Hi im 16 years old, and i own a 1979 chevy 4x4 its big, loud, and its a chevy so its junk. I am wanting to get a Dodge Ram, l(ooking for a 1996) i would like to be able to race it and hotrod it. I have heard people say that a Single cab rams are faster. But i have also heard people say quad cabs are faster than single cabs. could someone please help me out, which one would be better for jacking it up to make horsepower out the @$$. I would put money into the motor so that is not a problem, i was just hoping that someone would know a good year for either a single cab or a quad cab to jack it up.

Thank you for your time, if you wish you can email me at DemonHound@msn.com

-Cody Pike

 

If you want fast I would not go with a truck. I have a 01 Ram QC with the 5.9L granted it has 33" mud tires but still and my 2.2L Honda is so much faster it isn't funny. Trucks arnt meant to be fast. As for jack it up what are you talking about? Are you talking about lifting it or jacking it up as in modding the engine? WTF do you want to race this truck for anyway unless it is offroad. I give this thread a thumbsdown.

 

cut the kid some slack. jeez.

standard cabs will nearly always weigh less. There are a couple of different ways to make a vehicle faster. Increasing power, reducing weight, or changing the gearing are the three most common. I personally would go with an extended cab shortbox, myself, because it's convenient to have the extra space.

If all you want is a fast truck, I'd recommend getting a shortbox standard cab 5-speed v-10 base model without power windows, door locks, or anything. Either that or a turbo diesel if you've got some money to make it fast. It's a lot easier to make a ton of power out of a turbo vehicle - first off you can increase boost and change the timing and such. My VW daily driver I bumped up about 35hp and 70 ft-lbs by just getting the ECU reprogrammed. And that's a tiny little 1.8L, imagine the gains you could see from a 5.9L diesel.

 

Ok thanks, and i had a 1982 Chevy C10 pickup that would run 12 second quarters, so trucks ARE and CAN be fast, has a GM 385 fastburn 400 turbo trans turbo, nitros, and exhuast, so i no trucks can be fast. Well thanks horatio102, ill have to start looking for a shortbox, does anyone know a good year to start with?

 

OR... you can get one of the SST trucks with the 360, they're a short bed standard cab truck so they are about as light as you can get without stripping it down. There are some guy's who have put a 408 stroker motor in them and they totally scream. I read a thread a while back from a guy who had a 408 stroker, put some $ into it and was beating the Cobra's and Camaro's he'd been running into.

Bottom line is power to weight ratio the lower the better. In a truck, traction is the next issue...not enough weight in the rear end...

 

Another good way, if you don't mind a smaller truck. Get a early 90's dakota with the 318. Easy swap with a 360. If you can get one with a 5 spd yer even better off. The less the options the less the weight.
GO fast have fun and do it in a truck! The only way to go!

 

Trucks can be fast but for the same amount of money a car which is a lot lighter can be made faster. 12 isn't really all that fast don't get me wrong it is fast but there are a lot of people around here running 8's and 9's.

 

I also would probably get the extended cab short bed which is what I have but it is nice to have the backseat. I'm not going for fast though as my truck is lifted with mud tires and I don't see any point in trying to make a truck with mud tires fast enough to take to a drag strip.

 

If I was going for fast I would look at a Ford Lighting or SRT10 even although I would get the lighting even though it isn't a Dodge. I guess it still is a truck I don't really think of it as one but I guess it is and it can be made very fast.

 

You obviously have never seen Parish's truck. It's a chevy with a big *** turbo. Runs a 10.91 quarter mile. So yeah......trucks can be sleepers....just check this **** out. It's the best sleeper ever! Kills everything.....well almost.

Fast *** truck