Well i have been thinking about this project for a VERY long time.. but i want some input before i go ahead and buy a written off dodge cummins diesel with the duelly axels and motor...

im thinking about making a 07 Dodge ram 1500 short box single cab into a Short box single cab cummins with the duelly box and rear end.. and of course either making a one off frame, boxing in the light duty frame or even somehow utilizing the diesels stock frame..

but i think a short box single cab duelly diesel would be a really neat truck to see around..

any input? i know this is going to cost a lot of chedda but i think the outcome would be worth it...

i work at a fab shop so i got the place, the materials and the help to do it.. im just curious if its even possible..

cheers.

Mga Engineering

 

Have fun sounds like a tough job.. why not just take the cab and put it on the diesel frame. As you know working with metal unless you have an exact spec frame jig then there will be problems if you are going to hack at or modify the current frame you know the heat will weaken it in spots. if your doing a 1 off frame you will need to be dead on will all your welds and tacks and have everything within .000001 of an inch. and when you finish the frame it will have to be inspected and be certified a rebuild and everything if perfect on it to be street legal. I would do all the welding in tig with the heat WAY LOW i wouldnt tough a Mig to it at all.. Good Luck

 

the biggest problem i see is that you will have to cut some footage out of the frame. then weld and strengthen. other than that, custom drive shaft and some body work on the bed of the shortbed.

 

You want to make it a short bed dually? That sounds sweet. But some problems if that's what you want.
You have so much room on the frame between the back of the cab and the wheels. The long bed wouldn't sit properly on the short bed frame. Or would you just put back on the short bed box, and not cover your tires completely?
The thing would be with a 2500 short bed regular cab, then convert that into the dually. That way your frame is already big enough to handle the engine, and you won't have to mess around with the frame at all really.
However, the thing that would really be best for it, and I don't know your budget, but do like the 2500 to dually, then purchase a bed off of a 3500 Megacab dually. That way it's already a short bed, and it has the flares for the duals.
Make sure to keep us updated on what you do decide to do. Sounds like an interesting project.

 

I'm not sure if you keep up with bully dog and their performance parts but they did something of the same thing and ended up making a sweet old school hotrod ram with the 5.7l cumins making over 900hp and over 2000ft.lbs torque... yes i said 2000tf.lbs.. If that doesn't get you off the line I don't know what will. I say go for it especially if you have the $$$$!!

 

yup, ive seen that. While the Cummins is pulled it will be built. Id be lookin around the 600hp range. Anymore and id be afraid of failure with the frame if it needs to be sectioned. As far as frames go im leaning towards the cummins mega cab short box frame, but then to section the frame enough to put a SINGLE CAB with a short duelly box MIGHT be alittle tricky.. all in time, im going to the wrecking yard today with I.C.B.C to maybe pull out a written off rig. We'll see what happens, i got nothing but time with this project.

 

There was a 1500 RCSB converted to a oil burner. I think the video is on youtube.

 

easy swap and i like it, actually thought about 2500 hemi qc/dually combo. just have too many other toys in progress. the easiest way would be to find a 25/3500 diesel reg cab, then swap the dually in. boring......
its pretty much just a parts swap, no real frame work. your just doin an engine/axle swap, i know its a little more involved but the parts should all interchange easily enough. it really shouldnt be that expensive, depending on your definition of expensive. nice project for the weekends

 

ive been thinking about it as well but i just thought it was a stupid idea. i guess not. but i just wanted to get the fender flares that come on the mega cab dually. i did however want to keep the hemi but wasnt sure how much mpg's i would lose.

 

What's wrong with starting with a regular cab 2500 diesel and converting from there? There's a lot less work involved with that setup.