Long, long ago in November 2006, I had just moved across the state and purchased another house (which I’m doing yet again – it’s weird how life goes in cycles at times). With the new place having TWO driveways, I felt an obligation to use them.
I had been wanting an old pickup for sometime. The rub was finding one in decent condition that fit my criteria of being a half month’s income or less. In actuality, I was obsessed on the “or less” part just for bragging rights.
A few months after moving in I had almost given up the idea of finding a decent, low dollar pickup. Then there was a magical Sunday ad in the paper. It said:
“1987 pickup, V8, automatic. City of Vandalia, Missouri. $400”
The next day, I scurried to Vandalia. My first impression wasn’t grand. I saw a hint of the ground beneath my feet and the seat upon which I sat looked like, as my grandfather would say, the “ass-end of hard times”. The flatbed was rusted beyond repair, but the cab was fine, other than the one hole. Looking at the 4 barrel 360 (5.9 liter) V8 under the hood, I saw fuel spraying from the hose leading to the fuel filter.
Yet when I hit the starter, I heard the sound of angels singing. Ahh, the sound of a Mopar starter motor. Few mechanical things have such a divine and hypnotic sound.
I tell the city clerk if she will get the fuel line fixed, I will take it. I return the next day with cash in my hand.
This old Dodge had been used and used a lot. Seeing the loose material on the bed, I drive straight to the carwash to rid it of all the loose dirt, rock, sand, cold mix asphalt, twigs, leaves, and general debris. As I am standing on the bed blasting through 19 years of grime, I look up to see the walls of the carwash are as black as tar from the floor to the ceiling. When I finish, I back out to hose down the wall.
On the drive home I never hit 50 mph. It had been a while since driving a non-overdrive equipped vehicle, but the true issue was it being geared as low as your typical motor grader. I figured this wonderful Dodge could pull my house down the road without breaking a sweat.
Once back home, a quick inspection revealed the warranty card issued to the United States Army. It was auctioned off in 1991 with 11,000 miles. It was then purchased by the City of Vandalia.
Two days later as I was out and about for work, I find a complete, rust free bed ($50) already off the donor and the chrome rear bumper from the same pickup ($60). In short order, these are installed making the old girl much more pleasant to look at, even if she was a tri-tone. I obtain a seat a few days later ($25) and take the old flatbed to the scrap heap ($21 to my favor). I fixed the hole in the floor with a piece of sheet metal from having the furnace replaced, a handful of rivets, and caulk. Worked like a charm.
Soon after the bed is installed, I remove the fence seen above and attempt to pull out the corner post with the pickup. As soon as I start to pull, I hear a clang-swipe-swipe-clank and my cursing. I pop the hood to find the 360 doing its best imitation of a slant six by sitting off-kilter. It’s a broken motor mount.
In June or July of 2008, I decide to retrieve my old Galaxie.
Pulling an empty trailer for 200 miles the pickup got 10.2 mpg running at 50 to 55 mph. Pulling the trailer with 4000 pounds of Ford, two well-fed gentleman, and a host of miscellaneous auto parts at 55 to 60 mph, she got 9.8 mpg.
One day I had the urge to take the Dodge to work. At about 10 am, the sky turned dark and it began to hail. It was large hail and it lasted a long time. When it stopped everybody but me went to inspect their vehicle. After hearing one woman crying like a baby about the hail damage on her new Hyundai SUV, it seemed wise to go check on the old Dodge. The old Dodge was parked between said Hyundai and a new Honda minivan. Both of them looked pretty dinged up; the old Dodge was pristine. I eased back to my office smiling to myself.
The old Dodge was excellent in snow and it was only a two-wheel drive. I credit most of that to its low gearing and low-end torque that would allow it to idle through almost anything without any help from my foot. She would also talk to you, as anytime she needed oil (she leaked a lot) she would discreetly rattle. Anytime she needed transmission fluid (she leaked there, also) her engine would gently race between first and second gear.
My neighbor hated the old Dodge. As it pretty much had a straight pipe for an exhaust system, he said his house shook whenever I started it. I told him he was my burglar alarm for the pickup.
I sold her to the son of a co-worker in May 2011 for $1100. He truly fell in love with it and painted it all gray. Despite his quickly driving it hard enough to require a little head work, he loved it. Ten months later, he traded it to a friend for a Jeep Cherokee. The Cherokee was totaled out within two weeks, but the old Dodge is still going.
There was a former co-worker of mine with a ’62 Chevrolet pickup who had painted “Atomic Veteran” on the side of it. In another 10 years, these ’80’s model Dodge trucks will be able to say the same thing.
I’m quite familiar with the 360/A727 combo, as that’s what motivates my ’77 Chinook. Interestingly, I get a very consistent 11 mpg, around 60 or so. But then I have a two barrel carb, FWIW. And I wouldn’t be surprised if mine was geared lower (4.31) than your truck. I do always expect it to shift to the next gear at around 45-50, but it just never happens. I’ve cruised as fast as 75, and I’m guessing the motor was spinning at well over 3000 rpm.
Paul, you really don’t want to run an LA at any more than that speed. If you run them under load at more than 3000 RPM the motors will burn. I’ve seen several 360s with spun bearings and 318s that were just plain grenaded. Always on the big grade of the Coquihalla Highway.
I doubt that few places have such conditions, except Flagstaff AZ.
I don’t anymore. The one time I ran 70-75 (on the flats of I-5 to CA) I cracked an exhaust manifold, which these are also prone to. I just don’t hurry myself like that time anymore. Part of the problem was that the cruise control (which works in dry weather but often not in moist air) was not working, and I got carried away. No more.
Ironic. My Dad was born and raised in Vandalia. My late relatives all lived in Vandalia. That’s where I spent many a summer growing up and visiting in my young adulthood. I have a cousin (retired Army), another cousin who may still be on the town’s police force and an Auntie who still live in Vandalia. US 54, routes F and W – I know those roads like the back of my hand. Small world.
Your hail story reminds me of another hailstorm. My then-girlfriend (now wife) bought a new 88 Accord. In the summer of 1989, my sister came to visit, and rode with a friend with another 86-88 Accord. Rather than go pick my girlfriend up, I suggested that she drive to my place where we were meeting. This got the Accord out from under a carport.
That evening, an nasty hailstorm. The next day my sister’s friend’s Accord looked like a golf ball, dimples everywhere. Called the GF, same with hers. My 66 Fury III was sitting out right with them – not a scratch or a dimple anywhere. I still occasionally catch flak for not picking the future Mrs. JPC up that night so that her new car could stay undercover.
I love your old truck, by the way. Something about the Dodge pickups of that vintage calls my name.
When I was stationed in Maryland the Navy Unit I was attached to had a 67 dodge with the slant six. Although it certainly was different when you were describing yours you could have been talking about it. Old enough that the EPA didn’t engineer it. It was probably turned to razor blades years ago and that’s a shame.
Vandalia Bus Lines. Rode in air conditioned, Detroit Diesel comfort to camp at the Lake of the Ozarks several summers, way back when. That’s all I know about Vandalia.
I would love to live in a place called “Vandalia”, really rolls off the tongue… and the pickup? Outstanding. All business, no bullshit. I’ve wanted to find an old truck like this to keep around as a second car forever, but unfortunately they just don’t exist here. Not for anything close to $400 at least.
Excellent ute especially for that money every one of these I see are 10k plus, same with any old US pickup theres good coin in exporting these if you can get buyers regularly.
A fine story. What makes it a true beater for me is not the tri-color paint, nor the mismatched wheels or even the overall patina. It is the fact that each door has a different model of mirror. Major cred right there.
I changed out the driver’s door over the course of my ownership due to rust on the bottom. Take a peek at the last two pictures!!!
This article points out one of the key factors in a good beater purchase: completely remove the “coolness” factor from the purchasing decision. If anything, actively seek out the uncool. And what is less cool than a plain-wrapper ex-government truck with mismatched everything? A good truck is rather like a good dog; in either case, it does not need to be pretty.
That’s the color I was looking for! The light green on my van, Army huh? Now I know.
The old Dodge pickups of this vintage are growing on me. I now much prefer this look as compared to the later psuedo Kenworth/Peterbilt look Dodge Ram. One of these with the Cummins 2 valve Diesel is a keeper. I’m not alone in that regard for the ones that are for sale with the Cummins have really held their value. In either configuration, gas or diesel, I’d like to think that the Dodge from this era will be a collectable classic amongst pickup aficionados!
This truck here was a great buy and a testament to old Detroit sheet metal durability!
That is a sweet rig. Being Gov’t and Municipally owned is a huge plus too. They are insane about maintenance SOP.
I never understood why Dodge didn’t come in 2nd in the 80s with trucks. There was no beating the F series but beating Chevy/GMC should have been easy.
Nice story, any idea of the cost vs visual improvement ratio of the respray?
Don’t see too many Dodges but old F100’s are not uncommon out here, and most of them are in long-term ownership. I saw a 6th gen version on Tuesday loaded up with the debris from stripping out a shop, not in a suitable circumstance to take a photo unfortunately. The top edge of the tailgate had rusted away, I can only assume it has spent a lot of time lowered with water trapped inside.
To touch on Bryce’s point on their different status on this side of the globe, I’ve seen a few 1960’s pickups bought off farms or otherwise from ‘retirement’ and put on the road for a few thousand. For a latter-80’s version like this I’d think you would have done exceptionally well to have it registered for under $5k, mainly because parts don’t grow on trees. A cheap Japanese pickup would be half the price.
F100s were built in Brisbane for many years and featured galvanized cabs in some models NZ got none of those but they were fairly common in OZ though the steering assembly is weak and needs constant replacement especially the drag link@400 a time. A friend of mine ran a 4×4 SWB pickup for many years and replaced every single component of the powertrain at least once, he had so much money in it he could not afford to sell even when offered good cash. He probably still has it.
The amount of visual improvement would be pretty subjective…I think it took about 15 to 20 cans of spray paint applied in the driveway. Take the top half of the bed and extrapolate it out…consistency of color was the prime goal over quality!
So kind of $40-50 = no longer screams POS & other people might actually consider riding in it, $300-500 actual spray job = looks ok even if you are within 100 feet, $+++ = is it really worth it…
I remember a friend getting a car painted cheaply by a guy who drank more beer than he put paint on the car by a significant margin, there was a lot of re-work before any cash was handed over.
I loved my ’83 D100 – Slant six and O/D. Should’ve kept it.
Nice. I’m begining the process of finding a winter beater to keep the 2012 Mustang away from the salt gods. I have not come across a deal like this. I can only hope I will :).
Here’s your vandalia;
Jason, I have an 87 D250 with 120K on its slant six engine, and it’s the same color as yours. Now I know why I haven’t been able to find touchup paint to match, it’s because the army light green isn’t a stock color, right?
Jason: Thanks for the Interesting post. I acquired this D250 with slant six in 1999 and wondered why I couldn’t find the paint color in the Dodge books. Army fleet purchase, that explains it. Aside from a couple small dents and a thrashed bed floor she’s pretty pristine, original bumpers, mirrors, everything. 120K miles now.
I have three 1st Gen Dodge pickups and am always looking for another. I just wanted to post and say that your story was very well written and thoroughly enjoyable. The comment about using a piece of tin from your old furnace to patch the hole in the floorboard had me cracking up and I can only too well relate! Good job.
Hey you seem to know a good bit about a Dodge, maybe you can help me out. I have a 1987 Dodge Power Ram D-250 and it’s not getting fuel to the carburetor, what could it be. I’ve checked all the gas lines they are OK, I replaced the Furl Pump, Replaced the Filter and I don’t know what else to do. The engine turns over good and will start when I pour gas in the carburetor then it stops. I appreciate any help.
Thanks