Change of Plans, But The DAK IS BACK!

So, after a discussion with my daughter, we decided that the Dak would actually be a better vehicle for her brother. He has reduced periferal vision, and this is a much smaller truck.

It doesn't really change a lot on this "restoration", except maybe the aesthetics and decoration we are using.


So no Pokemon decor, but we are going straight up Autobots!

Autobot Valve Stem Caps $8


3 x 3.25 inch Autobot symbols ($27)


Okay, onto the restoration update.

As promised, here's exterior pics as promised:




There's one little spot on the passenger side door pillar where something chipped the paint, so will do a little cleanup, bondo smoothing, prime, and paint there to seal it up. 

We did get it home from Lehman's who did a fantastic job getting this thing into good running order......except the transmission seems to be faulted to "limp mode". So, next month, it goes to the transmission shop.

Bummer, but this thing handles like a freaking new truck, has GOBS of power, and drives really well. The kid is going to have a BLAST driving this thing.

It sounds amazing with the new dual exhaust on it too. So, here's what all got done:

  • Front Suspension - full rebuild (upper, lower ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rod ends).
  • Power Steering Pump and hoses
  • Brake Booster (the truck now has responsive brakes!)
  • Manifold to bumper exhaust, including Y pipe, cat, O2 sensors, muffler back duals.
  • Full perf tuneup (plugs, cap, rotor, coil)
  • Fuel System redone (lines pumped and cleaned, new pump/filter, reseal TBI to intake).

All dollars spent:

Parts:$2675

Labor: $2800

Parts cost includes stuff that me and the boy are going to do.

A few changes to the plan, as we hadn't expected what we have had done to be so much (labor is expensive) and now we are potentially looking at $1800 for transmission on the high side.

I am not going to replace the rear bumper. What is there is body color, and salvagable, so I will hit it with some Dupli-Color Rust Fix Black on the black areas of the front and rear bumpers.

I had also wanted to put an antenna on the truck, but it appears that the old mast snapped off down in factory antenna mount, so I probably need to replace that.

Tomorrow, I am starting on the underhood stuff I am doing on the Dakota. Part of this will include a full, external LED light upgrade.

Thebulbguide.com has a fantastic tool to help identify all the bulbs you need on your vehicle. Boosted Motorsports has some fantastic resources for doing both high end and low end modifications to a Dakota. 

And because LEDs added to older vehicles don't always work right, will need an LED flasher to swap out to. Easy enough to install, as I did that on my Dart already. 

Painless Performance No-Load LED Turn Signal Flashers 80230 is $20 at Summit, and the LED Lights will be like $70 (for switchback lights for the front turn signals) and $161 for the others from O'Reilly. As I am swapping out the light housings and I only want to take those out once, I will grab the LED swap parts once I am ready to do that install later next week

I have the light list below:

Tomorrow, though, we start with the K&N Cold Air Intake. I grabbed one for a 5.2/5.9 as the airbox to TBI setup all carry the same part numbers, so this should be the same for the V6 as it is for the V8. I am also doing a K&N intake on the Silverado, and once my wife's Durango is back from having the brakes looked at by the dealership, I will do hers too.

All in all, a great start to the vacation!


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