The Dodge D-50 was a compact pickup truck that was produced from 1979-1991. They are a clone (licensed production) of the Mitsubishi pickup. The original model was made from 1979-1986, while the second version was produced from 1987 until 1991.

The first version was similar in appearance to the Datsun trucks of the late seventies, but the design was much more modern looking, and held its own right up until about the mid 90s (Someone thought mine was brand new back in 1995).

Features of the original D-50 Customizing your D-50 (Or more accurately, what I did to my D-50 the summer after high school)
  • The Engine from a Starion Turbo will bolt right in providing a large performance boost.
  • You can cut the front springs down for up to a 5 inch lowering job in front without large problems with negative camber.
  • The back can be lowered by a combination of lowering blocks, and pulling out one of the leaf springs.
  • This truck is very easy to make into a convertible. (Although no one makes a kit for this model). I had no trouble doing mine.
  • Bucket seats out of a Subaru XT will bolt in. (3 of the 4 mounting holes match up, you can safely ignore the 4th one).

The frames on these trucks are very strong, (for a mini), being fully boxed. Which allows for all sorts of customization.

One bad bad problem with these trucks is rust. The bodies just rust right off the frame, (which doesn't seem to have the rust problem). The doors, front fenders are lower sections of the cab tend to show the majority of the rust, but fortunately the bed doesn't seem to rust nearly as badly.

Overall they are a good truck and very fun to make into lowriders. They are so rare that people end up thinking you did a lot more work on them than you really did. Today you are going to have an almost impossible time finding one that isn't rusted out. I have been looking for a local one for over three years with no success.

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