The Rules Have Changed... 20 Years Ago! 1994-2001 Dodge Ram

[bear]

This was my 95 named "Night Mare" . Back when I was doing this truck no one had a 3" spring lift for these trucks and I was going for a lifted truck without it looking like it was lifted . Basically I wanted it to sit like I think it should have sat factory . I ended up working with SkyJacker and we created the custom lift . Now they sell this as a kit .

 

[Black Dodge]

Nice!!! You definitely nailed the stance of it! Pretty cool to see the truck that helped bring a Skyjacker 2nd Gen lift to market! What happened to it? Did you trade it on your 97? How about some pics of your 97?

 

[kork340]

Bear, I really like the black Ram. The white one is nice too. Post some pics up. I'm still looking for a truck. This thread has me thinking of another 2nd Gen. I had a 96 reg cab short box SLT 5.2 5spd. Loved it. Totaled it in 2001, ice is baaad news. And only pic I have of it is with my boy in front for his kindergarden grad pic haha, can't really see it just him.

 

[bear]

Thanks guy's , These are really the only two good pictures I have of the 97 right now . The second one is right after I painted and put on the cowl hood and the first one is after I mounted my KC's on the roll bar with my new wheels . This one is called "The White Beast" . It's running a 5.9 gas motor , K&N fresh air set up , rebuilt automatic with all heavy duty internals , Magna flow cat back exhaust with a free flow cat , 5" SkyJacker lift with 35" tires . For now as far as the tires go , I'm running A/T's but I'm going back to 35"mudders in the future . With this truck I'm going more of a clean off road look that I think Mopar "should" have offered . But with me I can't just have the look , it has to perform like it look's . So everything I do to it has to work and have a purpose . When I'm done with it , it should have the look I'm going for . At least twice the power and torque it had stock and get around 15 to 20 miles to the gallon ...... Kind of a funny story on how I got this truck and what happened to the 95 . Well maybe not so funny for me at least but it ended well ( I think ? lol ) . I loaned out the 95 to someone one day and when I got home I found out that they had blown the motor . Was "not" happy ! Me being me can't just replace the 5.2 for another 5.2 and I couldn't afford to by a stroker motor for it ( which is what I really wanted ) or even a rebuilt 5.9 . So I was on the hunt for a good used , low millage 5.9 to swap out the 5.2 for . Now when I normally look for a used motor I try and find a running parts truck so I can hear it run and see what it has for real miles on it and not just go by what someone is telling me . After searching for a while I found a guy that had a 97 Sport for sale with a new rear end and a blown transmission and he wanted $2800 for it . I know that's a little pricey for what's going to be a parts truck . But something told me to give him a call anyways , so I did . I asked him a bunch of questions and he told me that he just wants to get it out of there so the price has dropped to $1800 . So me and my wife go down to look at it . When we get there we find this white Sport covered in heavy mud sitting in the dirt beside his house . When I say "covered" in mud I mean that the mud line was up to the door handles and caked on there . He explains to me that he had just had the rear end replaced and then about a week after that he had blown the transmission and then had that replaced . But the day he had that replaced he had just picked it up when a friend of his had come by with his lifted Dakota and said " I just found this wicked mud whole in the woods lets go !" So the fool did ! Well the guy told me he drove the truck into the mud and when he got to about the middle spot he realized that the mud was deeper then he thought ( almost up to his windows ) so he stops right in the middle . Puts it in reverse and then attempts to back out . Notice I said "attempts" . He got almost all the way out when he looses reverse . So he puts it in drive and he was able to get out of the mud and on the trail out of there . That is until he looses drive . So here I am listening to this story and checking out the truck . Of course wants again my wife likes it . She did the same thing to me when I went to buy the 95 . lol There was so much mud on this truck that I couldn't tell what the body looked like or anything and the motor sounded strong . But $1800 was still way to high for a parts truck . What was strange to me was when the truck was cold I could get it to go into gear but if it ran for a lil bit it wouldn't move . Hmmmm , I said to my self . After going back and forth with this guy pointing everything out to him he said "OK $1000 is as low as I'll go" "NO" lower" ! Well after paying him $800 for it , I had it towed home . When I got it home I was curious so I washed it down . I had a mud outline in my driveway after that for months . lol What I found was a "very" solid body . I said to myself "Wow" this is cleaner then my 95 ! Now the transmission issue still bugged me and I knew that the rebuilt transmission out of my 95 was the wrong one for the 97 . But why could I get the 97 to move when it was cold but not when it was warmed up ? This transmission can't be totally blown . It has to be clogged up some how . I drop the pan and find out that when they had put in the transmission they used a used one and it still had the factory filter in it . The shop that did the work didn't even bother doing a service to it when they installed it . I also found some sand on the bottom of the pan . So I serviced it with a new filter , fluid , and adjusted the bands . I start it up and now I have all the gears both forward and back . I run it for a day and then gave it another service and I drove it for another few year until I put the rebuilt transmission in it that it has now . After I had decided to just keep the Sport I decided to take any of the new and better stuff off the 95 and swap it with the 97 . I then sold the 95 ( with the blown motor ) to someone that said that they really wanted it and that they were going to put a 5.9 with a stick in it . I don't know if he ever did but he did work on it for about six months until one day it was gone . I know he sold it to someone else running so I assume he did the swap . I "think" it's still around this area somewhere because a few months ago I was going down the road and I saw it in a gas station and there was a kid putting gas into it . They were all smiles and giving me the thumbs up as I went by . It was covered in mud . lol By the time I turned around they were gone . Well this story got a little long ( sorry about that ) But I think I covered everything ! lol

 

[Black Dodge]

Great story bear!!! That's what this thread is all about!!! When you get more pics of The White Beast... post them too! Sounds like you married the right one as she has great taste in trucks!!!

 

[Black Dodge]

Bear, I really like the black Ram. The white one is nice too. Post some pics up. I'm still looking for a truck. This thread has me thinking of another 2nd Gen. I had a 96 reg cab short box SLT 5.2 5spd. Loved it. Totaled it in 2001, ice is baaad news. And only pic I have of it is with my boy in front for his kindergarden grad pic haha, can't really see it just him.

Post some pics of your 96 if you have any!

 

[j-miller]

Nice '01 Sport! Is it a 6-speed truck? That's one of my favorite trucks in the 2nd Gens! I think it was around 2000 when the HD Rams came standard with four wheel disc brakes. When Dodge did that the overall width of the axles was slightly wider than the previous drum / disc setup. So they also changed the back spacing on the new rims... I just think that gave them a better looking stance! My Dad had an 06 Cummins and they make awesome power stock! Sweet Demon by the way! I've seen you on a few post over at A Bodies Only... I'm FJ5 Duster over there. My next project is my 70 Duster but after that I'm thinking about a 12-valve swap for my Black Dodge.

Yes my '01 is a 6 speed and factory rear drum brakes yet as my truck was built sometime in 2000.

 

[kork340]

Here's the only pic I have of the 96. Mike wanted his kindergarden grad picture taken with it.

 

[kork340]

Great story Bear! I really like both your 95 and 97, but then again I dig all your trucks lol!

 

[Black Dodge]

kork340 thanks for the pic of your 96! Now it can live on in this thread anyway. So is Mike still a Dodge truck fan after all these years? Yea bear does have some pretty cool Mopars!

 

[bear]

Great story bear!!! That's what this thread is all about!!! When you get more pics of The White Beast... post them too! Sounds like you married the right one as she has great taste in trucks!!!

Thanks again guy's but I just wanted to reply back to your post , say thanks and answer your question's . I didn't expect it to turn out looking like I was writing a full blown novel or something . lol As far as your comment about my wife ? After almost 30 years , she reminds me of that "all" the time ! lol Seriously though your right , she's "all" Mopar and even helps me with the builds and has more mechanical knowledge then a lot of mechanics I know . And at the track has the quickest reaction time I've ever seen . I think I'll keep her . lol

 

[bear]

Here's the only pic I have of the 96. Mike wanted his kindergarden grad picture taken with it.
View attachment 3476

Cool ! Do you hold this picture over him and threaten to show it to his friends now that he's older ? lol

 

[kork340]

Black Dodge Mike still loves Mopars. He had a 96 Dakota but let it go when he got stationed at Lejeune. He's got a 67 Barracuda fb in garage waiting on his return to finish it. Currently he daily drives a 14 Dart GT down there. I'm sure he will be getting another Dodge truck when he returns to Pa. for good.
Bear, that's not even close to the most embarrassing pic of him haha. But he's a pretty cool kid, doesn't let much get to him.

 

[stansgray03]

Great thread Black Dodge, I too remember when this body style came out and people either loved it or hated it. I was driving a 90 3/4 ton two tone blue with a 360 auto at the time. A fellow worker bought one of the first gen diesels and I think even still has it.

About that time my job changed and I started driving company trucks. Wouldn't you know it I had a white Bronco just like OJ's when he did is little get away drive, got lots of ribbing about that. Had two F150's after that but am back to my mopar roots with a 03 1500 hemi.

 

[Black Dodge]

Yes my '01 is a 6 speed and factory rear drum brakes yet as my truck was built sometime in 2000.

Wow awesome truck!!! Wonder what the build date was... it must be one of the later ones built with rear drums. I ordered my 2001 V10 in January of 2001 and took delivery of it in May. It came with the standard four wheel ABS disc brakes. So they must have added that later in the production run of the 01s.

 

[Black Dodge]

Great thread Black Dodge, I too remember when this body style came out and people either loved it or hated it. I was driving a 90 3/4 ton two tone blue with a 360 auto at the time. A fellow worker bought one of the first gen diesels and I think even still has it.

About that time my job changed and I started driving company trucks. Wouldn't you know it I had a white Bronco just like OJ's when he did is little get away drive, got lots of ribbing about that. Had two F150's after that but am back to my mopar roots with a 03 1500 hemi.

Welcome back to Mopar! Lol! that's pretty awesome having an OJ Bronco! I come from a Chrysler family and love all things Mopar! The 2nd Gen Rams just happens to be my favorite generation of Dodge trucks. I had an original 1978 440 Power Wagon that was a lot of fun! Then I had a 82 Prospector with a built small block... it was a pretty sharp truck. I have always loved the look of the 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4 1st Gen Rams!

 

[Black Dodge]

This was the truck that started my love of 2nd Gens! My Dad bought it new in September of 1993. I've been trying to find another picture of it that I know I have somewhere... lol but this Hooters edition will have to work for now! This picture was taken sometime in 1995 at our local Mopar club car cruise. My 71 Challenger would have been there too...

 

[Black Dodge]

I was 15 when the all new 1994 models hit the showrooms in 93. My Dad bought one of the first ones available in our area. He drove by the John Wallace Dodge in Overland Park Kansas every day to and from work. On his way home one afternoon in late September 1993... They had some of the new Rams parked out on the lot. He didn't notice them on his way to work in the morning so they just parked them out front that day. Anyway he turned around and drove into the dealership for a closer look.

Long story short he bought one that night! It came down to two trucks. A dark green regular cab 1/2 ton V8 auto SLT and a red regular cab 1/2 ton V6 5-speed SLT. He bought the red V6 pictured above! I remember having people come up and complementing my dad about it all the time... the first few months he had it before they became more common place. I was just disappointed that it had a V6 and not a V8! But that is the truck I learned how to drive a manual in. It was a good truck then he traded it in for a real six cylinder 5-speed... Cummins pictured below. He ordered it in the spring of 99 and took delivery sometime that summer. It was a fun truck! I wish he kept this one but it was later traded in for a 2005 Cummins Dodge...

 

[Black Dodge]

This is the one that got away from me! This Dodge Ram was my first brand new car of any sort! I placed the order for it in January of 2001 at the age of 23 and took delivery of it in May. Lol between the Twister movie truck and my dads two 2nd Gens... it was going to be red! I ordered it with the V10 5-speed, 4.10 gears with posi. All manual trans 4x4 Cummins & V10 trucks came standard with the bigger Dana 80 rear axle vs. the Dana 70 for automatic trucks. I also ordered the camper special package for the overload springs and sway bar along with the tow package for hauling my Mopar muscle cars. The V10s came standard with the HD cooling package and block heater. It was ordered in the SLT trim with an optional sliding rear window. I added a K&N air filter and completed the factory dual exhaust from the cats back with turbo mufflers. I didn't want to delete the cats like I did on the Black Dodge... worried at the time about voiding the warranty.

I just wish I had taken a picture of it at the dealership when I picked it up! The picture of it from the back in the driveway was literally day two when I had it home. The Line-X bed liner is not in it yet! This truck was just awesome!!! I really enjoyed everyday that I had it! I remember hanging out talking with some friends one night in a parking lot shortly after I bought it. Being a kid I had to show off when I left... I revved it up and dumped the clutch in 2nd just smoking the stock Michelins tires for a good 20-30 feet!!! It left two nice dark posi tracks all the way!!!

Then I raced it one morning going to work probably a year or two later. One of my coworkers bought a 2002 3/4 ton 4x4 Ford Powerstroke diesel. He put an intake and exhaust on it with an early programmer. Anyway he talked and talked how much badder his Ford was than my Dodge. He said the V10s were junk and I should have ordered a Cummins... yet his Ford would eat Cummins trucks too.

He rolled up beside me on the way to work. I let him make the first move and he did. I just down shifted to fourth and was already passing him before I hit fifth and then continued to leave him. I let back out of it around 110! Then he rolled up again with the same result! Lol he was so pissed he tried it again at the stop light! I thought he had me this time because his truck was an automatic and the NV4500 in my tuck was like shifting a semi! He pulled me off the line and as soon as I was in third I started to come right back passing him going into forth. Just like on the highway it was all over for him then!!! When we got to work I kept my cool and just calmly told him that those Dodge V10s run pretty good don't they. He agreed still pissed from the but kicking lol!

I ended up trading it in for a very nice one owner 1999 Dodge Cummins one ton dually 5-speed quad cab. I had a son on the way and needed the extra cab room and figured this would be a good time to go with the mighty Cummins! The V10 had around 42,000 miles on it when I traded it for the Cummins in 2005. Unfortunately over the years the folder containing all of my paperwork on the V10 was lost. I really wanted to find this truck and buy it back before I purchased my Black Dodge from my step dad. With privacy laws today the DMV is no help. I tried contacting the dealer that I bought it from and they didn't keep records that far back. I tried contacted my insurance company and received the same answer! heck I even tried to contact Dodge customer service and they could not help me without the VIN... LOL that's what I need is the VIN to track it down!

 

[bear]

Cool stories "Black Dodge" Now I can understand why you love this gen truck so much . I really like the one were you put your buddy in the ford in his place ! lol