1981 Dodge D150 Royal Half-ton

While they were routinely popular with fleet customers, Dodge perennially trailed behind Ford and General Motors in the light-truck non-fleet sales race until the 1990s. This...

While they were routinely popular with fleet customers, Dodge perennially trailed behind Ford and General Motors in the light-truck non-fleet sales race until the 1990s. This short bed dodge has had the same Arkansas owner for the past 32 years where it was always garaged!

This example was made in Chrysler's Warren, Michigan truck assembly factory.

This Ram pickup wears an eye-catching Cashmere and Flame (Impact) Orange paint combination. The truck's paint and trim are in overall very good order. The truck's bodywork is straight and solid, the engine bay is tidy and the cargo box is solid but shows use over the decades. The chrome bumpers fit tightly to the body as well and there's a Ram hood ornament at the leading edge of the hood. Both doors have window rain and wind guards. The underside is very clean, solid and original.

This truck rolls on BFGoodrich Comp T/A radials, size 235/60R15 in front and 275/60R15 in back. Each tire is mounted on a Cragar SS magnesium wheel for additional flair. The wheels and tires are all in very good order.

Under the counterbalanced hood is a 318 CID OHV engine with a four-barrel carburetor (code LA). Backing this motor is a Torqueflite three-speed automatic transmission. Driver convenience features include air-conditioning, power steering and power brakes. A/C compressor does not engage.

Inside, the Cashmere vinyl interior is in overall very good order for its age. The bench seat looks great, with only some minor rips visible in the driver's side seat bottom. Fuel gauge is inop. The matching carpet is in satisfactory shape while there's a black, four-spoke, deep-dish steering wheel. The Cashmere-colored dashboard and inner door panel are in very good order. The dash design shares a lot of shapes and parts with the passenger cars from that year, such as the air-conditioning vents, radio and HVAC controls. A column-mounted shifter and a factory AM radio round out the interior.

The first-generation Dodge Ram trucks and vans introduced in October 1980 feature a Ram hood ornament first used on Dodge vehicles from 1932 until 1954. Not all of the first-generation trucks have this ornament and is most commonly seen on four-wheel-drive models. Dodge kept the previous generation's model designations: D or Ram indicate two-wheel drive while W or Power Ram indicate four-wheel drive. Just like Ford, Dodge used 150 to indicate a half-ton truck, 250 for a three-quarter-ton truck and 350 for a one-ton truck. The truck models were offered in standard cab, "club" extended cab and crew cab configurations. They also were offered along with 6.5- and eight-foot bed lengths and “Utililine” and “Sweptline” styled boxes along with standard boxes.

Externally, the first-generation Rams were facelifted versions of the previous generation Dodge D-Series pickups introduced in 1972. The new model introduced larger wraparound tail lamps, dual rectangular headlamps, and squared-off body lines. Engine choices were pared down to the 225 slant-six and 318 and 360 V-8s. The interior was updated and included a new bench seat and a completely new dashboard and an instrument cluster with an optional three-pod design - a speedometer in the center, with the two side pods containing an ammeter on the top left, a temperature gauge on the bottom left, a fuel gauge on the top right and an oil pressure gauge bottom right. Models without the full gauge package had only indicator lights in the place of the temperature and oil pressure gauges. Among the options offered on the Ram were front bumper guards, a sliding rear cab window, air-conditioning, cruise control, tilt steering column, power door locks and windows, AM/FM stereo with a cassette tape player, styled road wheels, aluminum turbine-style mag wheels, special paint and stripe packages, two-tone paint and a plow package for four-wheel-drive models (referred to as the “Sno Commander”).

Documentation includes the original owner's manual and related items.

Competition to this Ram in 1981 included Chevrolet's C10 Cheyenne, Ford's F-150 Lariat and GMC's Sierra Classic 1500.

If you're looking for a classic Ram pickup truck, this survivor truck would easily fit the bill. Stop by MotoeXotica Classic Cars today to check it out for yourself!

VIN: YS3DP75G517014487

This truck is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 17,474 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

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