A mid-life career change means I need to part ways with some of my projects. Up for auction here is my 1989 Dodge Raider. If you have been looking for a Raider or short wheel base Montero, you will be hard-pressed to find one nicer than this. In its 28 years, it has been driven only 162,200 miles; less than 6,000 miles a year on average. It is the most desirable combination: the short wheel base with the three liter V6 and 5 speed manual transmission. Although it is titled as a Dodge, it has accumulated some Mitsubishi emblems as well as some euro-spec turn signals that more closely resemble its Pajero heritage.
Extensive maintenance has been performed very recently. At 154,643 miles it received a new clutch including flywheel, new brake master cylinder, and a front and rear brake job including new rear wheel cylinders. Transmission oil was changed and a new front brake hose installed at 157,442. At 161,279 it received a new distributor cap and rotor. At 161,387 miles I personally performed the following: new spark plugs, new Gates timing belt, tensioner, camshaft seals, front crankshaft seal, water pump, water pump rear housing, all new gates fan/accessory belts, installed remanufactured cylinder heads on both sides, including new graphite head gaskets, new Gates upper and lower radiator hoses, new water pump inlet. I replaced the head gaskets due to white smoke in the exhaust and overheating. Engine now runs as-new, cool and smoke-free and passed California smog check with flying colors on July 12. I replaced both front shock absorbers less than 100 miles ago with brand new Bilstein units. Rear shocks are older Rancho units in working order.
The interior is immaculate. It was very tastefully reupholstered less than 1000 miles ago. All seats were reupholstered, as were all side-panels, in a style and fabric appropriate to a 1989 vehicle. All carpets were replaced, and carpet snaps in matching gray were utilized where appropriate. Every switch and light functions. The air conditioning blows ice-cold, the heater is lava-hot, and the blower works on all speed settings. Inclinometer retains its original fluid. The radio is a factory unit. The original jack kit is included, and the jack works flawlessly with no oil leaks.
The exterior is in good condition, nice but not perfect. The car has never been in an accident. There are small dings here and there, as should be expected for a 28-year-old car with 162,200 miles. The most noticeable imperfection is in the center of the hood, and appears to be a ding from gravel. The paint is fair. The base coat is in good shape, with minimal fading and just a few small areas scratched through to primer. The clear coat is in need of attention. There are extensive tiny scratches and swirls that are visible in the right light, as if a previous owner didn't know how to wash a car and that dirt is abrasive. I have attempted to rub these scratches out in small areas with mixed results. With a good clay-barring and wax, the car could be very presentable; certainly nothing your date would scoff at. But understand this car has been washed hundreds of times, many times by an idiot, and the paint does not look babied by any stretch of the imagination. Expect a three-decade old factory original paint job. Expect random dings on every panel.
Included is a custom-built off-road bumper with room to accommodate your winch with your custom mounting plate. There are light tabs for your own lighting system. There is a quality roller fairlead installed that includes a license plate mounting system that is easily removable without tools.
Vehicle has spent its entire life in California, and is appropriately rust-free. There is an area in the engine compartment where the master brake cylinder leaked fluid and stripped the paint from the wheel well hump years ago, and there is some very light surface rust there. There is also some minimal surface rust at the base of the battery tray.
Steering is tight with no slop or drift. It tracks straight as an arrow.
A Cobra CB radio is included with the vehicle, but has not been installed. The power leads have been wired into the vehicle, and an antenna wire was wired into the center console area. The CB would best be mounted at the rear of the center console. You will need to provide your own antenna. I was planning on adding a roof rack and mounting the antenna there. There is about fifteen feet of antenna wire spooled and zip-tied under the car for future use.
As for negative issues, there are few, but I will list them here.
The car drips oil. My best guess is that the engine will need a rear seal, as the oil leakage appears to be limited to the back of the engine. It is by no means hemorrhaging oil, but it leaves drips in my driveway. It drips about a quarter-quart with each tank of gas. A new rear seal is included with the car, but you will need to do what I never got around to doing.
Ticking. The remanufactured cylinder heads sure like to tick. They sound a bit like a sewing machine. This is apparently all-too-common in these engines. The valves utilize hydraulic lash adjusters, which are automatic and never require manual adjustment. The trade-off is that with age they tend to get noisy. I have not had time to deal with this, and there are apparently some potential fixes for this issue. It does not seem to affect the performance of the car or its reliability.
The cassette deck does not work. The radio works fine and has great reception. Just don't get excited about playing those old tapes. I wired in an AUX input that uses the radio. The sound is weaker than I would prefer, and the power switch is behind the console. The front speakers are wired, but still need to be screwed into place using the factory mounting holes.
The tachometer is now working fine and has been for several hundred miles, but I cannot yet rate it as reliable. Let's just say it works intermittently. It was completely dead when I purchased the vehicle. I replaced every electrolytic capacitor in the rear of the tachometer, and its functionality was restored. However, there have been times it did not work until the car was driven for several miles. When that happened a slap above the tach would "wake it up." It has been working without any issues lately. Another used tachometer is included, for you to install should this unit act up again.
The tires will need attention. They all have plenty of tread, but they are also cracked from age. I recently had a blowout and replaced that tire with a brand new tire. They are 31 x 10.5. I got the new tire at Big-O, so you should be able to match the other three to the new one. I probably would feel okay driving this on a trip, since it has a functional 235/75/15 spare, but another blowout would not be a surprise. Probably better safe than sorry.
Rear seat belts were allegedly chewed up by a dog. Despite the new interior, the rear belts have been removed and have not been dealt with yet. All parts, including new webbing, are included. But you will need to have the webbing sewn by a belt shop before you can buckle in your friends.
Passenger side of windshield is scratched from a wiper blade that was apparently worn down to metal. It does not affect driver visibility.
Passenger side tail light lens is broken along the bottom edge. The car uses euro-spec lenses with amber turn signals. These lenses are available on ebay for 20 dollars.
Other than the above, this is a solid, nice-running survivor that turns heads. It is as comfortable on the trail as it is humming along at 75 on the freeway.
This is a no-reserve auction with a very reasonable starting bid of ninety-nine cents. I will work with your shipper. Feel free to arrange for a test drive if you're in the So-Cal neighborhood. Good luck!

On Aug-06-16 at 23:02:38 PDT, seller added the following information:

Correction: The broken tail light lens is on the driver's side. The passenger side is not damaged.