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Rare 1978 Dodge Factory Diesel D100 Pickup [mitsubishi 243 Cu In Diesel] on 2040-cars

Year:1978 Mileage:48000
Location:

East Lansing, Michigan, United States

East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Rare 1978 factory Mitsubishi diesel equipped D100 1/2 ton pickup.  243 cu in straight six diesel. Perfect project for a Mopar fan who wants something rare or for a tow vehicle for your classic Mopar.  Or just something none of your buddies at the car show own or likely have ever seen? 

Running and drivable but the old Dodge pickup body is rusty and in need of some TLC [better yet a full restoration].  The value of this truck is the factory installation of the 6DR5 243 cu in Mitsubishi straight six and the engine is in very nice shape.  Starts and runs better than my 06 Jeep CDR diesel.  With the block heater plugged in it started easily every time in -0F weather this last winter. Engine is completely original except for a rebuilt water pump and new fuel cannister [the old filters are impossible to buy so I installed a new filter canister. Original one comes with the truck.

Less than 2800 or so of these rare Mitsubishi 6DR5 diesel equipped Dodge trucks were manufactured in a short-lived attempt to offer a high MPG pickup for the American market. 

The other part of the story was that Dodge made these to fulfill the consumer market requirement to bid for the US Military vehicle contract. [Dodge lost out and the Dodge M880 and M890 military vehicles (pickups) were replaced by the Chevy CUCV (the blazer)].  

A quote from a motor press article "The 1978 saw also the introduction of the first Diesel powered Dodge pickup truck. Available as an economy choice in the light duty trucks was Mitsubishi 6dr50A 4.0-liter inline 6-cylinder naturally aspirating diesel, rated at 105 hp (78 kW) at 3500 rpm, and ~230 Nm (~169 lb·ft) @ 2200 rpm. The diesel used standard Dodge manual and automatic transmissions via specially made adapter plate which had the LA V8 bolt pattern. This rare factory option, VIN code H, was the result of fuel crisis and the collaboration of Chrysler and Mitsubishi. "  

You can Google other info.

Here is a video of the truck with the engine running.  http://youtu.be/zutkFx6u-AI

Great mileage and torque and longevity but only 105hp and top speed of about 65 mph. So most of these trucks were sold to Fire Departments and for similar uses. This one shows all the signs of having been a Fire Dept truck [Red, covered in bureaucratic labels and warnings, roof plug for what must have been a bubble light, etc]

48,000 on the clock.  It might be original.  Truck shows signs of having been allowed to sit for most of its life.  I've only put abut 6,000 miles on it in 15 years. This truck comes from Northwest Indiana where I bought it near LaPorte in 1999.   Holds together and doesn't flap in the breeze but drivers floor is rusted out.  Rusty rear wheel wells and some rust on quarters. Windshield is cracked just like the day I bought it in '99.  Bed is surprisingly intact. 

Comes with the factory manual for the truck and one for the Mitsubishi engine.

I drive the truck on a regular basis. Starts, runs, drives, stops.  Lights work.  Brakes are fine.  I use it for short runs to the lumber company and similar.  But I have not gone more than 15 miles from home with it since 1999. 

I always intended to restore this beast.  Never happened.  Just remarried and time to sell off some old toys and projects.  

Bring a truck and trailer.  I would *not* drive it home unless you live within an hour of Lansing Michigan and also have a trusty friend driving a trusty pace car next to you with some tools.  No use doing damage to this old gal by running it to bits on the highway in some insane attempt to get to Jersey or Texas.  These old diesels are slow and loud.

The Spyder Motor Wheels in the photos do NOT go with the truck.  Had those since 1980.  

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Auto blog

2013 Dodge Durango R/T

Tue, 19 Feb 2013

Not too long ago, Chevrolet got itself into some trouble by throwing the SS badge on just about everything it produced, so I've always been a little hesitant about the seemingly excessive use of the R/T nameplate on Dodge vehicles. For the 2013 model year, every model in Dodge's lineup has an R/T trim level from Dart all the way up to the Durango. Although the R/T name used to signified models made for road and track, I doubt anyone would be delusional enough to assume the Durango - and some of the other models wearing this badge - are suited for any sort of track duty.
Still, when this 2013 Dodge Durango R/T rolled up for me to drive for the week, I couldn't help but take in its big, mean and imposing stance. Sure, if I had my choice of buying any of the Dodge R/T products, the Charger and Challenger would be my top picks for sure, but it's easy to say that the Durango would be a close third - far above the R/T versions of the Avenger, Journey and Grand Caravan.
Driving Notes

Autoblog Podcast #317

Wed, 23 Jan 2013

Mitsubishi Mirage, Toyota thinks of beefing up US production, Marchionne on Alfa, Dart and minivans, Ford Atlas concept, Honda Gear concept
Episode #317 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Jeff Ross and Michael Harley bookend the other podcast topics with a pair from the Montreal Auto Show, the Mitsubishi Mirage and Honda Gear concept, and in between we talk about Toyota building all its US-market cars stateside, Hyundai building a Nurburgring test facility, Sergio Marchionne's latest words about Alfa Romeo, Dodge Dart powertrains and the future of Chrysler vans. Some chatter about the Ford Atlas concept finishes up the meat of the 'cast and then we wrap with your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #317:

Dodge Durango to stay classy with Ron Burgundy as spokesperson [w/video]

Sat, 05 Oct 2013

The upcoming 2014 Dodge Durango has a lot of things going for it, including its 290-horsepower V6 and 360-hp Hemi V8 engine options, an eight-speed automatic and aggressive looks. And now it will have Ron Burgundy, the fictional television news anchor played by comedian Will Ferrell, as a spokesperson, Adweek reports. He follows in the footsteps of other non-fictional Chrysler brand spokespeople such as Eminem, Clint Eastwood and the late Paul Harvey.
Though the star of 2004's Anchorman and the upcoming Anchorman 2 is wildly popular, we're not sure we see a Dodge spokesperson in Burgundy. (Please, no womanizing or scotchy, scotch, scotch before test test drives). But at this point there's no turning back: Chrysler's chief marketing officer Olivier Francois previewed three ad spots at the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix on Friday, and says Chrysler has already filmed 68(!) Durango ads with the fictional newsman.
According to Adweek, one of the ads previewed had Burgundy highlighting the SUV's glovebox size, and in another he compared its horsepower to a white horse standing next to him. Will this help Dodge Durango sales improve? We can only wait and see. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in Comments, and check out the trailer for Anchorman 2 below.