Parts were better back then? They sure were.

Parts were definitely better back when.

My '75 D300 still has all of it's original parts, except for spark plugs, brake pads, brake lines and wheel cylinders. Yes, even the Ballast Resistor and Ignition Box are original.

My '48 Dodge has pretty much all of it's original parts too (except for the parts I removed to convert to 12 Volt). Water Pump, Fuel Pump, Carb, Distributor, Spark Plugs, Plug Wires, etc all original. Almost all of the parts can be torn apart and rebuilt too. The fuel pump, water pump, etc can all be torn apart and rebuilt on it, with simple hand tools. The water pump also has a Grease Fitting to keep the bearings lubricated.


My Dodge Dakota? Well, it went through 2 water pumps (in about 12,000 miles), 2 Serpentine Belts, 3 Master Cylinders (the first 2 were defective/junk, right out of the box), 1 Coil (the original e-core coil fell apart), Shocks...replaced the front shocks about every 7 months (have a pair of 30 year old Air Shocks on the rear, they still work perfectly), the list goes on.

Not to mention the 5.2L Magnum in the Dakota was gutless. My D300 Dumptruck (original 318 with a Carter 2BBL) got better MPG than my Dakota too. I was getting 9-11mpg in my Dakota, the D300 weighs twice what the Dakota does, doesn't have Overdrive and it managed to get 14-16mpg. I bought a Turbo Diesel engine for my Dakota and threw the 5.2L Magnum in the junk pile.