1978 Mitsubishi diesel dodge

[ironbarr]

I was looking at craigslist and found this truck listed 10 miles from me.http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/2529678288.html he told me that it is a factory option in 78 and it is very rare. Is this true and is it worth that kind of money. I was thinking about going over and looking at it but I don't have 5500.00 to spend on it. what do you guys think.

[peobryant]

Yes the Mitsubishi diesel engines used to be an option for Dodge trucks, and while they are pretty rare there is no way in hell I'd spend anywhere close to what he is asking for one. Sure it'd be a cool truck to have but for $5500 you could have a nice 1st Gen with a way better engine. From what I've read the Mitsubishi Diesels were pretty reliable but are absolutely gutless and I'm sure parts would be fairly hard to come by. I'd buy one if it had a $1000 or less price tag, but it'd have to be almost cherry for me to pay more than that.

I'd still drive down there and ask to drive it around just for the hell of it. It would be pretty cool to drive one of those.

[ironbarr]

thats cool I didn't know dodge put Mitsubishi diesels in back then. I was thinking the same thing you are, not worth 5500 but it would be fun to look at and drive once. thanks for the info.

[The_Head]

A neighbor of mine had one of these. He said it got like 50 mpg, but it was dog slow.

[RumbleFish]

Would it be cool to have? Sure! Would it be cool to drive? Probably not...
I'm thinking it would be tough to win a stop light drag against an old lady in a e-z shopper. $5500? Maybe $1500 if it's nice.

[BobS]

I think they might be rare because as I recall dealers had a tough time selling them back then. Notice the modified front bumper that somebody kinked then pushed back probably using the right size available tree:


Also, notice the gap between the cab and the bed that usually starts to happen at around 150,000 miles when the cab cushions fail and let the bolts mill their way out of the frame brackets. More of the results of odometers that only had 5 digits for miles:


To me that truck would have to be in almost brand new condition with next to no miles to be worth anywhere near that asking price. Locally it would fetch $750 - $1000 primarily because of the unwanted model diesel engine. It would actually be worth more locally with a slant 6 or V8 engine...

[1stgenblowingsmoke]

I've got a buddy who's dad has one of those in it.

[cmann250]

Here's one too. This price seems a little closer to home $1000

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/2515981821.html

[Richie O]

Here's one too. This price seems a little closer to home $1000

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/2515981821.html

WOW, Philip will be all over that. That would be an increase in power for him.

[kensmachine]

back when those trucks came out one of the N/W zone Dodge truck rep's put a turbo on his. he told me they where a real dog and the turbo helped big time. Ken

[Starchief_59]

Those pictures are super old. I got those same pictures off ebay back in 2007. I still have them on my computer. I don't recall what it sold for but I have a huge collection of Power Wagon pictures and I remember that one because it was a diesel.

The interior pic made it appear to be pretty nice and it even sported a factory tach. I would go look at it just to see it but it's definitely not worth that much. I've been following Power Wagons on ebay and craigslist and forums for years and I've only seen maybe one or two other diesels.