Hi All,

I am new to the forums here. I have been a fan of Ram trucks for a long time. My dad bought the family's first Ram back in 1996 with 4k miles on it, I was only 9 years old at the time. It was a 1996 Ram 2500 with the extended cab 4x4 with the V10. Someone in Pennsylvania got into an accident with it and caused major damage. The frame was bent, it tore the Dana 60 from axle practically off the truck (2 or 3 of the control arms were torn/bent) and split the axle clean in half, shattered the transfer case housing, plus a bunch of body damage. I do have some pictures of the truck shortly after we took delivery and I can try to post them at a later point. Well it took about 6 months of his hard work to put the truck back together. It looked like new and drove like it too. The truck was his baby up until a little over a year ago. I bought a house with a 300+ foot drive and needed something to plow with so he gave me Big Red and bought himself an '08 1500 with a Hemi.

Currently the truck is driven a lot and is still in good running shape with 155k, however, Big Red has some pretty advanced cancer. The picture below is shortly after I got it and you can see the rot around the rear wheels and a little under the doors. Well the underneath of the cab is pretty shot and the cab corners are now going too. The good news is that the frame is rusty but still very solid.

So here is my question, where can I pick up some good used body parts? My main concerns are cab and bed (8'). I would like to keep the truck red but I am not opposed to other color parts and painting them myself.

As far as the cab goes, can I take a newer cab that has the 4 doors and put that in place of my truck? What wiring would I need to change, especially since I have the V10? Would I need to swap out the dash parts as well? Or can the newer ones stay if I decided to get a newer cab?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

Cabs from 94 to 97 will be direct swaps. 98 and up the dash is different, and things also work differently. You might be able to swap your interior, dash included, to the newer cab, but, I am not 100% on that.

I think any second gen bed the right length will work just fine.(94 to 01)

Depending on where you are, there might be folks that bring up rust free arizona parts once in while, might explore around, and see if you can find someone, and if they don't have what you need, put in a request.

Given the amount of work that will need to be done to swap 'em, might wanna just chat with a body shop, and see what they would charge to fix it for you. Either way, you are looking at 4 figures to get it all done.

 

Not sure about your local, but Google Keystone Parts (we get doors, fenders etc.). We try and get white to cut down on painting cost (our painter). They have quad cabs, crew cab doors for SLT. My diesel is in need of right side suicide door having rust at the bottom. They also have hoods, tailgates............... you name it and ship. Nice old V10, looking for one now, thanks for showing. K.

 

HeyYou, thanks for the tips. I am fine with the cost because it is still cheaper than buying a 'new' truck. This truck has been in the family since almost new and I plan to keep it a while longer. The power plan and tranny are still strong in it so I cannot justify getting rid of the truck.

Tincan, thank you as well for the tip on where to look. I will be sure to check them out. I am looking to do the work in the spring/summer because I cannot afford to be down a plow truck right now. I shoveled my driveway once and that will definitely not happen again. The V10 is an excellent engine with plenty of HP and torque. I actually prefer it over my buddy's diesel. He has an 05 Powerstroke that I use on occasion for towing and plowing. Even though his truck does have a little more HP than mine, I think mine has a little more low end torque because of his turbo lag. The only thing that I do not care for with the V10 is the quantity of fuel that it uses. I average about 8-10mpg normally and with my plow its about a solid 8. Luckily I have an 07 Mustang GT thats my daily driver when the snow isn't flying. As part of my so called restoration process I do plan to do some engine work to it to help make it a little more efficient without losing power. But we will see where that goes.

 

The V-10 is eight liters of thirsty internal combustion glory. It will never be even remotely considered 'efficient' by todays standards. You might be able to bump fuel consumption by a half a point or so, but, that's gonna be about it.