Ghost Of Dog Kota 

"Run that story! F "em!"🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣

I had 2 Dakota's when I worked at a Dodge dealership. The first was an 88 4 banger, what a slug. I traded that when they came out with the magnum in 92. I bought the short bed 3.9 5 speed. We used to tell our friends, unless you want it for towing, just get the 3.9. We had a road behind the dealership we used for test drives. Very little traffic with a long straight section. We pitted my truck, against a demo 5.2 short bed 5 speed. We did it several times, even switching drivers to make sure. Unless you were asleep at the line, they ran nose to nose. Both had the 3:55 ratio rear. My truck was white and the paint began delaminating (peeling) from the primer, a known problem mostly with pw1 white and pc7 twilight blue pearl coat. I helped the factory reps trace down the problem, which is a long story itself. Anyhow, I got paid to strip and paint my own truck. 👍 Somehow, it came out pearl white tri stage. 🤔😉

The honest reporting from Steve is one of the reasons I continue to stream the Junkyard Gold episodes from the MT+ channel over the new fangled shows they push.

I have a friend who was a long time bracket racer and his car of choice was Pontiac. He became famous for using a combination of factory parts that seemed rather run of the mill to produce mid 12 (at that particular time) quarter mile times in his 1971 Pontiac LeMans station wagon. He was so incredibly meticulous and being a bracket racer he had his E.T. perfectly dialed in to the hundredth of a second so he knew immediately what helped and what hurt. He was hired by one of the major magazines in the mid '90's to do a monthly tech article. He was pretty excited. I remember seeing him down at KCIR and he was testing a new header collector that turned a long tube header into a tri Y sort of thing. You actually cut your existing collector off the header and attached these new 4 into 2 into 1 collectors. Before his first run he was explaining it to me and how he thought they might actually work. After his first run I could see his frustration as he pulled into his pit and started changing out his slicks for his street tires (he drove to and from the track). "Well?" I asked. "I lost 4/10ths, these things are junk" he replied. And he didn't lie on his write up. I don't know if that was his last tech article but I do know he wasn't employed for long. You can't dog on the advertiser's products, they don't like that at all. The man is named Jim Hand and he eventually got his LeMans wagon solidly into the 11's and there are even a couple of videos on RU-vid but sadly, he had a stroke and no longer races. His son did take over so the wagon still tears up the track to this day.

My 92 318 Dakota runs strong as hell to this day. So simple to work on

Steve, A mid-size pickup with an 8 foot bed is the exact opposite of most trucks sold today. Throw a manual into the equation and it is nearly unrecognizable from the modern perspective. 😂

Had a ‘94 Sport Cab with a 5-speed and 5.2. Put 220,000 miles on it and replaced it with a ‘99 R/T and put 296,000 miles on it. Loved those trucks almost as much as they loved gas.

the only vehicle I ever bought new was a 90 Dakota with a 3.9 and a 5 speed. I drove it 320,000 miles on one engine, three transmissions, three rear ends, two fuel pumps, two driver's side doors, and two long beds )thanks to accidents.) It was a great truck!

Great video. I lucked into a cream puff 94 Dakota that been wrecked by the grandson of the original owner. Took the body off the frame and replaced it with a 1940 Plymouth Truck body. 318 and 5 speed really scoots with that light body atop. I kept the six lug wheels, but switched out the stock for steelies that were used for the full sized spares. Looks like an old truck, rides like a new truck!

I worked at Dodge during this era and doing PDI’s on V8 Dakotas was a guilty pleasure of a buddy of mine at the time that worked there also. We were gearheads in our very early 20’s without a care in the world until a V8 Dakota rolled in the shop. They undoubtedly were the most interesting vehicles Dodge had to offer at the time so much so that my buddy ordered one. Blue, V8, regular cab, short bed with the manual transmission and the sport suspension. He loved that truck so much he wouldn’t let anyone drive it and he parked it in his basement everyday. I thought he was gonna have a panic attack when he had to get rid of it (second daughter was in the way). Those trucks are gems amongst the current monster trucks sold today!

Back in my day the owners manual was 14 pages long and told you how to lash valves, set the timing and rotating the tires. Today's manual is 400 pages long and says things like "dont drink the battery water".

I had a 92 Dakota 4x4 with the 318 I'm highschool. It was almost 20 years old when I bought it. It only has 113k miles. That thing was fast for a truck.

My wife bought a red single cab 1999 Dakota RT with 16000 miles on it. With trac lock diff and drove it every day to work in Toledo working as a nurse. 95000 miles now on ticker is still an excellent runner! Good women drivers need to be recognized and praised!

I bought my aunt's '96 Dakota SLT regular cab, short bed 3.6 V6 auto when it had about 95k miles. She kept meticulous maintenence records on it. I loved this truck, it was the perfect size. It even had the 3.55:1 limited slip with the heavy-duty towing package. I had an app-based performance gps system on my phone, and ran consistent 8.5 sec. 0-60 runs. Always averaged about 19 mpgs. Just with the transmission didn't grenade itself.

318s have always been underrated, and for good reason. but their potential can be unlocked whenever changes are made in all the right places.

Long live the 87-96 dak’s! I put a 418 11:00 stroker in my 91, with a 4:10, good times. Thanks Steve for putting the spotlight on our trucks!

When I was a kid my uncle bought an 87 4x4 3.9 5 speed Dakota. Its the truck I learned to drive stick in around 94. Great memories with the Dakota.

I know a Old man that has own every model of the dodge dakota, And he loves them

I inherited my grandfathers 92 4x4 ext cab 318 auto. It only The only complaint was the magical vanishing paint.

Nice Vid as usual. A special recognition to Shane, your camera man. Very nice hand held work. Buttery smooth and steady. Very few You Tubers who don't have a history in the majors can get this right. This guys work goes a long way toward making your vids very watchable. Many thanks.

Love the old Hot Rod Magazine stories...I was a subscriber for years and loved all those guys.

I owned a black 1995 Dakota 6.5ft bed 2wd. It was a magnum V8 5spd manual 392 posi, gray bucket seats with center console, ac, power windows. I put the Mopar performance computer and equal length headers from the Mopar performance catalog. That truck was tire fire all the time, it would drift on demand. It was definitely a fun little truck and very unique as I've yet to see another in the same configuration

Man I bet that pick up was a sleeper back in it’s hay day’s! A light truck with a v8 and a 5 speed transmission! It must of had a limited slip differential though! Great video!

Mopar big-blocks get all the glamour but their small-blocks are absolute jewels.

The combo 318 and 5 sp was a potent slam dunk. Easy 120 and fuel mileage was excellent. Power, power and power. Freakin awesome. Drove everywhere with it. 200,000 miles

Thanks sor the nostalgia Steve, I remember the 90's Dakotas, I grew up with them, I remember the commercials and looking at the brochures in 97-98. The parents of a kid I went to middle school with Mike Potter had a blue 96 short bed regular cab. I remember those issues of Hot Rod, mom bought me a subscription in the late 90's. I'm so proud of your editor for telling you to run the story even though it hurt the manufactures-it was honest-Richard Holdener did simular tests with simular results. Dave Freiburger and Steve Dulcich on Engine Masters did tests too and found an intake and carb (I don't remember make) preformed better.

318/5 speed manual means that little truck was quite fast for its day. Mini muscle truck.

Had an 87 Dakota, put a cap on it, it was good pickup and easy to park in city as I was carpenter. It was simple truck for work 6cyl standard cab with the largest box.

It's so nice to see a dog upgrade, even though the old one was so well trained, the new one has more personality.

A guy worked with had a white RT Dakota when he put a bunch of miles on it he got a wrecked 2004 Ram with 5.7 he rebuilt and upgraded that, then installed the engine and transmission computer all into his Dakota. He spent some time working out the bugs and aftermarket programs. That is still running like a top to this day and pushing low 8 second 1/8 mile times.

Thanks for doing an honest article in a Hot Rod ! Reason I stopped subscribing to Hot Rod in the 80s was they were getting to be more of a paid advertising format than anything else. But I get it they got to pay the bills.

Would love to see Ram out with another mid size pickup with an eight foot box.

Great to see some 90s vehicles, hopefully youve got a few more planned in the near future!

The barrel manifold on those was just like the first gen tuned port injection setups on Chevys, great for low to mid range torque but killed the breathing on the high end. But they were designed for drivability and fuel economy and they hit that target spot on.

My cousin had a Dakota with 318 and 5 speed. That truck was awesome. The biggest problem he had was keeping engine mounts. They kept snapping for some reason

My Dad had an '88 Dakota 2wd longbed, with V6 and 5 speed. Not only was it a very reliable truck which had some giddyup to it, but it took a helluva beating from us - being waaay overloaded on more than just a few occasions. The clutch went out at 140K miles, and away it went.

I bought a new 1994 Dakota long bed extra cab with the 318 & it was a great work truck & a my buddy had a new R/T which really was a screamer ✌💖☮

Today was one of your top 10 best episodes, really enjoyed the hot rod magazine article. Thank you, Richard.

Steve's Hot Rod Magazine stories!

Thanks Steve! Hope you heal completely, we need that brain power encyclopedia! My first brand new vehicle was a 1992 Dodge Dakota with the 318. I got a ticket a month after I got it for exhibition of speed, smoking the tires. It was a beast! Drove it from New Mexico to Alaska and back! Put 200k miles on it and not sure why I got rid of it. I've been keeping my eye out for it, I think I know where it's at. I have recently purchased a base model 2001 Dakota (V6, 5 speed) just to put a 360 (stroked to 408) in to it. It will be my little race truck. Looks very similar to Clay Millican's baby D.

I'm in the UK and everything I know about American cars comes from this man. Almost everything anyway. Lol

I had a 96 V8 5-speed 2WD just like this, only black. It was FUN! I put a Detroit TrueTrac in it and it was a HANDFUL in the rain, haha! Quick, cool truck, and crazy reliable. Sounded absolutely great with dual 2 1/2" exhaust with no cats, an H-pipe and Flowmaster 40s.

I had a 87, liked the 5 lug because you had a better choice of mag wheels. Then I bought a new one in 94 with the 6 lug and had to order new American racing wheels for it, they were those directional wheels we called saw blades, gosh they are so outdated and ugly to me nowadays but seemed so cool at the time. Where did 30 years go? Dakota's still seem new to me.🤔

My mother bought a brand new 94 4x4 with the 318. She let me put the first 100 miles on it. I always thought the extended cab was neat even if it was useless.

Great video Steve, owned a 2001 R/T in red. Awesome truck for the approximately 18 months I owned it. So easy to lay rubber and ruin those 255's... I ended up giving it back after the Mercedes merger. They found a typo in the towing capacity and offered either an extended warranty, an accessory pack, or a refund. I took the refund as the engine was making some new sounds...

Had the good fortune working on the first 1500 DakotaV8's in Whittier Ca. The truck underwent V6 to V8 conversion & a stamped steel beam was welded in front of main crossmember as a motor mount. When Dodge reintroduced the V8, they redesigned the fwd radiator clip to use a standard radiator fan & simply used the original stamped V6 motor mounts. ( deleting the Shelby design beam fwd mount)

My first truck was a 1996 with the 3.9l and the AX-15 5 speed. It was a pile- 267k miles, frame was cracked and rotting, bed side bulged out where it rotted. I miss that truck. It actually said DO G on the tailgate when my Pappaw bought it for me and one of my friends decided Kipper was a good name for a dog. Sold it to a buddy after 3.5 years of owning it and a little under 2 years of driving it and we proceeded to beat the snot out of it until it seized on him one day. R.I.P. Kipper.

In my teenage years we had a 1989 Dakota with the 3.9L. It was a great pickup. She lasted until around 350,000 miles, and although she still ran and drove, she was burning oil, leaking oil, and was pretty tired. Would've probably lasted a little longer if my mom hadn't ran it out of oil a couple times 😂. But overall though excellent, tough little truck. I wouldn't mind owning another one. Also, my cousin has a 1989 (I think) but has the 318, and is a convertible.

I bought a new '89 Dakota 4wd with the 3.9L V-6 and a 5 speed manual. It was the base model with rubber mats on the floor, but a good truck. Not fast, but OK gas mileage on trips and decent low end power. I sold it with 80K on the odometer and never had any issues at all. It was the perfect size truck...wish they would bring it back.

I’ve owned a 2000 Dakota R/T for almost 20 years and I love it. I will never sell it, thanks for the video 👍🏼

In 1987, my dad bought a new Dakota with a four-cylinder, and that truck was the biggest dog I’ve ever driven. Top speed: 65, maybe 70 if the wind is right. The truck itself was good looking, but that motor was garbage. Dad kept it about six months before he traded it off.

I never cared for the looks of the Dakota, until they gave it the "PeterBilt" styling. I loved the look so much it was my first "new car" purchase from a dealer.

I’m the original owner of a 1987 Dakota long bed 3.9 V6 and I love mine 90k miles on it all original still always garaged. I’m keeping it until I die.

Should have mentioned the available M1 upgrade that made the 5.9 R/T a whole other animal. I had a '99 single cab that ran 13.1 all motor and 12.0 on a 100 shot. Obviously those times are not really that impressive by todays standards, but it hurt a lot of feelings back in the day.

Great, great back story Steve! 90K subscribers and climbing! Spread the word and build this channel to new heights!!!

Yeah Steve, a work buddy got a new Dakota with the 318 back in '95. He had that for a long time and I would see him once in a while on the road and it was all beat up more and more but he held on to it because of the power!

Don't forget they also produced a Dakota convertible. I bought a new 1990 convertible. It was fun when I was a young soldier in Hawaii.

Hi Steve, great video on the 1st Gen Dakota. I drove a 2000 Dodge Durango R/T for a short time, and one of my techs had to have it so ended up selling it to him. So after a few yrs his, like many rear wheel drive Chrysler products, the automatic transmission decided to retire early. This fellow went out and found a 318 straight drive Dakota and swapped out everything (not the 360). His words were "fit like it was factory." He drove that truck for yrs without any problems until he installed NOS. The funny part was he got scared of it and he had it unhooked under the hood so there were no 'accidents'. Still had everything else there. I think it being registered in VA had something to do with it also. I think it's illegal over there, but I'm not sure. I never rode in the truck after it was modified. I know he tuned the computer some. When I had it, I was using it to pull my boat around, and if you caught it just right, that 360 would definitely smoke the rear tires, some with the trailer attached. But the 4 wheel or all wheel drive Jeep select track kept it planted. Best days of boat ownership, the day of purchase, and the day it sold! 😂 I really never had any problems with mine to speak of. I tried selling it as a package deal. I had my guy paint a similar graphic that was on the boat onto the Durango. Steve, I wonder why Chrysler didn't offer a 5spd in the R/T version 🤔. Did the Dakota R/T have an optional manual transmission? Mr Google? Oh, I get the title today, I knew yesterday's was some sort of creative twist to it. It's a shame we lost Frank at such a young age. I read most of his health problems were from when he was a kid, and dad would bring home Mercury for him to play with! WOW! Have a blessed day everyone 🤙🏼 Namaste 🙏🏼

Dakotas are amazing for the era they arrived in. I've owned two 4.7 v8s, and driven a 3.9 and an RT 5.9. From work truck to sport truck, there is something for everyone. I'll be driving my crew cab to the day I die. Thanks for covering these trucks Steve.

Great video Steve, My brother and I bought a 1998 from an insurance company as a rebuildable wreck. It turned out really well but parts are harder to get then GM. I had a S10 at the time. The most amazing part was if you parked them side to side it was difficult to tell them apart! it was like the GM design crew moonlghted at Chrysler on their summer vacation! Theses mid size trucks and there popularity led to the greatest innovation NHRA came up with the Pro Stock truck. I still dont know what they were thinking when they cancelled the program About as stupid as when Motor Trend Cancelled you!

Steve, Never apologize for honest journalism. The rags now do just like you say, pander to the sponsor, and I quit reading them because they are useless. The intake on those trucks, never tried myself but I have seen where people machine out the runners inside so the interior is totally open. It shortens the runners. Helps a little, according to numbers. But really, the runner size is more restrictive then the length. Thanks for doing this video, I just bought a 50k mile 98 Dakota 318/5 speed from under a tree at an estate sale and right up until now I had forgotten how much fun these little(let's be honest, new stuff is dump truck size compared to the 90's) trucks really are.

I had a 2000 Sport 4x4 with the 5.9 (360). The guy I got it from bought it new, and he had all the bells and whistles added to it. 5-speed, towing package, 31-10.50 tires, 4:11 gears, air, cruise, power windows and seats, and high output alt. It wasn't fast at all, but it could haul the heavy loads. I had it for 10 years, but living in PA at the time took it's toll on the frame of the truck. It rusted in half and broke between the cab and bed. When the truck broke I had 2 1/2 tons of cast iron on it and was in the scrap yard after getting weighted in. Felt weird standing on the scale with a box of personal belongs waiting to get paid to hitch a ride home afterwards.

An '06 Dakota quad cab 4x4. V8 H.O., J code. 3.92:1 Posi. Absolutely love this truck, and its size. Pleasure to drive & park. I wish regular trucks would become a thing, once again.

I had a 2002 2wd 3.9L 5 speed. Great truck. Much easier for me to get in and out of over the 2005 Ranger I currently drive. Both trucks were/ are company trucks for my job. The 3.9L had plenty of go for what it was over the 2.3L in the Ranger. Miss the Dakota.

Had an 88 Dakota 4wd, eight foot bed, wasn't a bad truck a little low on power, hauled a lot of whatever in the back of that truck a lot. Liked the looks of the front on the 87-90 a little better then the later ones. Had a 95 Dakota later with 4wd, extended cab, 318 and a 5 spd manual. That truck was decent with power, I believe the 5 spd helped, was heavy to be fast, maybe faster then some of the same arrangement. Didn't care for shifting all the time though so don't miss that part of it particularly.

I enjoy these so much that I let (some) of the commercials play!

I bought a new 1993 Dodge Dakota with the 318 and an automatic transmission. It developed an oil leak after just a few months. After several attempts by the dealer to fix it, they ended up pulling the motor to attempt to fix the leak. I never really knew what they did or what the real problem was or if they even fixed it or not. I left the Dodge dealership, drove to the Ford dealership, and traded it in on a Ford Ranger and drove it for years with no problems, but that Dakota would really get up and go!

I bought a 1994 SLT Dakota V8 automatic in early 94. It was a nice truck but I could never get it to smoke the tires. I remember a magazine that had article that use the title "I could've had a V8" where they had some one buy a stripped DAK to see how it would perform. The one option the guy could not live without was AC. Maybe you can find that article. That was the first vehicle I owed with ABS. I used it and loved it.

I have that very sales brochure in my library, I bought a brand-new '88 Dakota "S" in April '88 at Bob Dance Dodge in Longwood, FL. It was a great lil' truck, although I would have preferred to have the 3.9L V6 (as you said, the V8 wasn't available). I tend to prefer the original square body style, and even further, I prefer the early front fascia. Great stuff, thanks!

Steve, I had a 1995 Dodge Dakota SLT, 318, 2wd, 3.92 w/posi., automatic, extended cab pickup, absolutely loved it!!

The first year Dakota 3.9 V6 had a 2 bbl Holley carb...and it was replaced by throttle body fuel injection in 1988. Not sure why the carb was used for one year. Also the early Dakota four cylinders used the 2.2 K-Car unit which was replaced by the 2.5 AMC four cylinder in later model years. I still have my Dad's 87 single cab 4x4 with an 8 foot box. I recall the truck having a Mopar parts catalog for after market items. The 4x4's used a torsion bar front suspension and a vacuum operated shift on the fly operation for locking the front hubs. The 3.9 wasn't exactly a power house but the truck was very practical and Dad needed the 4x4 to drive through some extreme winter weather.

Favorite bodystyle of Dakota. Grandpa had a 94 extended cab with the V6.

My mom's coworker had a 2nd gen Dakota with a regular cab shortbed with it was such a small truck I always thought it would make a great rock crawler with how small that truck was in general

I remember those Hot Rod Dodge pickups. My Ignition Edition RAM TRX makes me smile every day......except when I have to fuel it back up.

Always liked the styling of the first generation Dakota. Never owned one, but the 318 with a 5 spd and long bed was always on my radar. I was just out of high school when these were new.

I had a '91, 2wd, 318, with an 8 ft. bed. It was a nice truck. I put a set of later, Magnum heads on it, that made loads of difference.

I had an 87 2.2L in high school. Barely got out of its own way til we discovered it had two head gaskets due a washed out block and swapped a fresh engine in. Got 18-22 mpg regularly, but it was sensitive to gas quality. In 88 with the aquisition of AMC, they dropped the 2.2 in favor of the 2.5.

Morning Steve .

I owned a 91 , red 318 auto. Ran it back and forth to work. Had over 500,000 miles on it when I finally sold it. Awesome little truck.

Bought a 92 Dakota 8" 4x4 with the 5.2 magnum new . On the test drive I pulled out into traffic from the dealers lot gave it a little too much trottle and the back tires went up in smoke . I pulled immediately back into the dealership and signed on the dotted line . Fun truck . useful and fast and fun to hoon . It would surprise a 5.0 or Z28 on the street .

Had an 87 with the 3.9, was a good truck. I remember when the 5.9 R/T came out and people were saying "the truck straight from the dodge marketing dept" as all they did was stick the Ram 2500 5.9L in it. The thing would hit the rev limiter before the redline on the tach. Stump puller motor they were selling as a hot rod.

Enjoyed reading Steve's articles back in the day, quality reporting always.

I had a nice 89 Dakota, reg cab (all that was available I think) long box 4x4 with 3.9. Always hated the engine, low on power and lousy as an off road vehicle. Later test drove a reg cab short box 4x4 sport with 318- now that was a fun truck!

These are another of those vehicles I never see anymore on the road.

I a 4x4 long bed ‘88 bought slightly used in 1988, and later a ‘99 4x4 extended cab 6 1/2 ft bed I bought brand new. I loved both of them. But the ‘88 seemed to have more room behind the wheel. I wanted a convertible back in the day, but it never came to be.

I like this video although I never really cared for Dakotas. The bit of personal history you add really made this a great story. I do t recall reading much Hot Rod around that time, but fuzzily recall I may have seen that article. I drove a 2009 Dakota company vehicle, 4x4 with the 4.7 for a while. It came along around the time Chrysler was stuck taking a federal bailout and the trick came equipped with what i refer to as the ‘full lumbar support delete.’ I’ve had ongoing lower back issues since. Anyway, I got to give it to Dodge for offering the bold muscle packages in the light trucks. Sometimes you gotta work with what you got, and themDakotas were pretty popular.

Great article , you didn't mention the convertible , I had a 1990 4x4 one and loved that truck , open air hauling dirt bikes , sadly though all converts were V6 , and I remember and still have that Hot Rod with Dogkota , I laughed my ass off when I saw it .

Had a '92 Dakota Sport in electric blue. Great truck!

Homer: Rack and Peanut steering!😂

Dodge made a Dakota convertible as well !

I bought a 94 Dakota 5.2 brand new. Loved that truck!

Hadda '93 4x4 V8 trying to pull a 2 car trailer. Good in snow, though. Warranty replaced windshield 4x....

I had a 92 with the 3.9 Magnum V6 & 5 speed. Loved that truck. My only complaint is that the odometer randomly set itself back, but it didn’t restore itself like Christine.

I like to think the Studebaker Champ was the first mid size truck .. Similar in size to a Dakota. I have learned so much from watching and listening to your videos .. Thanks Steve .

Fascinating. I always enjoyed reading your articles in the various magazines back then.

They where fun trucks for sure! I had a 1999 standard cab 318cu auto and it ran 15.4 at 88mph at union grove. Then later bought a 2000 sport 4.7 5sp manual standard cab and ran 14.41 with a 60ft 1.9 on a tire. Sorry R/T Dakota’s loved the look but they just couldn’t compete with the 4.7 5sp Dakotas. Thx Steve one of my favorite videos

Kinda disappointed you didn't mention dodge stretched the front fenders 2" to fit the fan clutch into the Dakota (Shelby Dakotas have electric fans) and no mention of the factory convertibles, albeit 3rd party (I believe it was American sunroofs or something like that). Aside from that, love the work you do, would love to see more

Dad bought a 92 Dakota new with a 5.2 an automatic and a 3.90 sure grip diff. It also had a 3rd party lil red express conversion. It was the quickest thing around for a long time. Still got it, but the hemi stuff wipes the floor with it nowadays 😅

Love your videos Steve great info but first mid size American PU was Jeep Commanche in 1985.

I had a 1996 dakota just after high school, wow do I miss that truck! It was a standard cab short box with a 5 speed and sadly the 3.9l v6.