Hi everyone,I recently moved up north and still have a storage unit I have to retrieve my stuff from. When I go back to get my stuff Im going to buy either a Dakota or a 1/2 ton Ram since it would be retarded to get a u-haul.
It has to be a 4X4 and id perfer the 5 speed because I recently was working on a '99 Dakota 3.9 that was manual and it was real fun to drive. Downshifting from 5th to 3rd at 40 mph allowed me to blow away a new Tacoma, and was that guy pissed.
My question is should I get a 1st or 2nd gen dakota? I like how the 1st gen is super light and have seen ones with 360's, 408's and even one that was a 440 with the torqueflite. I realize that the 2nd gen has alot more aftermarket parts and looks better in general but will cost a little more.
Also, about how much power can the transfer case take? Even if the truck i get is a 3.9 I want to drop at least a 360 into it and turn it into a plow truck if possible. I've seen a 3.8 wrangler with a plow on it, im sure the dakota would be more than sufficant.
Thanks ahead of time for your help guys