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Cars in Taylor Swift Music VideosShelby’s First Truck: 1989 Shelby Dakota
Carroll Shelby is known for some iconic performance cars, but do you know his first truck? Check out this 1989 Shelby Dakota.Lee Iacocca Brings Shelby to Dodge
Carroll Shelby was a prolific racer who managed to get in the door with Ford after finding success with their V8s in his modified AC Cobras. This business relationship led to Shelby working on the legendary, Le Mans winning Ford GT40 and then performance variants of their iconic pony car – the Mustang. Through the success of the GT350 and GT500, Shelby and Ford became synonymous with one another. That partnership continues today at Ford, but there was a decade when Shelby turned towards Ford’s competition.
Lee Iacocca is a huge part of automotive history and a major contributor to the development of the Ford Mustang among other successful Ford models of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Iacocca left Ford to join Chrysler where he helped in the creation of the Chrysler K cars and the minivan. Iacocca had become friends with Shelby during their Ford years, so he enlisted Shelby to help in creating exciting variants of Dodge products.
The Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S, Shelby Charger, Omni GLH, Omni GLH-S, Shelby Lancer, Shelby CSX, and Shelby CSX-VNT were all limited performance models of Dodge production cars modified with the help of Carroll Shelby in the ‘80s. Each of these carried different firsts for Shelby. His first non-Ford production car partnership, first front-wheel-drive car, first hatchback, and first turbocharged car.
However, we’re interested in one of the last vehicles Carroll Shelby produced in association with Chrysler. One of his final firsts. Shelby’s first performance pickup truck – the 1989 Shelby Dakota.
1989 Shelby Dakota
Before there was the Shelby F-150 Super Snake Sport, Shelby’s name was attached to another performance pickup truck. Not only was this truck a first for the automotive legend himself, but this effort was the first example of a V8 engine being put into a mid-sized pickup truck. It’s creation kicked off a trend of other performance pickup trucks being produced in the following years. The GMC Syclone, Chevrolet 454 SS, and the Ford F-150 Lightning all came about after Shelby’s pickup truck creation.
Shelby took Chrysler’s relatively new mid-sized pickup, the Dodge Dakota, and modified it to be one of the quickest trucks in the late ‘80s. He took the shortest configuration available for the small Dodge truck, lowered suspension slightly, and swapped out its 125-horsepower 3.9L V6 for a more powerful, fuel injected 5.2L V8. To fit the larger engine under the hood, electric fans had to be installed in place of the stock engine-driven one.
This change not only helped get the V8 into the Dakota but added five more horsepower to produce a total of 175 horsepower. While the transmission option for this truck was limited to an automatic four-speed unit, it was directed towards a limited slip differential in the rear. With the larger powerplant shoved into this small truck it was capable of pulling off a 0 to 60 mph time of 8.5 seconds.
That’s not where Shelby stopped though. These Dodge Dakotas were also given some added style inside and out. Traditionally chrome trim pieces were swapped with blacked out replacements. The front end featured a Shelby badge in the grille and an added front air dam with integrated fog lights. Fender flares were added over the wheelarches, and the wheels were swapped for specialized Shelby five-spokes. Adding to the sporty nature of this truck, a specialized sports bar was installed behind the cab that paired nicely with the Shelby branded exterior graphics.
Inside, Shelby branding can be seen throughout the interior. The interior was completely red across the dash, along the door cards, for the seat upholstery, and even for the carpet. The bench seating and the door cards in particular featured a two-tone design featuring a grey Shelby branded pattern. The steering wheel was also replaced by a Shelby produced one. Only 1500 of these Shelby Dakota trucks were produced in 1989. Each of them featured a numbered plaque on the passenger side of the dash.
This Shelby Dakota for Sale on Carsforsale.com
Of the 1500 Shelby Dakota trucks produced, 860 were red and 540 were white. That makes this listing found on Carsforsale.com just a little more special given its limited number. This California owned example is for sale at $24,900 and with 124,200 miles on the odometer. While the mileage suggests otherwise, it looks virtually untouched by time. There’s no visible rust (crazy to say about an old Dodge truck am I right?) and the only real wear is seen along the steering column or the sun faded lap belts. Given this truck’s exceptional appearance and added rarity, this may be the best chance at owning a piece of Shelby history.
