<< Thanks for all the assistance for those who commented>>
woohoo! Fresh meat!
Seeing a new Dak enthusiast has brought me out of lurk mode once again.
So.. here is a quick "what you need to know about Daks" to get you up to
speed =)
Gen 1 - 87-91. This is the TBI engine. Not a lot of power,
unfortunately. The V6 is rated at 128hp and feels like less. Not many
aftermarket engine mods out there (although a lot of stuff can be
"adapted" to work). As far as suspension goes, not a whole lot changed
in Dak-land up until 97, so there is a little hope for suspension mods.
1st gen daks had wheels that were 6" wide, so big tires are a lost cause
unless you go with aftermarket wheels.
Gen 1
Pros -
---- Sweet 4.5 on 5 wheel bolt pattern with low positive offset... makes
4x4 wheels easy to get.
---- Old Skool 727 based tranny... easy to work on.
---- same Suspension as 92-96 Dakotas, so there are lift option
available
---- Let's face it, the front end looks sweet =)
---- The only Convertible Truck ever sold =)
Cons -
---- V6 is a slug and a gas hog. Not many parts available to wake it up.
---- 7.25 rear and front diff limits your options for offroad fun. No
lockers avail.... boo
---- Mopar has stopped making many parts for this engine... just an FYI
---- the V8 throttle body school of thought doesn't work on this
engine... it's just too big...
---- 3" exhaust is baaaaad news... 2.5 is almost too big... =(
---- no Club cab until 90... and hard to find
---- no aftermarket clear lights for the front... zero - zip - zilch..
but they share the same headlamp (sealed beam) with a for probe, so all
hope isn't lost.
Gen II - 92-96. Many have labeled this the hotrod of all Dakotas. Light,
available MPFI Magnum engines (318! W00t!) with a 5 spd manual.
Lightweight as far as pickups go, and just plain sweet. Little changed
between the Gen I and Gen II except the front clip (core support and
sheet metal) and the addition of the Magnum Engine. The magnum motors
make a TON of power and respond well to mods. The '95 Magnum is
considered by many people to be the best truck if you wanna go fast
because it's the last year to OBD1... but that's a whole different
post....
Gen 2
Pros -
---- Easy to find parts for suspension as far as lift/drop goes.
---- a V8 in a 3300lb pickup? Come ooooonnnnn =)
---- front end looks almost as good as the Gen 1 (ok... I'm biased)
---- swapping in a 360 is literally a direct bolt in. (shares many parts
with the Ram)
---- still using 727 and 518 based trannies... parts are in abundance
---- very common truck... lots of em' in Boneyards
---- the aftermarket may have ignored this truck, but Mopar Performance
didn't! Head to the dealership and order up!... oh... you may wanna cash
in your 401k to afford the parts tho...
Cons -
---- 6 on 4.5 bolt patter blows... there are 2 other vehicles that share
that bolt pattern... Durango and Viper... the aftermarket has not
embraced it even to this day...
---- composite headlights tend to dull and turn yellow... it's lame
---- V8 available in 91 models, but it's not a magnum... so expect the
same sorry gas mileage and blistering power as the Gen 1
one thing to remember about Gen 1 and Gen 2's... the interior didn't
change... so those parts are easy to come by. Also, from the doors
rearward didn't change...
Gen III - 97-04. This is by far the most common and best selling of the
Dakotas. The Durango is also based on this platform. This Dakota offers
the widest range of engine, transmission, and differential options thus
far. You can get a 4 banger, V6, 318, 360, and in later models a 4.7
with multispeed tranny. This is also the first model to offer an
overhead console, 9.25 differentials, a 360 (no manual tranny with the
360... sorry folks), and an R/T model that I happen to be quite fond of
=) There is so much to say about the Gen III that I do't have the energy
to put It all into 1 post, but I have to say there were a lot changes
under the hood of these trucks and the outside changed significantly as
well without there being a large change in styling.
Gen 3
Pros -
---- The aftermarket finally realized there was a Dodge that wasn't a
Ram... you may actually find something!
---- 360... and 360!
---- Quad Cab is good for some
Cons -
---- it's heavy...
---- lots of em' still on the road... individuality is hard to achieve.
---- still a 4.5 on 6 bolt pattern
---- OBD2 can really throw a monkey wrench in your modding...
---- big changes from one year to the next make finding parts a pain...
but your trusty dealership can help... refer to the 401k thing mentioned
above
Gen IV - no comment
There you go. Hope this puts you on a track to know what you're looking
for. We are a group that loves our Daks for good or for bad... but we
also want to help. Feel free to ask anything you need. And if you need
to know anything about 96' Daks, ask Jon =)
- miggity
00' R/T CC - 13.92 on skreet tires.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jan 01 2009 - 00:12:23 EST