PWNY TRK

[Jeff]

I mentioned in the "wanted - diesel truck" thread that I had picked up a 3/4 ton Dodge, I figured I would post about it! Our "new" 1997 Ram 2500. It has the 5.9L gas engine with a 4-speed automatic and 4.10 gear Dana 60 axles. 110k on the clock, Sure Grip in the rear (in the trucks they call it Anti Spin I guess) and all the nice SLT stuff. Most importantly it already had my B&W convertible hitch ball. Even a brand new set of Michelin LT-X E-load tires.

Picked it up from a local guy in Mt. Jackson. He bought the truck from Hess Family Auto Center in Winchester with 11,000 miles on it in 1998. It originally came from Rick Hunt Dodge in Warrenton. Here are some pics from when I went to look at it the first time. He was asking $6,500.







The issues were few. It was solid and I knew I wanted it but there was no way I was giving him $6,500. By the time I left that day he was down to $5,500 but I was holding out for a killer deal. Needless to say when I went back a week later I got my killer deal and we brought the truck home. On the drive home I discovered that the cat was plugged up...so we got a new cat and fixed it correctly in accordance with the law. I set about fixing all the "issues" with the truck...

First, the very few mechanical issues. I got everything and did a tune up and checked all the fluids and changed the oil. And you know me, I had to address the fact that the air intake system on these trucks blows ballz.



Version 1.0 Short Ram


Version 2.0 CAI. Now all I need is a shield. Yes Justin, that is the filter from the first DSM.


Second was all the body stuff. I cleaned all the rust out of this large scratch on the front fender and filled it in with touch up paint.


Repainted the front step pad



Rear bumper was crooked. Took it loose and moved it up about an inch.


Silver stripe tape was looking shitty



Replaced it with gray stripe


Body side moldings in horrible shape with pealing chrome.



Fuck them!



Got the outside all polished up and waxed. Pics from yesterday morning!




To do list... (in no order)
Diamond Plate side steps and rear mud flaps
Diamond Plate tool box
Polish head lamps and fix front bug guards
Vent Visors
Repair driver's seat
Line-X or Herculiner
Aluminum Wheels (OEM type)
Install remote start/keyless
Install custom stereo
Performance Exhaust
Mopar ECU

[ScottyB]

....damn Jeff. cleaned up REAL nice. always thought those were the best looking rams. any plans to wheel it or just for towing/hauling stuff?

[JPolen01]

Don't know where you are located, but Dan was looking for a vehicle to do a headlight polish and write up fo free. Don't know if he still is, but thought I'd mention it.

[Jeff]

Tell him to hollar at me. I am in woodstock. Thanks Scott!

[CaptainHenreh]

Truck Looks great!

[BLINGMW]

...gas? :dunno:

Oh well, looks good

[Jake]

Wow, that cleaned up really, really nicely. Are you towing with the hitch or a fifth-wheel?

And I'm with Channing... how will this do for towing, being a (huge) gas motor? Guessing less torque and lesser MPG than a diesel but can still handle it just fine?

[Kaan]

See if you can spray the liner in at the garage... All the rolled herculiner I've seen looks terrible.

Nice pickup! Literally.

[JPolen01]

Nice pickup! Literally.

I see what you did there

[Goodspeed]

That truck is straight badass, but at the lack of dual stack prospects.

[Jeff]

I wanted a diesel but I could not find anything this nice that wasn't at least $8,000. The Cummins really jacks the price up. Most of the cheaper ones were rough and high miles. We will tow a gooseneck horse trailer with it. I have not hooked up yet but I would imagine it will do just fine. The mpg will not be as good but she will not be doing long hauls or towing more then a few times a month so I don't think we will make up the difference to a diesel in the gas bill for a long time. Plus it is much cheaper to fix if something does break than it would be on the diesel. If the right diesel came along I would sell it to upgrade but you won't find a running clean Cummins truck under 200k for the $ I spent on this.

[Jeff]

Oh and on the bedliner. The only spray kit we can get is from SEM and it is junk. At least it seems like from what I dews the herculiner hold up well. I can get line x for $460 over the rail.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice find and the truck cleaned up real nice!

[xvxax]

The cheaper cost of gas usually almost offsets the price of diesel unless the truck is really struggling.

Killer find, probably going to look for something similar this winter. Seems that maybe the economy has helped push the price of used diesels up a bit, seems like quality diesels are harder to find than they were 3 years ago. Love the boxy look of the late 90s trucks.

[D_Eclipse9916]

The cheaper cost of gas usually almost offsets the price of diesel unless the truck is really struggling.

Killer find, probably going to look for something similar this winter. Seems that maybe the economy has helped push the price of used diesels up a bit, seems like quality diesels are harder to find than they were 3 years ago. Love the boxy look of the late 90s trucks.

This, my 6.0 "gas guzzler" in the denali gets 11-12 usually (although I got a freakish 13-14mpg on the way to and from VIR two weeks ago). Most of my friends with diesels get maybe 13-14mpg with their diesels with an open trailer, most get 9-11 with their single enclosed.

Difference in gas over 120,000 miles (10 years at 12,000 miles) with the gas at 11mpg, the diesel at 13mpg and I took the "avg cost of regular gas" in the us to "avg cost of diesel gas" in the us. 3.47 vs 3.80.

Difference over 120,000 miles? $2700, we increase the diesel to 15mpg if you can beleive some of the "tuners" out there, and its still only $4200.....over 120,000 miles. Reduce that by the increased maintenance with a diesel (dont let anyone fool you, maintenance is more expensive for each part), and then the average cost of going to the "diesel" option. And your actually losing money doing the diesel. Now take back the residual value that diesels, and you get about broken even.

The diesel is "THE" option when towing much larger such as more than a single enclosed, but until then it is not worth it. I knew I never would even go overa single enclosed, and most likely would stay with the open. So id rather have all my luxury items for a daily, a la denali, then 99% of diesels until you get into the F350 Lariats and 2500 Sierra Denalis which are ~60k.

[Jeff]

That is pretty much the conclusion I came to DJ. The trailer I am towing should not weigh more then 7,000lbs so I am not to worried about how it will handle it. I have electric brakes so I think I can get her stopped. The only thing is the weight of the diesel in the front helps with steering. The gooseneck should help with that but it remains to be seen. I do know i will have less front end wear with the lighter gas engine.

[Ryan T]

Nice truck man, I love it! You shouldn't have any problems towing 7k with that 5.9 and a gooseneck. I've seen plenty of cattle trailers with gas engines and unless you're having to climb a mountain with it you should be fine. Along with electric brakes on the trailer and you'll be good. As much as I love diesels, I'm in the same boat as DJ, unless you plan on toting around 10k lbs or more or plan to tow with it every single day, gas engine is the way to go.

Also, to the bedliner, I didn't mind the Herculiner. My brother and I rolled a Herculiner into the bed of my moms old Silverado and it was really nice. Prep work makes ALL the difference on those. Clean it, sand it, clean it again and rub it down with a washcloth with rubbing alcohol before you roll it on. We cleaned and prepped and everything on saturday, let it dry all night and then rolled it on sunday and it help up surprisingly well. Only damage I was ever able to do was when the engine I bought from blare gouged down into it while we were loading it. It handled loads of mulch and gravel and moving furniture and stuff very well.

[Jeff]

Well, unfortunately I will have to go over one mountain to get the trailer to Woodstock but that will all come to pass this weekend. We are going down to Bedford to snag the trailer. But you guys know me....I can't leave anything alone until I am out of money or out of stuff to get! In the case of a rednecky truck I can always buy more and more tacky shit to put on it.

Of course I had to upgrade the stereo. It wouldn't be one of my vehicles if I didn't do something in that department. I left the back speakers alone but I put in some BADASS 6X9's in the front doors. Older Infinity 3-way's. We all love a good 3-way.




Speakers barely fit, the mag is like .25in away from the window glass.


This base line Alpine 100 stereo was in the truck. It has Aux, USB, and a set of pre-outs so all I would ever really need. I took it out and installed a better mounting kit and redid all the wiring that was a huge rig job.


Next on the list was some front tow hooks. These trucks were not OEM equipped with front hooks in this body style. There was a mopar kit that is still available but my cost was like $120...F-that shit. These are from a 90's Silverado HD


BAM! 2 Metric 10.9 bolts in each one right through the frame and bumper bracket. If you tare these out you really fucked some shit up.




The only set of vent visors I could find that included the rear pop-out windows. Have to look out for dat dog ®


Easy enough...or was it...I don't want to talk about it.




TOOL BOX! Paid $50 and half a box of .45 ACP for this old gem.


Finally I helped a friend put a set of these on his 2500 cummins a few years ago and always thought they looked pretty freakin tough. I hate diamond plate and only decided to go with them because it was an HD truck and it was two-tone. Its hard to make a truck look "right" if it has a two tone paint job. You sorta have to embrace the redneck of it all and go with it. Naturally more diamond plate was the answer.




Did I mention I got the matching mud flaps? F these old black rubber ones.






They really turned out good.


Trying them out. I can stand on them with 0 flex.


So that is all I have for now. Next of the list is lighting. I want to do cab clearance lights (sorta in the same vein as the diamond plate) and fog lamps. As well as install a set of hookup/backup lights I have. Let me know what you think!

[Kaan]

paint all your diamond plate black :-P

[Jeff]

paint all your diamond plate black :-P

YAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That is what I think about black diamond plate. I will say I would consider it on a white or dark gray diesel...with a big black pipe out the back.