2nd Gen Dodge Ram Goes from Stock to Sinister

Working in an off-road shop might be bad for your wallet. But judging by this badass Dodge Ram, we’d say it’s well worth it!

While opinions tend to vary, we all have our own favorite iteration of the Dodge Ram. And for Dodge Forum member NightMares, it’s the 2nd generation trucks. He’s owned a couple of them over the years, and when it came time to find a new daily, he knew he needed a third. That’s when a fortunate series of events landed him a clean 2001 1500.

“I was in the market for a daily driver pickup. Was looking at buying a new 2014 Ram Tradesman black edition when I came across this ’01 sitting in their back lot awaiting auction. I started inquiring about it, as 2nd gens have always had a sweet spot in my heart, this being my 3rd one.

The salesman I was working with was less than thrilled that I was looking at a 30+ thousand dollar truck, then second guessing myself for a 13 year-old auction truck. Had to come back the next day to find a new salesman to actually find the keys and show it to me.

To start off, this truck was bone stock. 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport. Had 105k on the odometer and 225/75R16 tires, but overall it was clean. After inspection, I realized it needed nothing more than a little maintenance.”

After exchanging money and keys, the OP could have simply done that basic maintenance and moved on. But as you might’ve guessed by now, things escalated rather quickly after the purchase.

“Starting the actual build thread here, but there is some stuff I don’t have documented with pictures. Stuff like the differential rebuilds, transmission rebuild, and a few other things done by separate shops or by coworkers as I didn’t feel comfortable doing them. Short of that, everything else on this truck was done by yours truly. I had a hard time deciding where to take this truck for a while, as I was essentially just building it up as a decent looking daily driver.”

Things started off rather innocuously, with bigger off-road tires, a brush guard, and some new headlights.

Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.