But they were still far behind. And yes, they did rust. They felt cheap, just like every body Chrysler was designing at that time. But as soon as the re-style happened, one started to see them all over. As mentioned the door trim would decide to fall of one day for no reason but you could always start and drive the things.
Whatever caused the Dodge not to catch on, I better appreciate the Dodge now than I did, as I suspect do many. We've seen it done in a music video, with scale models and even in commercials. There are independent coil spring in the front and leaf springs in the back to carry heavy loads, while the track was widened for stability and a smoother ride. The front seat in a regular cab is a bench seat. My mother was shopping for a new Omni or Horizon that year. Dodge sales did grow over the previous generation, but never caught up. The alternator carried 75 amps and had a 600-amp battery.
Very basic, added my 5-year-old cassette player, bought a step bumper for the rear, added a rear slider window and was good to go. Or did they, up in the salt belt? The '78 Dodge had a frame off restoration completed at 97,000 miles. Even if you don't know a single beat of the plot, the Highland Green Ford Mustang racing a Dodge Charger through the hilly streets of San Francisco is famous. Car and Driver had one in a Top Seed road test. Scroll down for a touch of nostalgia thanks to one of the greatest scenes ever in cinema - we've got both the recreation and the original chase seen from the movie waiting for you. Dad needed a 2 ton truck in 73 and could not find any thing but a new D-600 Dodge so he bought it from our local dealer.
Then there were those bodies. The last one I had, a 1972 was still running good and no rust when I sold it in 2014 which made it 42 years old. What is this truck worth? After years of declining quality and the precarious state of the company and the horrible economy , ChryCorp buyers particularly for something other than the OmniRizon were almost like a cult at the time, and a very small cult at that. Once I hauled 90 sheets of sheetrock with one of the trucks in one load, 4,600lbs for a friends brother who was building a new house at the time. The reason Dodges have never been big sellers might have to do with the fact that the sheet metal and accoutrements have always been piss poor. But again, I will drive anything as an old pickup are like puppies to me. Thought I would throw out those Okie connections there.
I wish I had let it burn. Peaceful, but not really that much fun anymore. I had a friend who was a sales guy at a local dodge dealer in the late eighties, He had a great motto at the time Ram tough, tough to look at and tough to sell. With time the Chevy has become boxy, incohesive and awkward. I went the cheap route and pulled them apart and used heat shrink tubing to insulate everything.
This was what I lovingly called my Frankenstein. This truck was built with new parts whenever possible. Maybe not as bad as the 73-79 Chevy which was absolutely horrible on this but still bad. I guess it is generally true that if few want to buy them, few want to steal them. But nobody liked the damn thing.
We had Moby Dodge for quite a few years, and it held up remarkably well under the service it had — the shipyard speed limit was 20 mph, and the industrial area was full of crane and railroad tracks. Driving like an idiot was not an option on my budget. That truck made me ashamed to be a Mopar guy. In the diesel world, the 5. Re-engineered for 1972, the D-Series later renamed Ram for 1981, but still the same basic truck had most anything a pickup buyer could want, at least in those early years.
If i recall correctly Dodge actually dropped the club cab from 1980 until 1990 for some reason not sure why but I always found that odd as you see quite a few extended cab Fords from that era. Dad paid 4200 for his which seemed like a good deal at the time. The standard engine was the 225 slant six or the 318, 360 and 400 V8 engines were optional. Henry, flush with a full-ride to Bama could have convinced his parents to get him something nice with his college fund. The build quality ranged from average ot awful. One of the servicemen who worked for me had a yellow whale with that body style.
Other than the typical California-sun- the interior looks solid. As mentioned above the Cummins was really what kept Rams alive until the 94 redesign. The headliner… wait, there is. I never experienced any of the problems people post about them although I will admit the newest one 1980 I bought never felt as solid as the others. If you are a customer and would like to have a web page dedicated to your truck please email photos and a description of your truck to: Check our our new section which is located at the bottom of this page. I cut off the positive cable, and used the fire extinguisher I carried in the truck to put it out.