Vehicle Description
If you were a Mopar fan in the '80s, you'll instantly recognize
this unique 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota. Chrysler teamed up with
Shelby to breathe some V8-powered life into their brand, and the
result was a limited production run (this one is #266 of 1475 ever
made) of one of the era's highest-performance pickup trucks. That
boost of performance wasn't enough for the owner of this 'lil red
beauty though, so a 360 V8, built transmission, and tubbed rear end
were all added to transform this pedigreed lightweight pickup into
a pro-street menace. Take a closer look...
Shelby Dakotas only came in white or red from the factory, but if
we had to choose between the two, we'd go with that vivid shade of
red every time. Likely repainted at some point in its past, the
paint maintains a glossy finish and still looks fantastic,
especially when you consider the sheer speeds this truck has seen
on the street/strip. Perfect it is not, but this truck was built to
take pink slips, not win any trailer-queen trophies. A blacked-out
grille, bumpers and fender flares are all part of the Shelby
performance package and look great up against the red paint. The
original decals are long gone, replaced with a more modern SHELBY
set that runs down the bottom of the truck before swooping up
before the back of the bed: a simple configuration that lets
everyone know that this isn't just a regular grocery-getter. A
glance at the back of the truck tells the same story, as those fat
Mickey Thompson rubbers fill up the wheel wells completely, and the
inside of the bed shows off the tubs, fuel cell, and battery box
all neatly organized in the spray-in red bed-lined floor.
The Shelby treatment continues inside the cab, with burgundy
upholstery contrasted by the gray Shelby inserts on the bench seat
and door panels. The interior is nicely preserved and despite the
upgrades to the power train and exterior, the owners knew that
messing with the rare Shelby branding inside would've been
sacrilege. The seat, door panels, and carpet only show minor signs
of use from years of wide-eyed enjoyment and a Shelby embroidered
carpet mat on the dash has been added to prevent any further
cracking. A dash-mounted Sunpro tachometer was installed to keep
the driver's eye on revs, accompanied by auxiliary oil pressure and
temperature gauges underdash. The reverse manual valve-body B&M
floor shifter is a welcomed upgrade in this high-horsepower Shelby,
allowing the driver to bang through gears without wasting precious
milliseconds engaging a clutch. And like many of these "budget"
Mopar trucks of the era, options were sacrificed to make room for
performance, although a music-loving former owner did install an
AM/FM/CD/AUX aftermarket head unit to add a soundtrack to all that
horsepower rumble.
Buying a Shelby Dakota in 1989 meant you were getting a 318 V8 that
was slightly modified to output 175 HP and a hefty 270 lb/ft torque
rating. For a 1989 lightweight truck that was a lot, in fact pretty
much unrivaled for a production pickup. But for modern times that's
fairly tame, so the builders decided to kick up the power and
regain this Shelby's street supremacy. A built-up 360 V8 was
swapped in; a very responsive and powerful motor aided by a
4-barrel Holley 750CFM carb and Edelbrock high-rise intake. The
full MSD ignition system snaps the motor quickly to attention and a
pat of the gas produces a deliciously loud rumble provided by
Hedman headers that feed into a Flowmaster dual exhaust that exits
right before the rear wheels on each side. Shifts are firm and
crisp and the 727 Torqueflight automatic transmission spins the
narrowed 9" rear end that houses 4.56 gears. The ladder bar rear
suspension and wheelie bars keep the truck from doing a back flip
at the drag strip, and the QA1 shocks up front and rear coilovers
in the rear make regular driving easy and enjoyable, in concert
with the tight power steering system and power 4-wheel discs. Weld
Drag Stars are five-spoke rims that pay homage to the Shelby-issued
wheels that originally came with this package but are much flashier
and better equipped for the aggressive driving this truck is now
built for.
Big horsepower in a truck is pretty common these days, but to find
that power in a pedigreed classic pick-up is very rare to come by.
The Mopar and Shelby combo was a thing of beauty, and this truck
manages to make that marriage even more exciting. This street legal
drag truck is already drawing big interest in our showroom, which
means it surely won't last long. Call today!
