pics of my other baby

[bonnelover]

this is my 87 dakota, it has around 88,000 miles on it. it runs really good. i had it restored with new paint, bumpers, mirrors, grill, and exhaust. i added the shell for camping, but have yet to go. the only problem that i have is that the hood cable is broken, so i need to figure a way to open the hood to fix it everything works, even the cruise control and AC

[ChilinMichael]

Wow...that is one clean truck!

[00Beast]

Nice truck. Does it have the V6 or the 318?

[zuper8]

it's beautiful!!

[bonnelover]

it has the larger v6 of the two that were offered. it only came in the v6. its a 318 with the back two cylinders taken out to make the v6. its as strong as their 318 engine.

[PRD2BDF]

It should be sideways with the wheels locked at full left and the rear tires smoking and begging for mercy.

Oh and the topper must be on when you do that.

[00Beast]

I don't think that V6 has the balls to do that, to be honest.

[PRD2BDF]

If there's a will, there's a way...

[ChilinMichael]

That's why man invented turbo and nos. Just sayin'

[bonnelover]

it'll spin like that, on ice

[LeSabreUltra]

I'm guessing 3.9? The 3.9 is an interesting motor.

I can only draw a vague comparison, the 3.9 Dakota I drove (early 90s) at work was in such rough shape from neglect and misfired horribly. I think it was only running on five cylinders. But we still took it on the highway, misfire and all, until we got our newer F150 it was our most dependable ride, and pretty comfy too. And then the driver's door stopped shutting because it sagged so bad...but that wasn't the truck's fault. That's what happens when a 300 pound man leans on it HARD every time he gets in or out.

But, drawing a comparison to our 01 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.2 and a blown head gasket (only running on 7 cylinders) I'd say you're about right, the 3.9 in a small truck like the Dakota is pretty comparable to the 5.2 in a fullsize truck for accelerative power, maybe not for grunt work like towing though.

The 3.9 is an interesting motor, but a good one. Never failed us.

Yes we drive really *shoot* trucks at work, lol.

Your truck is in a lot better shape than ours. Looks like brand new. Nice truck.
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[Mopar Man]

You might be able to take the grille off from outside and get at the latch mechanism. Failing that, you should be to get at it from under the front bumper.

[bonnelover]

the screws to the top of the grill are under the front lip of the hood. i tried reaching under the front bumper but my arm was to short to reach the top

[Mopar Man]

I've got a friend at work with an '88, I'll take a look at his tomorrow and see if I can figure something out. Alternatively, you might poke around on the www.allpar.com forums, I can't imagine you're the first to run into this problem.

[bonnelover]

thanks, i appreciate it