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  #1  
Old 08-26-2001, 02:34 PM
jcarter64 jcarter64 is offline
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Default How many miles on your Dodge?

I was just replying to a distributor question and I thought of a new thread to start. How many miles/km’s does your Dodge ride have on it? See if you can top this. My dad owns a delivery-refrigeration business and he has had about 15 trucks (all dodge) in service at one time or another. His personal truck is a 1979 Dodge ½ ton bare bones truck. He put in 3 extra leaf springs to help hold his weight of tools and equipment and welded a piece of 3/8 steel across the back tailgate because it was bowing and needed extra support. He has done the timing chain twice and the starter about 4 times and the ignition switch 3 times and has done minor body work/painting and that is about it. He just wrapped the speedometer for the 6th time. I think it is at 612,000 miles right now. It just keeps going and going. He bought it second hand in 1980 from a widower because he had enough of his Ford truck, a ¾ ton that I think the only thing original after 10 years was the stirring wheel everything else was changed. Anyway that is a hell of a truck and it is still on the road everyday at 90 deg in the sunshine and –40 in the dark of winter. Let’s hear you rides mil
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Old 08-26-2001, 02:56 PM
cudacarl cudacarl is offline
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I got a '78 t-bar dodge magnum that i bought about 10 years ago. I bought it from a woman whose Brother owned it originally in Canada. His sister fell in love wih the car and bought it from him and brought it to N.Y. Her husband was a "Chivvy Jerk" and refused to maintain the car and just about let it go to hell. They finally decided to sell it (we'll at least he did) and she got a beat up old thunderbird with busted a/c and no sunroof or T-Tops. When i bought it she was Pissed. I took the valve covers off and it was all sludge. I flushed the engine and changed the oil. Then i dumped the radiator. It came out kinda red. I then realized it was rusted water. I did a prestone flush and the radiator looked like a lawn sprinkler. I Replaced the radiator. To Make this long story short this sucker was totally neglected. I bought it with 113K and i changed the timing chain , put on headers and 4bbl and had the heads redone. That was 10 years ago. I drove it with everything i Own to florida 7 years ago. It has Now 242,000 miles on the original bottom end and runs great!!!!. They stopped emissions testing down here last year but, Before that they were always amazed because it always would pass with flying colors!!!. ITs a Die Hard
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Old 08-26-2001, 04:27 PM
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Stoga Stoga is offline
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I have a 92 Dodge conversion van with the Magnum 318. It has 163,000 at the moment and still runs strong. It burns no oil and doesn't tic, smoke, or make a sound, other then good engine noise on kickdown. Very healthy too, have surprised a few people with it on kickdown and passing. Body has mega surface rust due to the original silver paint, peeling off. But no rust holes, surprisingly. The ol van has also taken 2 different deer strikes, so it's not so very pretty anymore. But it went bang, hump, bump, and hopped a few times, and kept on goin, Sorry Bambi! Only problem I've ever had with it, is where my niece lost the keys. And let me tell you, changing the ignition key lock on these is a drag. I'll will say, you need 2 door locks to make one ignition key for these, it's a special set up. Even better, keep a spare key hidden on any late model Mopar, for just in case. You don't want to mess with this key hassle. I expect when it's all used up, I'm very tempted to pull the drivetrain and overhaul to stick in my 54 Chrysler, and use the van for a storage shed. But I have to say, I bought it at 147,000 miles and it's only needed a water pump, fuel pump, alternator/belt and a transmission fluid/filter change, and one set of plugs. And yes, I have ran the heck out of it, it hasn't been used easily. So I feel I have definetly gotten my money's worth out of it. I still may even fix the old girl up, it still runs fine, just having some pain in the back side, non drivetrain problems with it.
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Old 08-26-2001, 06:15 PM
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Christopher Christopher is offline
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1986 Dodge Ramcharger 2wd,128,000 miles.Runs great and gets 15.80mpg at 75mph.Towing my race car it gets 13.No rust on it at all,and the only thing I've done is replace the cooling system.My wife's 1993 Jeep Cherokee has 137,000 on it.
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Old 08-27-2001, 01:11 AM
MoJoe MoJoe is offline
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'87 Ramcharger, currently 318, but working on a 400 swap.

228,000 and still going strong.
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  #6  
Old 08-27-2001, 01:38 AM
Doug Wilson Doug Wilson is offline
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Default Miles!

Mine is a '75 Ramcharger 4X4, I bought new. It's a 318 with 268,000 miles on it. Didn't drive it much after about 1980 - just hunting in the Oregon Coast Range. Then my oldest daughter started showing horses about 6 years ago, and my youngest 2 years ago. Now we need to tow 2 horses in a big trailer, so a 452 in 440 is being built for next show season. This rig has never failed to do what was asked of it. It's really ughly, but I love it. It will go to one of my 4 sons when I die. .....This is Doug's thinking.
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Old 08-27-2001, 02:17 AM
klonestar klonestar is offline
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66' Coronet w/ 267,000 + and keeps going and going....... :<)
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  #8  
Old 08-27-2001, 11:46 PM
BILL THOMPSON BILL THOMPSON is offline
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Default dodge

Our work truck is a 1956 chev 1/2 ton with a 440 big block chrysler it also tows our race car to the track and picks up parts and has over 400000 miles on it.Oh and for you chev guys we gave chev a fair shake we ate 3 283 in 6 months 2 were brand new (wonder why I only drive mopar power). that was 27 years ago or more and the old dodge motors runnin fine no oil burning + no repairs less a valve cover gasket or two.
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  #9  
Old 08-28-2001, 11:32 AM
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tsteiner61 tsteiner61 is offline
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Here's a quick story to prove just how durable Mopar engines really are. About 4 years ago, I bought a 1977 Dodge Tradesman van 318 with 230,000 miles. This was before I knew anything about cars at all, but I was by myself, and needed to tune this thing up as I was about to load everything I own into it and drive it cross country (PA -> CA). So I bought a Haynes manual and proceded to give it my first oil change.

The directions, which unfortunately I followed to the letter.
1. Warm engine to operating temp.
2. Remove drain plug and oil filter.
3. Wait until oil stops draining into pan.
4. Install drain plug and filter.

Remember, I knew NOTHING about cars..What step is missing?
Turn off the engine. I changed the oil while it was running. Waited a half-hour until ALL the oil drained out, then put the new filter and plug on.

This 318 then made it cross country, loaded down to the axles, without a problem. Then another 1000 miles to AZ in the middle of August, no problem. Since then, I have been a huge fan of the 318, and sold on its durability.
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Old 08-28-2001, 04:18 PM
jcarter64 jcarter64 is offline
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I guy at work ran his 318 half ton out of oil. He bought it second hand from a widower and did absolutely no maintenance at all on it, nothing other than adding gas when it needed it. He phoned one morning at 7:45 and said his truck died at a corner one block from his house and said he will be late for work. When we went back to take a look that evening after work sure enough you couldn’t get it to crank over. I checked the battery and it was fine so I naturally assumed it must be the starter. I jumped the wires to the starter with jumper cables and you could hear the bendix gear jump out and the starter try to move but couldn’t. I scratched my head for a minute and then tried turning the motor over by hand and there was no way. I checked the oil and there was nothing on the stick. He had completely seized the motor. I remember my grandfather telling me that sometimes if you pull the spark plugs and give them a healthy quirt of oil and then slowly rock the crankshaft back and forth to try and free it up it will work if it is a fairly worn in motor. So we pulled all the plugs and I got my socket set out of the trunk and filed it with oil and then squirted each cylinder with oil and proceeded to move it back and forth and sure enough it loosened up again. I put the plugs back in reattached the plug wires and tried it. Talk about a blue cloud out the back but it was running again. No knocks or anything. That was 4 years ago and he still is driving it everyday but now he at least takes it for maintenance at a shop. Unbelievably strong 31
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