1989 Ram D250 Cummins Turbo Diesel | Retro Review 

In the review you forgot to mention that the steering wheel was borrowed from the dodge Dynasty/Chrysler New Yorker minus the crystal pentastar!

Makes ya want to invade Iraq for the first time all over again.

Awwww I can smell it too

Hilarious lol

@@mycoolkeno Fuck I didn't see that coming, funny AF.

🤣🤣😭

In 1989 that body style had been out as they said 1972 and lasted until 1993 GM used the same square body from 1973-1987 with pickups and 1991 with suburbans and Blazer and jimmys and Ford from 1980-1996

We had a '74 Dodge Adventurer pickup. If you put it side by side with this it would still be obvious they came from the same company.

Same with Nissan Frontier didn’t change body style from early 2000 to 2020.

DODGE IS GARBAGE

It was a very old design by 1989. The oldest by far among the competition.

For sure, we had a ‘92 that ran perfectly but the body and frame were completely rusted out in about 12 years. We put 550,000 miles on it pulling a gooseneck and then ran it a while as a farm truck. My Dad sold it to someone who most likely bought it for the engine. That engine will probably be continually swapped in to something until the end of time

T...That

These trucks held up good...better than Ford&GM trucks of the era! People beat vehicles to hell back then...smashed things all the time as most places it was legal to drive drunk...Hell You could legally drink 8 beers and drive...they had a drink per weight and usually yo were feeling good or drunk by the legal limits they had!!! My uncle had a 1986 Dodge D 350 with a gas 360 4barrel 9quicker than a Cummins)and it went 450,000 miles before he rebuilt the engine..He used it on his ranch and used it until early 2000's..

That trucks actually still around. I’m 100 percent sure that was their “prototype”. They restored it and used it as a parts runner.

I have a 89first gen all original looks like never been set in

Those cummins engines are really good

@@alexanderbarcenas6224 I like the older ones though and the real reason is the newest Cummins are like the Powerstroke and the duramax diesels! Because the newest diesels have what a diesel power pickup should never have like "remote start"!!

@@4HBirtcher lol yeah

The motors no. The trucks yes. Not good.

If you wanna know a cool secret. The 5.9 cummins was never meant for a light duty truck. It was meant for medium duty 4500-up trucks, they just crammed one into a regular pickup and called it good

That's when you compare it with the 1973 Chevy and GMC full-size pickups, in which the previous generation crew cabs, Suburban, and Blazer/Jimmy continued up to 1991 after the pickups themselves were replaced during 1987 (as 1988 models). In 1990, all of the single-cab chassis-cabs wore the new outer skin.

Not to mention the Detroit 6.2/6.5 were designed in the 70’s and were built as economy motors. At the time Cummins was so far ahead of everyone else it wasn’t even fair

Let's be real, Dodge didn't carry this body style for so long because they were great sellers. They kept the body style because Chrysler didn't have the money to redesign in that Era. Its likely the Cummins trucks that saved Dodge thru the late 80s and early 90s.

@@dante04srt - A very good point. The success of the K car and minivans helped build up Chrysler’s cash reserves to where they could finally give the Ram some much-needed attention.

@@dante04srt Nor did they have the clout to keep their big block V8 line up to date (both the 400 and 440 V8s were dropped after 1978). In some ways they were leading, but falling behind in other ways: their last rear-drive cars, the M-body Chrysler Fifth Avenue, Dodge Diplomat and Plymouth Gran Fury, were all dropped after 1989, and all three had the carbureted 5.2L V8 to the end (the Magnum 5.2L and 5.9L didn't show up for another three years).

The 5 speed was garbage

Me too.

I had one. Ever hear the saying "You should never meet your heroes"?

My dad still has his for almost 20 years.

@@Thinker669 20 years ago was 2000

Yeah their Perkins and Mitsubishi were such great successes...LOL...

I know GM owned Detroit and the 6.2/6.5 were designed in the late 70’s and was never geared for performance. I always wondered why they never designed a smaller version of the Series 60 in the 90’s to compete with Dodge/Ford. Certainly there’s a reason 99% of big rigs use inline 6’s. Dodge was smart to use Cummins as I don’t remember anyone liking the truck itself, everyone bought it for the engine. Our 1992 Ram 3500 rode as bad as anything I’ve ever been in and was completely shot after 12 years/550,000 miles. The engine was still 100% perfect and i wouldn’t be surprised if it’s doing duty in something to this day. I always felt like Caterpillar missed on opportunity in creating something under the C7/3126 and competing in the heavy duty truck marketplace. I think Cat fans are more diehard than Cummins guys. We had a few dozers/excavators from the 60’s and 70’s and I can tell you people like Cat for a reason

@@RobertSmith-le8wp Well I know of a few guys that swapped Cat 3204 (Inline 4Cyl 5.2L 318ci engines) in pickup trucks...Perkins made engines close in size to B series... The L634T/6AT was a bread truck engine DSO from Ford...but at only 3.4L and 125hp it would have only been useful in half-ton trucks...

*Oldsmobile would like to know your location*

yes! gm diesels were junk the day they rolled off of the assembly line!

I love Dodge Ram D250 Cummins TD first gen

I love Motorweek Retro Reviews, my favorite. Dodge Ram Cummins is great truck

Thats awesome! My mom had a 83 Ramcharger. I loved it!

Lol! My daily year round driver is an 82. 215k slant 6 on its 2nd manual trans. But the newest ride on the road for me is an 83 totally rust free ramcharger prospector, with 86k on it.

@@dudehere340 RAMCHARGER

I got a 85 w350 with a 360 in it. About 200k miles. Motor was rebuilt but it still goes pretty good and doesnt burn anything except gas

Great and solid truck

I think they look better than the mini big rig design that followed

S Homaidan maybe today, but comparing in the same era no way. Prior to our 1992 Ram 3500 we had an 80’s F250 with a 460. It was rated at 245hp 380tq, but that was at fairly high rpm (relative to a diesel) I pulled many loads with the Ram, cattle, hay, steel, and regularly a 35’ gooseneck. You could just about idle it when hauling a huge load and it never strained. The 460 you really had to lay into it to go anywhere. Also the biggest thing was fuel mileage. We ran it 40,000 miles a year and it got 20+ mpg. The 460 was well under 10 loaded or empty and sometimes as bad as 6-7. Also part of the charm of the Cummins was the fact that it was a large understressed engine that would go 1,000,000 miles plus. There’s a reason 15L big rig motors “only” make 400-500 horsepower, it’s not like they’re no capable of producing more than that. It’s always a balance of performance and durability

@@SHomaidan that 400 lbs of torque from the Cummins came in at 16-1800 rpms. Perfect for towing. The 5.0 would struggle and have to rev fast just to keep up but isn't sustainable. Also, with a few cheap mods that torque of a Cummins can easily be doubled and still get excellent fuel mileage.

@@SHomaidan there was nothing wrong with that kind of torque output. Transmissions back then weren't that stout to handle this kind of torque. That output that the Cummins had was a little more than what Ford in GM had the time.

@@SHomaidan Try searching fuel screw adjustment 12 valve......not "cheap" FREE

@@SHomaidan it would crank out those numbers all day long for thousands of hours. The B series was a motor for equipment and wasn't intercooled in 89 for the dodge. It didn't need to make more power. The drivetrain wouldn't handle it.

But does it as you see in 2:47 of this clip your 89 D250 have a steering wheel from like a Dodge Dynasty/Chrysler New Yorker or does it have a different steering wheel!

Would you take $1,000 for it?

Nice, mine's a 95 and I can agree love them. Cummins cold start is ❤❤🔥🔥

Why the "feeling"? Just think a little and you'll know it was a marketing ploy.

I tell you what you dont see is anyone putting a duramax and or a power stroke in a ram trunk but you damn well see Cummins going into those products on engine swaps....lol

A Kenworth if you please.

A Mack for your thoughts

An International if you so choose.

Or a Freightliner.

A Volvo if you’d be so inclined.

Hardly anyone considers rust a preventative issue. That seems to be the case in any culture in the world. When you wash the underbody and coat it with a product like Fluid-Film, vehicles will generally not rust so badly that they can not be repaired when spring weather allows you to get under them and paint spots that need it. You can make a cosmoline from hot paraffin and grease, mixed with some zinc oxide and that stuff won't rust.

I came out of a coffee shop and noticed something odd by the bumper of my old dodge I used to have. It was the horns. They were dangling by the wiring harness. The bracket was no more lol. That thing was a rust bucket. It was funny though I put a headlight bulb in it one day in about 2012, and shockingly it was original. My truck was a '96 and the bulb had 95 printed on it. Would have figured the old 12v would have rattled it to death long before but it didnt

They all rust. Even Ford's aluminum which corrodes. I know because I worked for Ford.

They were pumping them out as fast as possible. My '89 did not even have the seam sealer in the rain gutters or wind shield. It was applied later and and not covered with paint. I could have refused delivery and the dealer would have just sold it for more money.

All the brands rust out on those salt-covered winter roads!

My black '93 has that interior.

Yeah, but automobiles now a days have a lot more mandatory tech, amenities and safety features to justify that price. Also you need to adjust for inflation.

Buy an 89 model and they're still only 18k!

(42k for inflation)

18k in 1989 is equivalent to around 40k in today’s market so there isn’t that much difference

But with a Chrysler New Yorker/Dodge Dynasty steering wheel inside! 2:47 shows you the wheel!

@@4HBirtcher I had the same steering wheel on my 87 Chrysler Fifth Avenue. One of the remaining rear wheel drive sedans in the 80s.

I have a friend that swapped a 12v 5.9L Cummins into his D250 Crew Cab 4x4. It was never a factory option, but it sure looks like one installed. Cool truck!

I've heard of people putting them in Ramchargers as well.

@@krazi77 people have managed to swap them in pretty much anything with wheels lol. They're huge and weigh around 1100 lbs so putting one in a car is not a great idea but it's been done many times.

@@mopartron3030 there was an episode of Roadkill where they put one in an 80's cadillac.

Yep have my dream 95 2nd gen, love it so much. Favorite truck ever. And favorite sounding diesel engine.

I've got a 95 2500 cummins 5spd, matte black with matte bumpers. Came from Oklahoma, very clean. Stock mostly except exhaust and airbox. Sounds mean, love it so much. Not as sought after as 1st gen but still my fav for sure. Pulls a gooseneck with a White Field Boss like nothing. It's a beast.

Some coal rolling may be why they pointed the camera mostly at the front of the truck while on the drag strip.

For sure, all Diesels rolled coal back then. I remember the late 70’s early 80’s Mercedes did as well. I think part of the reason these early 12 valves were so reliable is how simple they were. 100% mechanical, and very understressed. For a turbocharged 5.9 diesel it only made 175hp/400tq compared to the 500hp/1000tq of today’s diesels. We never felt the need to turn it up as it pulled a 35’ gooseneck fully loaded without breaking a sweat, and would get well over 20 mpg, I remember seeing 24mpg on a long flat road trip. Before that we used a Ford F-250 with a 460. It was pathetic, wouldn’t do better than 6-8mpg loaded or empty and struggled on hills

@@RobertSmith-le8wp If I had one it would be stock with some transmission upgrades

They can be found

@@Welcometofacsistube Really?!?! I'd love to see some of these trucks over in the UK

@@hazzaknox1069 can one of these fit on y'all's small streets🤣

@@joshuamorehead6124 that’s a myth, we have buses that manage fine lol

@@Nonamenever557 I was joking dude, I know buses can go through those streets no problem

best looking trucks ever made! I've owned 4 of them over the years

Yeah, that's better than a lot of modern "3/4 tons"

An f-150 or any new 1/2 ton wouldn’t hold up to these. Lighter frames, weaker trans, semi float axles. Heavy duty in any era

Not in 2wd like this dodge, find me a modern 2wd 1/2 that can tow like this beauty.

11,000 towing capacity. 😂😂😂 I've towed 30,000 lbs too many times to count using my 1990 cummins powered dodge d250

Not a dodge Cummins (which I like and respect) but we’ve have 6k payload (a huge old Cummins out of a 30s cable shovel) in my 84 c3500 and that was the first time I saw that truck on the helper spring. The 13 leaf main pack still had a positive arch in it. Huge hydro boosted brakes 4.56 gears and an SM465 transmission with deep granny gear and the heavier reinforced frame. You can go way past the “legal” ratings and still be safe in the older HD trucks

Some dealers were asking above list prices for these trucks.

My dream truck also...had a few opportunities to get Power Ram 4x4 trucks...late 80’s for super cheap. Passed on em, then when I actually went to look for anything from 1988/89 - 93 realized I’d have to take out a loan to buy one for what they go for now..especially the Cummins versions.

Vacation

@@mannymotta2174 yep

Ugly.. Chevy trucks always had the better looks

The seats are comfortable

90s were my fav from experience and held up well too

well because they are old trucks and most are rotting away in junkyards so the ones that are still in good condition are way more expensive

@@colbybarbour9990 Not just that, but '08 and later diesel trucks are garbage. The emissions systems are terrible.