A battered dark blue Dodge RAM 350 Wagon, seen in China’s Hebei Province in the winter of 2019. The Dodge was in a pretty sad shape and seemingly abandoned, but not totally dead yet, with a bit of work it might ride the roads again.
The Dodge RAM 350 was parked next to a Mercedes-Benz TN 410 minibus.
The B-Series Dodge RAM van was produced for a very long time, starting in 1971 and ending in 2003. Our blue car is a second generation example, made from 1979 until 1983. There were dozens of variants of the sec-gen RAM, for carrying freight and passengers. This one is a 350 Wagon, an long-wheelbase variant that could seat up to 14 passengers. It was 5.6 meters long and had a 3.2 meter wheelbase.
The Ram 350 was the heaviest of the second generation Ram, rated at a one-ton load capacity. The others were the Ram 150 with half a ton and the Ram 250 with three quarters of a ton. There were various engines available over the many years of production. The strongest was a monster 7.2 liter V8 with 195hp. Sadly I didn’t see any engine badge on this car so I can’t say for sure what’s under the bonnet.
The dash was dusty but intact, with the original radio-cassette player still in place. Leather seat is original too.
The second generation Dodge RAM van/wagon was not officially sold in China, but there was some semi-official trade were the Chinese government bought them in batches, selling them on to various government organizations and state-owned companies. The lack of parts and proper service meant they were hard to maintain, so many have been scrapped.
The grille was a beauty, with relatively small headlights and a heavy-set bumper. Beautiful car, hopefully somebody brings it back alive. But probably not.
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