# 1983 Dodge 4x4 prospector



## Tribal Warlord Thug

have a guy interested in trading his '83 dodge 4x4 for my 83' goldwing trike.........the dodge has a 318 w/auto......brand new torqueflite 727 just put in ...newer tires...fairly decent shape fer a dodge..... i aint had much to do with any dodges other than the big class a motor home (1978 executive based on an m-600 dodge truck with 440-3). bein' an older truck, it should be carb. and fairly easy to work on.........am gittin' more info from him tonight but heres the pic he sent me wantin' to trade...










if any of ya'z has experience with these old dodges please give some info on what ya'llzz think of 'em....much appriciated


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## cnsper

That 318 is a rock solid motor. I have a '82 shortbed 4x4 with a 318 and a 4 speed manual transmission. The only thing I can say bad about the old dodges is that most of them are cold blooded pigs when the snow flies. I never plug mine in and it always starts. It does have the first generation electronic ignition, so no points. Mine is a 4 barrel but most of them only came with a 2 barrel carb.

While most fords and chevys of that era have rust holes in them, my dodge does not.

Dodge also had two versions that year the D model and the W model. Mine is a W150. That one looks to be a W model also.

PS. you won't believe the amount of room you have in there to work on stuff. Mine was a bare bones so it only had a water pump, alternator and power steering pump.


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

couple more pics.......

















..........guess he really wants to trade...he's gittin' a trailer lined up to bring the truck out here and git the bike.....







"I like ya........I'll kill ya last"​


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## cnsper

That little blue box to the right of the master cylinder under the wires is your ignition control module. I carry a spare in my truck as they are only about $30.

Looks like there is an additional transmission cooler but it looks beat up. The AC probably does not work and it is R12 so expensive to have worked on. Where is the air cleaner?

I have not seen the condition of your bike but I could really beat him up on the value of that truck. What do you value your bike at?

Wrecking yard parts are fairly easy to locate for that truck though. Although it is harder than ford or chevy.


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## Tirediron

The lack of an air cleaner would kind of make me nervous, other than that it looks like a solid old truck. 

Some of the problems that those Dodges have are ground issues with fire wall mounted components, because they use self taping screws to mount things, these tend to get over torqued and then rattle loose. easy to fix, a major pain if you don't know to look for it. another problem spot was the dash mounted ammeter (not voltmeter), these were known to fail and then the alternator wouldn't charge the battery even though the Alt. tested out ok.


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## Tribal Warlord Thug

it has a K&N air filter setup....he just removed it to show me what carb/intake it has on it......old guy just wants a bike now......

...another thing, the ac, cruise and radio all still work like new.......


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## UncleJoe

cnsper said:


> That 318 is a rock solid motor.


I'll second that. I had a '78 Club Cab with a 318 and AT. Ran like a top. Had a lot of surface rust but no holes in the body anywhere. Had to replace that ignition module at some point and yes, it was cheap. Probably would have kept it but the ex said it was too ugly.


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## d_saum

I like it! I'll "third" that.. those old 318's and 360 were great. Please take more pics when you actually get it!


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## cedarguy

I had the same truck as a daily driver for years. The only thing I ever had to do was replace the master cylinder. I gave it to my son who wrecked it 
I wish I had kept it now


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## Jason

If they're similar in value and the truck is mechanically sound, as best you can tell, then I'd go for it. You can haul a lot more in the truck than on the bike.


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## *Andi

We have an 83 & a 85 prospector ... both are great trucks. (and a true work horse)


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## ihaveMANHIDE

Tribal Warlord Thug said:


> have a guy interested in trading his '83 dodge 4x4 for my 83' goldwing trike.........the dodge has a 318 w/auto......brand new torqueflite 727 just put in ...newer tires...fairly decent shape fer a dodge..... i aint had much to do with any dodges other than the big class a motor home (1978 executive based on an m-600 dodge truck with 440-3). bein' an older truck, it should be carb. and fairly easy to work on.........am gittin' more info from him tonight but heres the pic he sent me wantin' to trade...
> 
> if any of ya'z has experience with these old dodges please give some info on what ya'llzz think of 'em....much appriciated


Nice powerwagon, if I were you I'd go with a 24 valve Cummins 4x4 instead of a 318. Fairly good engines but horrible on gas and not too easy to work on. 
The Cummins diesel, gets about 16 mpg city and 18 to 19 highway mph. That's really good for a diesel, it'll pull just about anything you want, very reliable, you can literally get 1 million miles on the before they break down. Mine is at 500,xxx miles. Still running great, just keep up the maintenance and that truck will never fail you.


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## HamiltonFelix

Looks like an Edelbrock 4 barrel, so original carburetor has been replaced. Often the original is more precisely tuned to that particular engine and applications, so may get better mileage. But the aftermarket Edelbrock is more affordable and should be pretty reliable and certainly maintainable. Presumably, it's a standard over-the-counter 600 or 650 and will make the 318 happy. BTW, the factory Holley on the 460 in my 1986 F250 is a 600 that actually flows 585 cfm in stock trim That's all you need for even a big block in truck applications. 

That half ton Dodge looks really straight. Working on a 318 in an engine bay that also sometimes held the 440 should be pretty convenient. The 727 Torqueflite is a good tranny, and a fresh one should last a long time. I think you have a gem there.


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## cqp33

I had an 83 half ton, wish i still had it! Working on it was easy and the only reason i got rid of it was i needed a car when our first son came along! it was our only vehicle and i was an e3 so i couldn't afford 2 vehicles let alone insurance with a newborn coming! Now 18 years later i wish i would have kept that baby!


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## moondancer

cqp33 said:


> I had an 83 half ton, wish i still had it! Working on it was easy and the only reason i got rid of it was i needed a car when our first son came along! it was our only vehicle and i was an e3 so i couldn't afford 2 vehicles let alone insurance with a newborn coming! Now 18 years later i wish i would have kept that baby!


So you kept the truck and got rid of the baby ? Lol


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