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Thread: Why did you buy your Dakota R/T or Dakota truck?

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    slammedR/T's Avatar
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    Default Why did you buy your Dakota R/T or Dakota truck?

    Why or what made you buy your Dakota R/T or Dakota truck?

    Back in late 1999 early 2000 I wanted a vehicle in my neighbor hood, it was a lime light green with flat black hood 1970 Dodge challenger with a 340 and blown 727 transmission. I was going to buy it for $4000 as it needed work but still looked good and only had minor rust in the typical spots. Anyway, one day I was driving home and seen the same looking car going down the road on a flat bed, light bulb went off in my head. I drive home and as I'm going down my street I see the chally isn't sitting in front of dudes house. I run up to his door, and knock and he proceeds to tell me how he is getting divorced and had to sell off the car. He sold it for $3,000 to some car lot, I had $2,500 saved up for it. So the next week end I went to go get a truck loan, my mother made me go look at a bunch of vehicles but I was already dead set on getting a Dakota R/T. At the time dodge didn't have any fast cars only the dodge trucks had v8's in them and I damn sure wasn't buying no neon! I had to go look at the chevy and ford dealer and told her I didn't like that crap! We went to the Dodge dealer on the south side of town and I test drove four of them before I drove my Dakota R/T. I was always told to drive a couple vehicles as one will feel better than the rest and not to buy the show room floor model. Well I bought the show room floor model as it just felt "the best" and it was the correct color. My mom made me go to the other dodge dealer in town to see if I could get a better deal. I went over there and the car saleman treated me like some dumb punk no money having kid. I got pissed and showed my ass in the show room and told him about his ass. As I was walking out he apologized and begged me to come back and I told him too late. So I went back to the southside dealer and bought my truck right at my limit of $20,000 out the door.
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    Because: I'm an idiot.
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    Ok... The trucks are sexy. They have curves. Just the right size for a sport truck. Rams are too fat, and S-10s/Rangers are too small. They had a factory V8, with 2wd and a stick shift as an option. in the late 1990s, early 2000s, the only way to do that in Mopar was in a Truck or a Van. and now that I'm into it, I just can't bring myself to let it go.

    Unless someone waived $10k in my face. In that case, I'll sign the title over to you right now.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Filthy Filbert View Post
    Ok... The trucks are sexy. They have curves. Just the right size for a sport truck. Rams are too fat, and S-10s/Rangers are too small.
    I thought the same way when I bought my 99 Sport 5.2 brand new. Tricked it out (see pic). Crashed it in 2008 and bought my current 98 R/T. They're just good lookin trucks

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    Quote Originally Posted by Filthy Filbert View Post
    Ok... The trucks are sexy. They have curves. Just the right size for a sport truck. Rams are too fat, and S-10s/Rangers are too small. They had a factory V8, with 2wd and a stick shift as an option. in the late 1990s, early 2000s, the only way to do that in Mopar was in a Truck or a Van. and now that I'm into it, I just can't bring myself to let it go.

    Unless someone waived $10k in my face. In that case, I'll sign the title over to you right now.
    You nailed it man, from the way the factory rims are dished, to the factory wide body, to the flares, and lets not forget about that side profile.

    I didn't buy a vehicle when I first got my license, I just drove one of the farm work trucks for 2 years, and was looking for the right dakota (didn't even know about R/T's at the time) when I saw mine for sale, it got my attention like seeing tits for the first time, and I had to have it. Every time I get out of it after driving I always have to look back when I walk away because it's got the looks


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    Bc it was the only Mopar that was 2wd and had a v8 that could hold a candle to the other offerings from the same time period.

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    Well, I didn't want to lay out a long sad sob story here but I feel I owe it to a special someone to tell the complete story.

    After driving a beat up 1993 Dakota for a couple years I was able to get a new truck in late November 2000. I really liked the 93 so I knew I was getting a new Dakota, no question about it. I headed on down to the local Dodge dealership and the first truck that caught my eye was a new black club cab Dakota R/T. I took it for a test drive and fell in love. Until i ran the numbers and realized the payments and insurance premiums would be more than I could handle at the time. So I did the responsible thing and bought a boring, dark blue V6 SLT club cab. I liked it and I rocked that thing for 16 years. But I had been bitten by the bug and would always want an R/T.

    My sister Patty loved my new truck and really wanted one also. I took her to the dealership and of course we had to drive an R/T....and like me, loved it. She was a tomboy and liked cars and mechanical things like I did but same as me, she needed to do the smart thing and stay within her budget. So we shopped around and found her a nice deal on a used red 99 club cab V6 sport in like new condition. She lover her little "red sexy truck" as she called it and drove the wheels off it for 10 years. But we'd always say that one day we'd each get a R/T and make them badass. She talked about it a lot, she wanted an R/T more than I did I think. She never did grow out of it.
    You know "one day", it's always "one day" or "soon" or "sometime" but life gets in the way.
    Get married, buy a house, have a kid and before you know it 12 or 13 years have slipped away.

    And that brings me to the summer of 2014 when Patty was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She fought hard for a year but things weren't going well and was told in August 2015 that her only hope was a bone marrow transplant and she needed it fast.
    I, along with the rest of our family and friends got tested for comparability and against overwhelming odds I was a perfect 10 for 10 match. I underwent my part of the bone marrow donation in mid September. I would later find out the medicines they gave me and maybe the stress of everything set off chronic Atrial Fibrillation of my heart. I didn't know it at the time but my heart had started spazing out and swelling.
    Things were looking good for Patty for a few weeks, then then cancer came back with a vengeance and she died on October 26th 2015. She was 35 years old.
    At her funeral I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that my heart was pumping at less than 20% capacity. I nearly died, spent a few weeks in a hospital bed thinking about Patty and everything she never got to do.
    For some reason I kept thing about how much she wanted a "badass Dakota R/T" and I resolved to find one if I made it out of the hospital.
    I could hear Patty telling me ,"no more of this "one day" bullshit talk, get one now". Took me few months to recover and find a good truck but I got my 03 about a year ago. My wife thinks I'm going thru a midlife crisis but i don't care. I'm having fun and every time I drive it I feel like a kid again.

    And since Patty was a huge fan of TOP GUN, the greatest movie in cinematic history, she always said she'd name her truck Maverick.
    Hence my avatar pic and goofy tag line.

    I even had a custom decal made, I hope she likes it.
    Maverick 1.jpg
    I love you sis.

    Project Maverick. I feel the need, the need for speed

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    Osee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BIGROB View Post
    Well, I didn't want to lay out a long sad sob story here but I feel I owe it to a special someone to tell the complete story.

    After driving a beat up 1993 Dakota for a couple years I was able to get a new truck in late November 2000. I really liked the 93 so I knew I was getting a new Dakota, no question about it. I headed on down to the local Dodge dealership and the first truck that caught my eye was a new black club cab Dakota R/T. I took it for a test drive and fell in love. Until i ran the numbers and realized the payments and insurance premiums would be more than I could handle at the time. So I did the responsible thing and bought a boring, dark blue V6 SLT club cab. I liked it and I rocked that thing for 16 years. But I had been bitten by the bug and would always want an R/T.

    My sister Patty loved my new truck and really wanted one also. I took her to the dealership and of course we had to drive an R/T....and like me, loved it. She was a tomboy and liked cars and mechanical things like I did but same as me, she needed to do the smart thing and stay within her budget. So we shopped around and found her a nice deal on a used red 99 club cab V6 sport in like new condition. She lover her little "red sexy truck" as she called it and drove the wheels off it for 10 years. But we'd always say that one day we'd each get a R/T and make them badass. She talked about it a lot, she wanted an R/T more than I did I think. She never did grow out of it.
    You know "one day", it's always "one day" or "soon" or "sometime" but life gets in the way.
    Get married, buy a house, have a kid and before you know it 12 or 13 years have slipped away.

    And that brings me to the summer of 2014 when Patty was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She fought hard for a year but things weren't going well and was told in August 2015 that her only hope was a bone marrow transplant and she needed it fast.
    I, along with the rest of our family and friends got tested for comparability and against overwhelming odds I was a perfect 10 for 10 match. I underwent my part of the bone marrow donation in mid September. I would later find out the medicines they gave me and maybe the stress of everything set off chronic Atrial Fibrillation of my heart. I didn't know it at the time but my heart had started spazing out and swelling.
    Things were looking good for Patty for a few weeks, then then cancer came back with a vengeance and she died on October 26th 2015. She was 35 years old.
    At her funeral I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that my heart was pumping at less than 20% capacity. I nearly died, spent a few weeks in a hospital bed thinking about Patty and everything she never got to do.
    For some reason I kept thing about how much she wanted a "badass Dakota R/T" and I resolved to find one if I made it out of the hospital.
    I could hear Patty telling me ,"no more of this "one day" bullshit talk, get one now". Took me few months to recover and find a good truck but I got my 03 about a year ago. My wife thinks I'm going thru a midlife crisis but i don't care. I'm having fun and every time I drive it I feel like a kid again.

    And since Patty was a huge fan of TOP GUN, the greatest movie in cinematic history, she always said she'd name her truck Maverick.
    Hence my avatar pic and goofy tag line.

    I even had a custom decal made, I hope she likes it.
    Maverick 1.jpg
    I love you sis.
    Damn, that's deep man.


    Mods - TB Spacer, Short Throw Dipstick, Performance Auto Zone Intake "0.30 over bore", R/T Cam, Performance Chip, Radiator Delete

    Rev limiter? that's what valve springs are for!

  9. #9

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    Fuck you man. How are we supposed to be sarcastic dicks, giving each other loads of shit when you post a sob story like that?


    Good story. Sorry to hear you lost your sister at such an early age. You need a custom air cleaner or something that says 'fuck cancer'
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    Quote Originally Posted by BIGROB View Post
    Well, I didn't want to lay out a long sad sob story here but I feel I owe it to a special someone to tell the complete story.


    I'm having fun and every time I drive it I feel like a kid again.

    And since Patty was a huge fan of TOP GUN, the greatest movie in cinematic history, she always said she'd name her truck Maverick.
    Hence my avatar pic and goofy tag line.

    I even had a custom decal made, I hope she likes it.
    Maverick 1.jpg
    I love you sis.

    WoW, what a cool brother! Good for you for all you did for your Sis! And, good for you for making both dreams come true! Cheers to both of you.
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    Growing up, my 1st car was a 53 F100 with a series of Ford v8s in it. This truck, to me, was a modern version of that. At the time I bought the R/T, Friggin' R/T was about 5 yrs old. I was at the dealer getting my then new 2001 3500 4x4 Cummins Dually serviced. Friggin' was with me. There was a cool silver R/T in the showroom. Josh goes over to the truck and says, "daddy let's get this and make a hot rod". My R/T was in the driveway 2 weeks later. Now, 15 yrs later, he has one in the driveway right next to mine.
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    BIGROB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Filthy Filbert View Post
    Fuck you man. How are we supposed to be sarcastic dicks, giving each other loads of shit when you post a sob story like that?


    Good story. Sorry to hear you lost your sister at such an early age. You need a custom air cleaner or something that says 'fuck cancer'
    Sarcastic dickery is still OK. In fact, I think if Patty were to read that post she'd probably call me a sentimental pussy.

    Project Maverick. I feel the need, the need for speed

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    I have to agree with most of the above stories. The new Dakota was sexy! In 19 and 76 I bought a 74 Datsun 620 pickup. I proceeded to mod it out as I could. A header was purchased and I shaved the head to up the Compression while I had it apart to install the header. I also did a "trick" dual exhaust with a V8 Y-pipe turned a$$ backwards. LOL Next, white spoke wheels were new to the market, so of course I got some with awesome 70 series tires! I also bought a 3-spoke, wood steering wheel and a front lower spoiler/lip from J.C. Whitney. She was bad a$$ and I drove the wheels of it for 10 yrs.
    After the Datsun came an 85 S-10 that showed up on a lot that looked just like one that had been in "Hotrod" or "Carcraft" magazine. Red, black soft tonneau, lowered, Tube grille, and the same wheels as the magazine truck had. I had to have it. It went away 5 yrs later.
    So, I told the above story to tell where my love for sport trucks came from. Fast forward to the year 2000. Two wives and two kids later, my 3rd wife (yes..a glutton for punishment) and I needed a truck. That's when I fell in love with the R/T! You will be glad to know I still have the 3rd wife 18yrs later. And, of course the 1999 Deep Amethyst CC R/T.
    99 DA CC R/T
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  14. #14

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    Fuck Cancer, that's for you Patty and My Dad, Jess, Jenn and a whole lotta other people who have had to deal with it...

    Hmm why the Dakota ? at 6-2 I don't fit in a S10/Ranger... Had a Superduty... comfy but too big and unwieldy to park the damn thing... I fit nicely in the Dakota...

    I got the Dakota from a friend, he took me for a ride last year and with the 4.7, 5psd and exhaust it was a lotta fun When he put it up for sale last month, I snagged it.

    It's got some miles and the florida sun toasted the clear, but it's still fun to go thru the gears and listen to that V8

    Just went thru all the service records, glad to see he never let anything stay broken... little things all fixed when they broke, oil changes every 3k or so...

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    My first dokota isn't an RT but a 2001 5.9 Quadcab 2wd.
    I had a chance to srart a business and needed to drop a ford econline and a nissian minivan . I Test drove a 4.7 at a steelership . Liked it but I needed a 5.9 and the trq , the online salesman chimed in and stated no 5.9 dakotas in central florida . They said to drive the truck home see how i liked it . Noooooo. Later that night I couldn't sleep so at 2am in the morning I landed at Orlando Dodge witch was only 10 miles away from the other delership and found my quadcab sitting on the lot . Next day I drove it home .i always loved the way these trucks look , and the size . Now i have a 03 RT I picked up last year using my Quadcab to get it .

  16. #16




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    Quote Originally Posted by BIGROB View Post
    Sarcastic dickery is still OK. In fact, I think if Patty were to read that post she'd probably call me a sentimental pussy.
    Damn, sorry about your sister bud, it sounds like she would have been awesome to hang out with.
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  17. #17

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    I've had a thing for these trucks since I was 15. Only by chance did I stumble upon them when I was looking for my first vehicle. Ended up getting a 99 ext. cab with the 318. Had the shit beat out of it, but it was still cool. Started out with the truck at 260,000km. Ended up selling it as I went into college to get a more fuel efficient vehicle and purchased an 03' sierra with the 4.8L. Promised myself that I would get an R/T one day and it had to be a black regular cab. Searched for years until I found an unmolested 98 black regular cab that had 140,000km. Purchased that in 2014 and never looked back.

    The only truck in my mind that comes close to a sporty feeling truck is the Silverado SS. The tacoma/tundras are nice, but too bulky. The Rams are too big. The S10s are too small as Filbert said. As far as trucks are concerned, nothing comes close to the looks or sound a nice R/T makes.

    I've owned a few other vehicles including the R/T (25' coupe, 46' truck, 38' truck). All have been faster, but speed isn't my main purpose. All those get more attention, but that's not what I'm going for. There's just something about these trucks that really gets to me. The lines, the sound, the feel of driving it. This truck goes where I go.


    P.S. Cancer can suck my freezing cold Canadian balls!
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    my grandfather started messing with these trucks by getting a 98 RC 318 5 speed with R/T rear end and I fell in love with them then he got rid of that and got a 2000 cc R/T and i told myself i was gonna get one then he bought a 99 red cc R/T and i traded my ZR2 S10 for it i miss that truck but have never regretted that decision
    1999 Dodge Dakota R/T

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    It's Duners fault.
    1999 R/C Solar yellow

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    Bought mine in 1998 because I wanted a new vehicle and I thought it was kind of cool. I had a regular job then and could afford it. Now I’m self employed and broke. lol Got to say when I first got it the truck got a lot of looks and thumbs up, especially when I had a couple of chicks in the front seat. lol

  21. #21


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    ^^^

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    My experience has been the opposite. Same snapshot image, but 'oh...that's your truck? Let me put these back on'
    --Tom
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  24. #24
    Osee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Filthy Filbert View Post
    My experience has been the opposite. Same snapshot image, but 'oh...that's your truck? Let me put these back on'
    This is too accurate ^

    or *points at lifted duramax on 20's plastered in Monster Energy stickers, and lime green badging* "I thought that was your truck"


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  25. #25




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    When my R/t was a lowered sport truck it pulled a good bit of girls, now that It is a race truck it is a dick magnet.......
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