T-Dodge Pickups 1961 to Now

Dodge started producing pickups in 1921. But the trucks that everyone knows from Dodge are the trucks from the mid 60’s to early 70’s to now. There are two series that are included in this. The first is the “D-series” that was produced from 1961 to 1993 and the “Ram series” that started production in 1994 and is still being produced. The “D-Series” was bigger than the previous Dodge trucks. Towards the end of the “D-Series”, they were starting to be called “Rams”. At first these trucks had 2 inline 6 engines. One was a 170 cubic inch engine that produced 101 horsepower. These engines were only put in Dodge’s light duty trucks (D-100). The other engine was a 225 cubic inch engine that produced 140 horsepower. These were put in Dodge’s heavier duty trucks up to the full ton trucks. In 1964 Dodge started to come out with a sports version. These trucks had a bigger 426 engine. These engines produced 365 horsepower and 470 ft. lb. of torque. In 1965 they had a standard six cylinder 225 engine and two options of a v8 318 and a v8 361. In 1967 a 383 v8 became an option. It made 258 horsepower and 375 ft. lb. of torque. In 1972, a 400 v8 was produced with 200 horsepower. A 360 v8 was also produced with 180 horsepower. In 1978 the D-150 (half ton) and D-250 (3/4 ton) were offered. These trucks were offered with a Mitsubishi brand no-turbo diesel engine. The highlight of Dodge’s pickup history was the introduction of the Cummins turbodiesel engine in 1989. These engines were originally put inn big rigs and farm tractors. The Cummins engine was more advanced than GM’s or Ford’s Diesel engines. The Cummins had a turbo, which helped produced more power. It also had direct injection. This means that the fuel was put directly into the engine. This created better fuel efficiency and had lower emissions. The first generation Cummins that was put in Dodge’s pickups were a straight six cylinder 5.9 liter engine with 12 valves. These engines produced 400 ft. lb. of torque. They were put in Dodge’s ¾ ton (D-250) trucks and full ton (D-350) trucks. The last of the “D-Series” was made in 1993. In 1994, Dodge introduced the new “Ram Series”. In the “Ram Series” the trucks were labeled with a 1500, 2500, and 3500. These trucks had a 5.9 liter gas v8 option and the Cummins as an option. The v8 5.9 liter gas option was later switched for a modern v8 Hemi. The Cummins engine has stayed constant from 1989 until now. There were few modifications to it. The new Cummins and the new Hemi v8’s are very modernized from what these pickups had.