Minneapolis Street Sighting: Dodge D-100

My criteria for trucks is certainly different than it is cars; I tend to go after obscure makes, and generations of trucks. Every once in awhile, a mainstream truck does get my attention. Dodges (especially this generation) have been some of my favorites for quite a long time, although there is pretty much no proof on this blog to back up that claim. The reason for that? The survival rate is extremely thin here. Unlike the ability of Fords and GMs to stand up to harsh conditions, these trucks practically started rusting on the showroom floor. Even in dry states such as Idaho, finding a rust-free example is pretty much unheard of.
The D-Series had everything from bare-bones work trucks to full-fledged extended-cab (Club Cab in Dodge-speak) trailer-pulling monsters, and pretty much everything in between. One thing most of the D-Series models shared in common was a weak bed and rear frame. Over time, the rear part of the frame would give out, causing a staggered and uneven ride height; eventually, the cancer would make its way to the bed, and other portions of the body at unequal times, resulting in a very odd--and very unstable--looking pickup. And here are the results of said "frame-warping." It isn't pretty.








I first spotted this a few summers ago, but I just semi-recently was able to get some pictures of it. Even from afar, this ole boy looks too far gone to save--and it is. While it shows no real surface rust, the position of the bed-to-cab says otherwise. Even the godawful hand-made bumper lets other traffic know whats up--and what to stay far away from. With a truck like this, I doubt being involved in an accident is anywhere on the driver's "concern" list, but it probably should be. I don't doubt that this truck could fall apart at the jab of a finger, but I didn't dare try.
Stuff like this should be sent to U-Pull-It as soon as convenient; I'm no fan of mandatory vehicle inspections, but I damn sure don't want to be sharing the road with this rolling scrapheap. If anything, this Dodge has a select few good parts to be used in projects, but as far as I'm concerned, the rest is scrap. Junk it, and junk it pronto.