1989 SHELBY Dodge Dakota #1 of 1475 - Driven by Carroll / Displayed in Museum

Description for Dodge Dakota 1989

Offered for sale is a piece of history:
- 1989 Shelby Dodge Dakota #1 of 1,475 (the first one built)
- Driven by Carroll Shelby
- Owned by Shelby American, Inc. and used by Carroll and Shelby employees
- Was on display at the Shelby Heritage Center until 2016
This truck was originally sold to a retail customer and later purchased by Carroll Shelby to be used as a personal vehicle and a shop truck for Shelby American. This truck was driven and used by Carroll himself and his employees for years. It comes with documentation showing ownership by Shelby American and also comes with an Arizona speeding ticket (see pictures) issued while being driven by Carroll Shelby's friend and CEO, Donald Rager. After many years of use by Carroll and Shelby American, the truck was retired and put on display in the Shelby Heritage Center. The truck was sold by the Shelby Heritage Center in 2016.

This truck was used as a work vehicle by Carroll Shelby and Shelby American, Inc. It is in unrestored condition. There is chipped paint, faded decals, disconnected heater core, AC does not work, and it needs a tune-up. It does run, drive and stop. The interior is in excellent condition. It is being sold as-is.

Excerpts from a Hemmings article:

"The starting point for the Dodge Dakota Shelby was the regular-cab, two-wheel-drive, short-wheelbase Dodge Dakota Sport, which already came with a heavy-duty suspension and sport-tuned shocks. The truck's 3.9-liter V-6 was pulled, replaced by the same fuel-injected 5.2-liter (318-cu.in) V-8 used by the brand in its full-size pickups. To handle shifting duties, an A500 four-speed automatic with a locking torque converter was the only available transmission, and a SureGrip limited-slip differential ensured that burnouts were punctuated with dual lines, not just one.

Fitting a V-8 into an engine bay designed to accommodate four- and six-cylinder engines turned out to be more of a challenge than first anticipated. With the conventional belt-driven fan in place, the larger engine lacked sufficient room to clear the radiator; the simple solution was to delete this fan and use an electric-powered pusher fan in front of the radiator to aid in cooling. An added bonus was a bump in horsepower, as the engine reportedly gained five horsepower by swapping the mechanically powered fan for an electric version.

That brought the Shelby's output up to 175 horsepower at 4,000 RPM and 270 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 RPM. Redline was a very un-sports-car-like 4,750 RPM, but the Shelby (like most pickups) was more about low-end torque than top end. Though the numbers may sound modest today, the Shelby Dakota was capable of dashing from 0-60 MPH in around 8.5 seconds and delivering the quarter-mile in 16.5 seconds at a trap speed of 82 MPH. For a 3,610 pound pickup truck in 1989, those were impressive numbers.

Though the suspension carried over from the Dakota Sport, the Shelby version did get hollow five-spoke 15-inch wheels fitted with 225/70HR15 Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires, which would have upped the trucks entertainment value in the corners as well. It also debuted a rear-wheel anti-lock brake system that utilized a speed sensor, control module and a pressure-limiting valve to prohibit lockups.
Outside, the $15,813 Shelby Dakota models wore only white or red paint and came striped with a unique Shelby fade graphic. Wings (similar to those found on the recently discontinued Chevrolet Avalanche pickup) stretched from cab to bed, though Shelby described this bit of fiberglass trim as a "light bar." Up front, the grille wore a Shelby badge, while a blacked-out air dam (beneath the black bumper) carried a pair of supplemental driving lights.

Inside, Shelby Dakota models received a leather-wrapped steering wheel with a Shelby logo; a bench seat and door panels with unique Shelby charcoal fabric; an instrument panel with a tachometer and a serial number plaque identifying the truck as one of just 1,500 built. Indicative of the truck's straight-line-speed primary mission, the seats offered absolutely no bolstering to keep driver and passenger in place when the road got twisty, although a center armrest and would prevent unintended contact between driver and passenger.

In total, Shelby American produced 860 red and 640 white Shelby Dakota pickups at its facility in Whittier, California. The truck also marked a bit of a turning point for both Shelby and the domestic auto industry: In addition to representing the first rear-drive vehicle constructed by Shelby in two decades, it set the stage for muscle pickup introductions from other automakers in the coming years. The following year, Chevrolet rolled out its C-series-based 454 SS; in 1991, GMC launched its Sonoma-based all-wheel-drive and turbocharged Syclone; and Ford would follow with its own F-150-based Lightning in 1993. Clearly, the muscle truck was a fad that had staying power."