1993 Dodge Dakota

Vehicle Overview

I've had this truck since '95. It was a trade-in sitting in the back of a local Nissan dealership. It was an original 5.2 Magnum, automatic with a 3.55 open rear. With that setup it ran 15.43 @ 88mph. One of the first modifications was to port the throttle body and put a better air cleaner on it. That pushed the truck to a 15.02 @ 90mph. In the years following I did a 5.9 Magnum (360) swap that got headers, a cam upgrade, performance tune, and an 8.75 rear with 3.91 Sure-grip. I swapped the front discs for those off of a '90 Dakota to get a better wheel selection and to match the rear. I also put an electric fan on for some free horsepower. On street tires the truck would knock off 14.20's. My best run on slicks was a 13.75 @ 99 mph. Due to my growing family, in 2006 the truck got pushed aside when I got a new Ram. I gave the Dakota to my Dad since he got me into Mopars and always liked the truck. He may have put 100 miles on it, but surprised many unsuspecting people with how good it ran. A few months ago he gave the truck back and I've been messing with it since. I wanted to focus more on just going straight, so now it now has dropped spindles on the front and blocks out back. I sold the Centerlines and put some Mustang 18 x 8 wheels with 245/45 18s on each corner. I found a factory sway bar and a full set of factory fender flares that were added. Once I get some new shocks (the original ones are still there) and an alignment, I plan on cruising around just to make sure everything is up to par. From there only time will tell.

Vehicle Story

Future Plans

Near future: Rear sway bar, shocks. A little farther in the future: Battery relocate, a bigger fuel tank, paint and body. Way down the road: T56 swap, 408 stroker, bigger brakes. If money were no object: Late model Hemi swap with the T56