Well guys… I’m posting the Dakota for sale, because I need to make room for the next build!
[These photos are older, but mostly accurate. Email me for newer ones.]
This is a 1992 Dodge Dakota, black 2WD with 318 V8 engine, automatic transmission. This truck was originally converted to woodgas by Wayne Keith himself, and is the actual truck shown in the book. I doubt any woodgas vehicle has had more photos taken during it’s lifetime, including construction, maintenance, demonstrations, a full video series, and various modifications and upgrades over the years. Talk about a service record!
See the main build thread here (Premium area):
http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/92-dakota-from-the-book/860/
The truck has 17,000 miles on woodgas, 111,000 miles total. Original engine and transmission. The firetube, hopper, and lower drum are original. Most of the other components have been replaced or upgraded.
This includes:
- New full width hopper lid
- New inner heat exchanger
- Slope floor dropbox
- Plastic hay filter
- Modular cooling rails
- main condensate tank
- underhood plumbing
- fully automatic gas mixer
- automatic inlet and blower valves
- Inverter & deep cycle battery onboard
- Shopvac for suction blower
- Pushbutton blower controls
- PWM (brake controller) on fuel pump
- Thermocouple on hopper
- Hopper low fuel alarm
- Thermocouple on grate
- Laser cut 3/16" SS grate
This truck is designed to be simple to operate on 100% woodgas. Equipped with an automatic mixer which meters the air fuel ratio, and automatic check valves to direct the air in and out of the gasifier. Here’s a cold startup video, no gasoline used:
Pricing: I’m asking $8,000. But here’s the deal… There is a short list of things that still need fixing to put this truck in tip-top shape, one of them being a new firetube (see below). I’m happy to do the work, but I’d rather let the next owner do it their way. So I’m offering a 25% off - Handyman Special! If you buy the truck before I sink time and money into fixing it up, you save $2,000 off the asking price. You then take the truck and fix it yourself, or drive it as is for awhile. Or, you can forego the discount and I’ll bring it up to brand-new specs.
Wait too long, and I’ll have to do the work anyway, so this is a limited time discount.
The fix-it list can be found here (Premium area):
http://forum.driveonwood.com/t/92-dakota-from-the-book/860/267
Firetube: The only major item on the list is the firetube. This firetube has been working perfectly for 17,000 miles, about half of those Wayne put on. I can see on close inspection that the firetube is slowly sagging inwards, a common problem on older trucks. It still has a few thousand miles left by my estimation, and is currently running great. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive it cross country right now. But this is an upcoming major maintenance item.
You’ll need to weld fins onto a new firetube, take the gasifier apart, and cut the old tube off of the housing and top plate, reweld, and put everything back together. I expect it would take me 4-5 days. I’m not keen on the extra work, and hence the big DIY discount.
Some may see this as an opportunity to try out a newer firetube design (ie reverse flow), which has been working great and should prevent future failures. Go for it! If I replace the tube, it’s getting a by-the-book standard WK firetube.
You can contact me via PM or email me at [email protected].
!!!
