of this era tend to be the most reliable American pickups.
I certainly could’ve used a truck like this when we removed the old deck from our back patio. Unlike most cars in the Netherlands, my car didn’t have a trailer hitch, so it was multiple trips to the municipal recycling center with stacks of spider infested wood stuffed in the back of my Skoda Octavia.
I hope you have many more years with your faithful truck.
Thank you!!!
These old Dodges have some nice attributes. They do rust, but from what I’ve seen, they don’t rust as enthusiastically as did the Chevrolet examples. They also didn’t have the strangled engines Ford did.
Time will tell with this Dodge. I enjoy it but I’m not so attached as to keep it should things head south. But it’s a great ride so far!
Great truck. One Ford engine that year, though, would give the Dodge a run for the money:
318: 260 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm
300: 265 lb-ft @ 2,200 rpm
Good point. The only real counter I could offer is the Dodge having an extra 20 (or thereabouts) horsepower.
If I ever get up the gumption, I should write about some of the other influential vehicles in my life. There would be an ’84 F-150 in the mix that helped sour me on Ford’s 300. I know I am in the minority for not being in the fan club for this engine.
I think has Paul pointed out that the carbureted emissions version of the 300 engine was not the greatest due to cam timing. In ’87 it got FI and another almost 30hp.
There is one mystery I should’ve asked earlier. How’d the Thunderbird get the cut over the Escort?
If you married into that 1996 Escort, that should be on your list.
Matt S., it was a matter of practicality. The Escort got better fuel mileage and the Thunderbird was worth more.
It’s over? Already? I am going to miss these Saturday morning sessions with the Shafer motor pool. It seems like most of us find, sooner or later, an “automotive home” – the family of cars that makes us feel good. Looking back, mine is probably the old C body Mopar and I think this generation of Dodge truck might be yours. This is a mighty nice old truck. A future COAL of mine got into life with a 30-ish year old daily driver and it can be done. I still toy with the idea every now and then.
I love this truck. Dodge’s higher trim level trucks were nice looking in their day. At the time I didn’t much care for this front end, preferring the prior version (that ended with 1990, I think). But as time has passed I have warmed to this one.
How thick these are on the ground in your area has always surprised me. These were mighty rare around central Indiana when new, but then we had a really large GM industrial ecosystem around here at the time and Fords were popular too. Your experience with these trucks sort of follows the pattern I always saw with pre-Iacocca Mopars – they never sold as well but they often outlasted the others. But with these, rust took them off the road almost as badly as with the Chevrolets. I think the Ford AOD transmission killed off a lot of those.
This has been a really enjoyable series for reasons beyond the cars. I have enjoyed getting your experience and perspective on a whole lot of things. Like Cairo Illinois – just wow.
Yes, this party is over. But I hear there is a party on Sunday mornings that is still going strong. Automotive promiscuity has its advantages!
You are indeed correct about being able to daily a 30-odd year old vehicle. My first bit of advice is to have a backup vehicle that serves like the Chrysler ballast resistor – if you have a spare, you’ll never need it.
I fully agree with the change to the front end that happened for 1991. It was harsh at the time but now works quite well.
Finding this Dodge was somewhat like winning a door prize – it’s a good one and in a trim that isn’t off-putting. It’s been a great ride so far.
And Cairo…I hesitated about putting that in here but it’s like the beautiful girl who really messes up her appearance – you just can’t help but feel pity and asking “what the hell???”.
A fine conclusion to a great series, a capable and pragmatic truck seems to make perfect sense for you.
These are very thin on the ground in salt county, but during my evening walks I have seen an 80s Dodge a couple of times, so not totally gone.
Thank you. These Dodges are a sort of kindred spirit. Right now it’s loaded with ground tire rubber I’m using for mulch. Later today it’ll likely be hauling new baseboards for my basement.
An excellent place to stop the COAL…for the time being. I look forward to more, just as I’ve looked forward to these Saturday morning chapters.
I’ve said before that I would love to have a truck like your Dodge for very similar purposes. You’ve given me some excellent ideas about where and what to look for.
Cairo…wow. I recently ran across a video about Cairo very similar to the one you linked to. It amazes me to see places like that, and in particular places where there’s not been some sort of obvious environmental disaster (e.g., Centralia or Love Canal) but rather just a collapse in obvious reasons for living right there. Although it seems unlikely, hopefully some day the population might return as it seems like actually a fairly nice site there on the rivers. I also can’t read the name without thinking about Mark Twain and steamboats and that 19th century history…which just makes it all the more sad that what was then is now pretty much gone.
Thank you. It’s been a fun series but I’m enjoying its conclusion. Time for somebody else to run with it.
If you desire a Dodge of this vintage, I know of a place where they are still thick on the ground. 🙂
Cairo…where do I start? I went there infrequently, but it was the county seat. It is where I got my first car (the dealer is seen in the video) and where my parents purchased many of theirs. My father was born there. Back in the 1980s it had a distinct southern feel – it is closer to Birmingham, Alabama, for example, than it is to Chicago – and one could still feel what had been. Now, it’s a shithole and it pains me to say that. The whole town ties into a lot of other political and social issues, but I won’t go there. Suffice it say there is much opportunity lost with the town. Seriously, any place being at the confluence of two major rivers, having interstate access, and being centrally located should easily see success. But I guess not.
Nice article on a truck rarely seen anymore in these parts of Arkansas. Newer Rams have become quite popular now. But back when your truck was built, Fords or Chevys were the rule down here.
I had an older Dodge pickup myself. The heater blower failed similar to yours. Once you replace any blown fuses and get power as far as the HVAC blower resistor, you might want to consider replacing it. It was an easy and relatively cheap fix that restored the failed blower in my Dodge and stopped it from continuing to blow fuses. Good luck.
Thank you for the tip! I shall try that. I do know using my multimeter in the fuse-box revealed the fuse for the blower motor having no power.
If you have a Dodge pickup, you’ve got a keeper!
There it is, fully revealed at last! Actually, I knew about this Dodge, as I’d seen it once or twice in posts without being properly identified, so I asked Jason about it. But a pretty well-kept automotive secret, in terms of CC.
Thanks so much for finally taking on your COAL; I’ve met you twice, but I feel I know you a whole lot better now. And you’ve given me a lot of insight into life in Missouri, here and in the past. Every region or state in the country has decidedly unique and distinctive character, which makes the US so fascinating.
When I lived in Iowa, I got to Missouri a couple of times, and was surprised at the differences; it’s really part of the South, unlike Iowa. I’d noticed a similar change when I used to hitchhike down to the Outer Banks in NC; once I was in Virginia, things were different.
One of my hopes is to travel through the deeper South in our van sometime, as it’s the one part of the country I’ve not been to yet, except Florida.
Your Dodge undoubtedly makes a much better DD than my F100 would. I could manage that, obviously, but I prefer to limit my exposure to traffic to when it’s needed. But I do have a working heater. 🙂
How this has remained a secret for three years is a true mystery.
These COALs do help give insight into people much better than the conversations in passing we’ve had in person. Plus, my life was in an uproar for at least one of those times, so it wasn’t the best barometer.
Missouri does indeed have some strong southern influences. There is also a distinct feeling of East vs. West when experiencing St. Louis vs. Kansas City. It truly is a unique state in terms of people, geography, environment, and a host of other factors. Traveling around the country is quite the experience with all the various influences.
Daughter is scheduled for a trip to Los Angeles next summer. I’m really thinking about going simply for the experience, not having been that far south in California before.
Getting the heat fixed might be a good project. I suspect it’s quite a simple fix.
Jason, When I first saw the photos, I thought it was my old pickup before I painted it black, especially when I saw the Maryland license plates. [I’m in the Annapolis area.]
Well, I’m not in Maryland. I’m in another M-state a bit further west.
Jason, our automotive histories have been mostly very divergent, with the partial exception of your Passat and our Golf. But this one came along at an interesting time. My daily driver, and until recently our primary road trip and recreational vehicle, has been our 4wd Tacoma. And in fact, as I mentioned in my recent Rivian post, I was seriously considering taking a further step into modernity and was on the waiting list for an R1T. But I realized I wasn’t quite ready for that, and in fact with our 2020 Ford Transit taking over primary travel duties, I could make a few bucks and revert to a simpler era, by selling the Tacoma and buying an older pickup. Like you, I want to own a truck, and I’d also like 4wd. Probably something from the nineties; I like fuel injection but would also like get a manual transmission. I have a specific make/model in mind but found only two on CL in the three West Coast states between Mexico and Canada. Anyway, thanks for an excellent series with a great theme. Where I live in California, older Fords and Chevies are everywhere but the pre-‘94 Dodge is a rare site. In 30 years the situation should be quite different, as over the past decade the Ram has really taken off, especially among private owners and small business fleets. The big ag outfits still seem to prefer Ford and Chevy/GMC.
Thanks!
The series has been rewarding. Keep looking for that pickup -it’s out there.
You saved the best for the last, Jason! Thank you for your COAL series- I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.
I’ve always been a fan of 1972-93 Dodge trucks. (gotta blame watching ‘Emergency!’ when I was a kid for getting me hooked on this era of Dodge truck in the first place). I’ve always liked the final 1991-93 rendition of the Dodge truck. Still the old bones, but with interior and mechanical updates to kinda keep up with the times. Kinda like remodeling a house as applied to a truck. The addition of the Magnum motor 3.9 and 5.2 in 1992 and 5.9 in 1993 really upped the bar in the powertrain and horsepower department.
You got a keeper there, Jason. Keep us up-to date on it, ok?
The ’91 to ’93 Dodge pickups could be configured quite nicely with the interior appointments of a better quality than GM or Ford, in my opinion. Granted not all were built this way, but the nice ones have really endured the test of time.
I’ll keep everyone up-to-date. Thankfully, it’s been fairly uneventful so far.
Interesting COAL series thanks, could I write mine? unlikely its sometimes hard to remember it all in sequence and many repeats, some brands and models endear themselves.
A great ending Jason. There’s a lot to be said for owning an older vehicle that’s finished depreciating, and is simple and easy to work on, but not so old that parts aren’t available. Looking at the photos of your truck, it doesn’t look that old – surely the sign of a good basic design in the first place.
I had to smile at your partial deck-ectomy. If the truck could talk, I could imagine it saying “Yeah! Now THIS is what I’m built for. Watch me go!” Reminds me of the time when Dad pulled down (part of) a dead cypress in the back yard that was threatening to fall on the garage. Not having a truck, he tied a long rope around the back bumper of the old Falcon, got me to climb up and loop the other end around the trunk about eight feet up, while he tied it off – didn’t trust my Boy Scout knots (I wouldn’t have either). He fired up the little 170 and took off up the driveway, riding the clutch. There was an awful splintering of dead wood, and an awful stench of burnt clutch, but it worked; the tree broke off about where the rope had been.
When one has a pickup (or any vehicle) of an age and overall condition of this Dodge, you don’t get worried about nicks and scratches. It makes for cheap, easy living. Plus parts for this thing are delightfully cheap. The wiper switch (which contains the turn signal mechanism and dimmer switch), for instance, was like $25 or some such.
I have always thought this was a very good overall design. It obviously has its roots in the early 1970s but the 1980s update did a good job of minimizing these attributes.
Had time and better upload speeds allowed, I was tempted to do a video on it so readers could hear it run and also listen to me yammer on about it. Probably best I didn’t – I joked this week I have a face for radio and a voice for print journalism.
I’ll add to your positive comments about this truck – I love it. And since I’ve actually ridden in it several times, I’m pretty confident with that proclamation.
Its combination of toughness, simplicity, adequate-but-not-excessive comfort, and uniqueness make this truck hard for CC-type folks not to love. I guess succumbed to the figurative opiate too. In many ways, this truck reminds me a good bit of my in-laws’ 1997 F-150 XL – maybe Peak Pickup from my vantage point was reached in the 1990s?
And it’s amusing too that a vehicle with so little in the way of monetary value can end up fulfilling the role of your primary vehicle so well. I hope this Dodge sticks around for you to enjoy it for a nice long time to come!
Didn’t you also drive it during one of your visits? It’s all fuzzy.
Yes, I believe peak-pickup was reached in the 1990s. The new ones are really good but they are a bit too, uh, manscaped in many ways. It takes some finagling to find one equipped like this Dodge.
At this point there is only one external factor that would bump the Dodge from its perch. But I need to keep people in suspense as to what that is.
Now, if you could get the Mrs. to understand how good these opiates are!
You know, I can’t remember if I drove it or not either. Oh well, chalk another one up to the aging process…
Mrs. 703 is still in denial about the benefits of Dodge truck ownership. But who knows, maybe that will change some day!
By the way, I checked CL for 1987-93 Dodge 4wd pickups. Only ONE showed up in my area, population several million. A 2500 crew cab, Cummins diesel, looked vey “well used” compared to Jason’s. $16k, not including our 9.25% tax.
Curious, I did a similar search. Three vans, two pickups with both of those located in Iowa (not close, it looked at surrounding areas).
https://columbiamo.craigslist.org/search/cta?auto_make_model=dodge%20ram&max_auto_year=1993&min_auto_year=1982&purveyor=owner
Going further, I found 23 on Facebook Marketplace, all within a 100 mile radius of 65109. Some were 70s models, some were 2wd, but they are reasonably abundant around here.
Columbia has the largest population within that area at around 110,000. Where I am has a population of 43,000, however, that 100 miles will pickup the fringes of the St. Louis and KC areas.
A sad day here .
I liked that first commercial, it grasps what the older American light truck owner is all about .
I remember my 1949 B1B Dodge “Pilot House” pickup, it has been purchased new by Barlow’s Hudson, I found it there in the mid 1970’s .
Your truck here is indeed the best of that series, I had quite a few ex fleet 1979’s, all well equipped with dual tanks , A/C and so on .
Like a fool I sold every one on and they were were far better than my Chevys and Fords except how they looked .
I enjoyed the Cairo video too, kinda bittersweet, I wonder why old folks didn’t / don’t move there in retirement, seems like a good place for it, no broken glass, no trash anywhere…..
Old men and their pickups, kinda like Hank Hill in Arlington, Texas .
-Nate
I suspected you might understand the figurative opiate of these.
At work I just concluded a series of meetings with employees in which I threw some old pictures in for good measure. One included a mid-80s Dodge pickup the organization had owned back in the day; the picture was taken around 1990.
Intended to show what would now be safety issues, I would ask what was wrong with the picture if taken yesterday. A few growled there was a Dodge. I (jokingly) countered that Dodge was still in service around Branson and how a Chevrolet square body would have rusted in half 20 years ago. Nobody could argue that.
Great COAL series, and regarding your first reply to RLPlaut, don’t sell yourself short… this COAL series reached the benchmark of his magnus opus just fine.
You said at the beginning you’d be leaving two vehicles out, and I suspected it would be your Van and the Galaxie. I suppose that’s somewhat understandable, considering you’ve covered both of them here over the years quite well.
Anyway, sorry for the lack of comments on this series, as I typically didn’t read these until Mondays, by which time the essays had already made it to the “Older Entries” page. But I enjoyed them all quite thoroughly. Thanks for such an epic series!
Thank you! I suppose most people are their own worst critic.
I left out my Galaxie and my 1975 Thunderbird, a car I wish I still had and had covered previously.
Don’t worry about not commenting – viewership is a better barometer. Several entries have had quite respectable viewership.
Thank you for writing this entertaining series, Jason. I appreciate the time and place-setting you provide as context for the story of your vehicle ownership, as it gives we readers insight into purchase decisions in personal situations quite different from our own, as well sharing the common experience of the trials and tribulations of maintaining our household fleets.
With respect to these 1972-92 Dodge trucks, it’s interesting to see how little they changed in appearance throughout their long production run and I have found the best way to determine the approximate vintage is to simply look at the color. Your truck with its so very 1990s gray and silver two-tone paint is clearly from the end of the run, while early models were often painted in burnt orange and white, which just screams 1970s.
Thank you. The circumstances that lead up to a particular decision are often as insightful as is the actual purchase itself.
The beautiful thing about these pickups is how much interchanges between a ’72 and a ’91. Not everything, of course, but enough to give one a wide variety of parts availability.
I really enjoyed your COAL series; you made the CC motto “Every car has a story” work so well! I say this partly because as you pointed out earlier, a lot of your vehicles have been similar in size, body style, and purpose. If I’m counting correctly, all have been Ford or Mopar products except for a couple of GM cars and your current Passat. Yet, the stories surrounding them have definitely been quite varied!
My own fleet through the years has not varied all that much in terms of manufacturers represented — most of them have make names that start near the bottom of the alphabet. I’ve never owned a Mopar product and only one Ford — a Mercury Sable. The only pickup I have ever owned is the 1998 Nissan Frontier that has been described before, now in its 25th year with me.
Regarding Cairo — just wow! Sadly, there are so many areas in the US that have undergone similar fates, and I have no answer as to how revitalization can take place.
My own hometown of Pittsburgh has a dazzling downtown, but you can find scenes not unlike Cairo not too far away, including the inner-ring suburb in which I grew up — Stowe Township and the neighboring borough of McKees Rocks.
Here is a Google street view of a portion of Island Avenue, about a mile from where I grew up, a once bustling main street of homes and small businesses. Now, there are empty lots, greenery where nature has taken over, and (ahem) a gentleman’s club.
Thanks. When you realize you’ve stayed within a rather narrow range of the automotive spectrum, writing a COAL means one has to spice it up. However, I enjoy story telling so it would have likely taken the same format regardless of what I had owned!
There are indeed so many towns in which the trajectory has not been enviable. It’s a shame although the factors involved have to be many.
I’m a little jealous. I love the late era of these Dodge trucks. I’d love to find one with some life left in it.
They are out there. I got lucky as mine fell into my lap. However, a little persistence should pay off nicely. They are cheap to acquire and cheap to run, which is always a win-win.
Bravo Jason, what a great series and to end with a Curbside Classic to boot!
I did not realize that the pre 94 Rams could have a 4 speed automatic. I hope yours doesn’t prove to be as fragile as the 94+, as I rarely see one advertised that hasn’t had the trans rebuilt or replaced, and my friend’s dad’s has been 4 times now.
Personally I’d love to find a Dodge truck or window van with a Slant 6 backed up by an a833 OD 4 speed. I foolishly let one slip away about 15 years ago and have yet to see another decent one for sale.
How have you liked the half ton compared to your former 3/4 ton? I have had several of each in Chevys and have had issues with frame rust, transfer cases and rear ends in the half tons that are absent in the heavy duty trucks.
Thank you!
I really don’t miss having the 3/4 ton, but it was handy at times. It’s rare when I get a pickup so loaded as to really need the extra GVW. The four-speed automatic is fantastic; cruising at 70 mph is nothing for this one and would have killed that 3/4 ton.
Transmissions…they seem to be a consumable item these days. The one in mine was rebuilt about a year before I purchased it in late 2019 so hopefully it’s never an issue. There is a button on the dash to turn the o/d on and off.
I’m a big believer in “less is more”.
The above fits that definition to a T.
There are several of that generation Dodge and a couple of Ramchargers still in daily use in my neighborhood. I think it’s probably above average since Dodge was typically a distant third in truck sales.
My middle aged vehicle more closely fits the mid-life crisis car stereotype what with leather upholstery, bright red paint, 2+2 seating, alloy wheels and a side exit exhaust, but it’s just a 2002 F150 Super Cab long bed with XLT trim and an aftermarket exhaust. The 157″ wheel base can be challenge to park but it makes a great tow rig and the 8′ box makes for easy dump runs and moving jobs.