Re: Parting out 1989 4x4 convertible

From: Don Rey (radon220@gmail.com)
Date: Tue Sep 11 2007 - 12:13:33 EDT


Well since the deed is done... I'll play the vulture.

First, would you mind e-mailing me the VIN off-list? I keep a sorta
vin registry and part of that is to record of how many confirmed
"dead" DakVerts there are.

Second... do you have any convertible parts left? Things such as doors
(or any door parts), top latches, interior trim, "roll bar", a
complete top even?

Where are you located?

Don in CT
89 DakVert 318 NV3500 4x4
74 Dart Sport 340

On 9/11/07, sneezer@gmail.com <sneezer@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In article <fc4a7o$g02$1@bent.twistedbits.net>, jon@dakota-truck.net writes:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > sneezer@gmail.com wrote:
> > [...]
> > > I hate to see it go, it had potential and was a convertible. Unfortunately
> I
> > > will not have the time or money to see it to the end, and the recent
> discovery
> > > on the tranny pretty much nailed the coffin shut.
> >
> >
> > I might be off base here, I tend to get kinda weird when it comes
> > to cars, but wouldn't it have been better to just sell the thing as a
> > Dakota Convertible project? I mean, after you strip all those parts
> > off, they're just plain ol' Dakota parts, with the exception of the
> > handful of convertible specific pieces. It also greatly devalues the
> > remainder of the truck - why would somebody want to start with a
> > completely stripped chassis and have to hunt down a mess of parts when
> > they could have purchased a complete truck? Your anaolgy of putting a
> > nail in the coffin is a good one; it may have had a chance to come
> > back to life before, but (barring some extrordinary circumstances)
> > stripping it down like this has guaranteed that it's only future now
> > is as scrap metal.
> >
> > I know that the convertibles aren't particularly valuable yet, and
> > actually, every one that dissapears like this will make mine worth
> > just a little bit more, but still, its sad to see a vehicle come to
> > such an end, especially a rare one. Sorry if any of the above sounds
> > harsh, I don't mean to come across that way, its your truck and you
> > are welcome to do whatever you want with it, the above were just my
> > immediate thoughts when I read your message. I guess the root of my
> > feelings are that after all of the careless scrapping and crushing
> > that has gone on over the decades, its just somewhat disheartening to
> > see that we have not yet learned from our past mistakes.
> >
> > --
> > -Jon-
> >
> > .- Jon Steiger -- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
> > | '96 Kolb Firefly, '96 Suzuki Intruder, Miscellaneous Mopars |
> > `-------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
>
> Believe me I would love to have it go to someone else. However - I have too
> many broken vehicles and it is just a matter of time before the city gets on me
> for them. When I bought this project I had high hopes for it and at first
> glance it looked like I could get it running without too much effort. Closer
> inspection revealed more work than I had thought as I learned more about truck
> and what would and would not work. Of course that meant more money but I was
> confident I could spend $100 here or there for small items and slowly get it
> back on the road. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of spare cash these
> days. Besides - I sold stuff to locals who needed to replace rusted out body
> panels, etc. And it is almost impossible to find some of the hardware for the
> top, and the latches will wear out. I would rather sell some parts to other
> convertible owners so that theirs can be made whole or kept on the road. Same
> goes for the quarter windows on the doors - it is pretty hard and expensive to
> get that glass since there is so little demand. Weatherstrip is another
> problem. If one truck gives up its life to prevent 2-3 from heading to the
> crusher, that is a fair tradeoff IMO. It would be different if I just had it
> towed to a yard as is without selling or removing items that could benefit
> other trucks - at least the hard to find stuff. Of course, that is my opinion.
>
> If I had the money I would figure something out. Unfortunately the reality of
> my financial situation these days won't let that happen for quite some time,
> and I can't have it sitting by the house for another couple months, and in all
> liklihood it will be much longer. As a result I am content in knowing that at
> least other trucks will benefit from its demise.
>
> Kevin
>



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