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Ebay Find: A Simple, Basic, Useable 1986 Dodge D-150 Ram That Is Cleaner Than It Should Ever Be


Ebay Find: A Simple, Basic, Useable 1986 Dodge D-150 Ram That Is Cleaner Than It Should Ever Be

When it comes to trucks, my choices break down into two types: either I want a badass diesel truck that is oriented towards work, or I want a simple and clean half-ton that has decent power and isn’t going to be a pain in the ass to fix. I’ve never owned a diesel truck, but I have owned a couple of pickups, and one of them is a vehicle I sincerely regret getting rid of:

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Right about 2005, I had three vehicles: my four-speed, 360 powered Diplomat, the 2001 Dodge Ram that I was using as a daily-driver, and the red 1985 D-100 pictured. It was an awesome rig, a 318/4-spd truck that I scored for $1700. Originally I was going to give it to my father, but he had committed himself to a Jeep CJ project, so I drove the red Ram around the country before returning to Fort Hood, Texas. I sold it a few months later to a friend when I had to move to Fort Lewis, Washington and ever since then I’ve kicked myself for selling it. It was perfect: basic, useable, and very cruise-able.

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So when I found this 1986 D-150 on eBay, I may have twitched a little. This white longbed is cleaner than my old red truck by a mile, has the exact same directional wheels, no rust issues and a straight interior. If my bank account could handle it I’d be driving to Illinois tomorrow with cash in hand, and I’m not being humorous or facetious in the least. The 1972-93 Dodges are like the 1973-87 Chevrolets and the pre-1997 Fords: They are still a truck, with the old-school feel, and since they’ve been around forever most of the fixes are simple and well-documented.

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There’s beauty in simplicity. Take a look at the 360ci V8 under hood: fairly un-cluttered, everything is accessible, and it’s all the familiar LA engine series. Is it a powerhouse? Not at 175 horsepower it isn’t, and 260 ft/lb of torque isn’t that great either. But it’s a 360, there are plenty of upgrades that can bring the power up to a respectable level. Backing it is a 727 automatic, which is just fine.

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There are only two items missing from the interior: the tachometer that Dodge never saw fit to put into these trucks (really, guys?) and the sound system, which is simply missing. Do as you will here, but if you can’t rig up four speakers in one of these trucks, you should just block off the hole in the dash anyways. Everything you want, nothing you don’t.

Then there’s the price. At the time I wrote this, the D-150 was sitting at $5,500. It might seem steep, but when’s the last time you saw one this nice? If anyone needs me, I’ll be busy pleading with my wife…

eBay Link: 1986 Dodge D-150 Ram

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7 thoughts on “Ebay Find: A Simple, Basic, Useable 1986 Dodge D-150 Ram That Is Cleaner Than It Should Ever Be

  1. mooseface

    That’s a really clean old truck, I love it.
    I have to admit that if I’d the chance to jump on that generation of W-series trucks with a 360 and a stick, I would do so in a heartbeat.
    Summit offers some interesting intake manifolds, including a few ones on the taller-ish side which would up the torque a bit, make it more of a working truck.

  2. 75Duster

    Sweet looking D150, my first truck was a 1982 Dodge D150 short bed that I bought off of the Hickam AFB “lemon lot” for $1500, mine had the 225, 4 speed, power nothing package. It was the most fun daily driver I had until I left Hawaii to be stationed in San Diego. I also miss my D150 Bryan.

  3. rodzilla

    I used to own a 1985 with a 360 auto and 4 wheel drive. It was a very good truck. Never let me down, and I drove it in some pretty severe conditions, at work. Had to get rid of it, due to the mileage after a few years, but I still miss it. Would love to own this beauty.

  4. BenH

    My dad bought an ’85 or 86′ D-100 Prospector with a 318 about 6 years ago when we moved. It had sat in an old mans garage most its life. Had somewhere around 30,000 miles on it and the drivers door was parked next to a window so it had faded paint on the door only. Other than that it was next to new really. We met the guy, checked out everything, put a battery in it and it started up after no telling how many years setting. We drive it around a few blocks, came back to the guy and gave him the full $2,000 he was asking and have put almost more miles on it then we bought it with.

  5. Robert

    My buddy who has 5 Dodge trucks in all shapes (stepside, Warlock, 4wd, etc.) Recently picked up an ’81 in as good if not better condition with a 318 for less than half what the one on eBay is going for. I wish I had the $$$ to buy it off him.

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