Budget Beater Build: 2004 Dakota

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Grit dog

Full Access Member
Joined
May 18, 2020
Posts
6,928
Reaction score
12,146
Location
Auburn, Washington
First Name
Todd
Truck Year
1986, 1977
Truck Model
K20, C10
Engine Size
454, 350
S p oO g e is a bad word??
How aboot ****?

So’s j I z z.

Let’s try *****…

S e men is bad too!

Ok, ***.

C u m is no bueno tambien.

Ok , will just leave it at baby batter!!

Bottom line is I don’t wanna be sittin on whatever ran down some chicks leg 19 years ago. No matter how dry, crusty or “invisible” it may be by now!
 
Last edited:

SirRobyn0

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2019
Posts
6,755
Reaction score
11,402
Location
In the woods in Western Washington
First Name
Rob
Truck Year
1984
Truck Model
C20
Engine Size
305
Pulling this thread back up to answer this question. We've put approx 1500 miles on it since I got it back on the road. It's averaging 14 mpg. Not great, but not bad for an occasional use vehicle.
That's the down fall of the Dakota, they don't get as good of mileage as one would think it should.
That’s 1mpg better than the Dooragno I just picked up. 318/3.55 truck. Same miles as yours too. Think I could get 14-15mpg out of it if I kept the highway speeds down. It also has aggressive 31-10.50s on it but the size matches the speedo and gps within 1mph at highway speeds.
A 30 mile run on a flat stretch of highway at 60-80mph not much traffic said 17mpg on the lie o meter.
I secretly hoped it would do better than say the ole Tahoe. But 13-14mpg is aboot it for any half ton ish 4x4 older V8 rig regardless of whether it’s a pickup or suv. Even if it’s only 3/4 scale!
Great little rig though. Runs like a Swiss watch. Needs a full fluid maintenance and some typical 100m mile stuff like shocks and brake shoes but old small block Dodge engines are pretty close to small block GMs for being bulletproof! And it definitely out kicks its coverage for the price.
It's that right foot of yours effecting your mileage. I'm kidding seriously though the Durnago is a little heavier and those aggressive tires.

Just keep in mind guys we might pay a little more at the pumps with our older rigs, but we are all saving money on no car payment, lower insurance cost, licensing cost, and we save on repair cost by doing some or all of the work.

IMO, there has never been a better time to be driving an 20 or more year old vehicle.
 

Midnightmoon

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Posts
1,105
Reaction score
3,175
Location
Pennsylvania
First Name
Justin
Truck Year
1979
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
305
Little update. Finally treated the old Dakota to a set of new tires yesterday. It had some miss matched tires on it when I got it and we finally wore them out.

You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
44,067
Posts
948,702
Members
36,134
Latest member
gtewolf79
Top