1995 Ram 1500 restoration attempt! Any help would be awesome!

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Josh_Troutt

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Grenada, MS
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.7 Cummins
Hey guys I just picked up this 95 Ram and it's been sitting in a field in Arkansas for the past 10 years! my plan is to slowly rebuild it and get it looking like it just rolled out of the factory!
A little bit about it -
I know it has the 5.2/318
it's automatic trans - i think the 46RE but i have to double check that
4x4
Laramie SLT
195,*** miles
the guy who i got it from (the original owner bought it brand new in '95 with 58 miles on it) said he parked it due to the transmission slipping
there were apparently some rodents that moved in over the course of the 10 years it sat, several wires are chewed clean through (see pics)
I spent my first day on it just cleaning it out
removed the seats and am starting on the carpet
I cleaned a lot of the rodent nest out

Next steps
1. Get wiring harness fixed or reworked
2. See if motor is locked up by spraying fogging oil or something in each spark plug hole and manually rotating crankshaft
3. Once running see about transmission
4. Check all fuses and wiring
5. Redo headliner and any small odds and ends


My first couple of questions are as follows:

Should I attempt to fix the wiring harness or should I just pull one from a junk yard? - if so will a 5.9 harness work as well?
Should I go ahead and try to turn the engine over before worrying about wiring?
Is there a better way to start this rebuild? I don't want to start spending money on the interior or exterior until I know whether or not i have to spend money on the engine and transmission!
Also for the fluids, when should I go ahead and replace all the fluids?
 

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Josh_Troutt

Josh_Troutt

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Ram Year
2018
Engine
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Doughboy43

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Knowing what I spent replacing the engine in mine with a remanufactured one my first thing would be to see if the engine was stuck. Then you could see if it would fire and go from there. With what the previous owner said I think you can pretty much figure on replacing the trans as well. Then you can decide if you want to go ahead with the project. From the pics I would look into getting a wiring harness from the junk yard and see what of it you will need ,maybe you can just replace some of the original instead of all of it.
 

Dean2

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Unless you are doing this just for the fun of it, you can buy a mint condition 1995 for WAY less than you are going to spend. I follow the 1996 2500 V10 Club Cabs, I can buy one in mint shape with about 75,000 miles, motors are good for 500,000 easy, for about 15,000. The 1500 standard cabs are way less than that, probably in the 5-7,000 range.That wouldn't make even a small dent in what you are going to spend. Use your old field find for parts.

Check out AutoTrader 86.000 miles for $5,200 bucks.

83ebe7a9236b418285ce70376af0794b.jpg
 
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Josh_Troutt

Josh_Troutt

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So I have access to another dodge ram that runs decent but its 2 wheel drive and the interior is shot to hell and the exterior is not far behind and my plan is to pull what I need from there. It is a 5.9 so I'll have to see if the wiring harness will match up or at least get me close enough. From what I read the transmission may also fit with an adapter plate. I may be able to clean this truck up and get it running pretty decent for less than $2,000
 

CanRebel

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I would purchase used harness from junk yard or from broken truck.
Those wires look bad. You could repair it. Just take a long time.
 

FF376

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These trucks are pretty straightforward to work on. Get a factory service manual. The electrical section is great in those. Using salvage yards and Craigslist and Facebook marketplace you can piece one together pretty cheap doing the work yourself. That being said , Dean2 is right. There are many of these out there in decent shape for cheap. I've been involved in restorations of many types and the one constant in all is that it pays off to get the best starting point possible.
 

Spike95

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Looks like a good parts truck. That being said, single cab 4x4s aren’t too common. If you have another truck to use for parts and lots of spare time, then go for it. They likely both have the 46re transmission. If they are matching years, I can’t imagine why there would be a difference between the harnesses if they are both V8s…. Plan on a trans rebuild. If that one made it to nearly 200k without any issues, it was overdue.

Just don’t go into this thinking you’re going to flip it and make money off of it. That’s some make believe stuff they like to put on TV to taunt people. If that’s your goal, you’ll make more money parting it out (as much as I really don’t like saying that). Restorations usually cost more than the vehicle is worth on the open market after they are done. That being said, they can be very satisfying if you plan to keep the truck.
 

Spike95

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If that dashboard is still in good shape with no cracks (long shot, I know) then it’s worth money. Looks like a lot of good parts there, but the more I look at it, the more I see lots of little expenses that would go into fixing it up that you may not be thinking about. My truck was already in really clean condition for its age when I started doing restoration work on it, and I’ve still spent almost as much as it’s worth just in parts and a trans rebuild. I only did all that because it’s a one owner truck, so it’s special to me.

If you just want to make it a runner to use for work or off-road duty, then you might be able to piece the two trucks together for that purpose fairly well. If you want it to look new, plan on $$$.
 
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Josh_Troutt

Josh_Troutt

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Ok so I purchased another harness from a junkyard but the main connector that plugs in to the computer is a different plug. I need to figure out how to et around that. Also thanks for the comments guys. This will be my first true build and honestly I want to do it to see if this is something I like doing and if I am even capable of doing. All that aside the truck is already bought and I really haven't decided what I want to do with it once it runs I'll start to figure that part out.
 
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Josh_Troutt

Josh_Troutt

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Engine
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Also I have a YouTube channel where I posted some videos of it maybe you guys can get a better feel for what will help from the videos. The channel is "D is for Diesel" but to find it you have to search like "field find ram"
 

Theck4291

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5.9L Magnum V8
Hey man, ran across this site, maybe it'll help?

Use the VIN# for Options List part, enter your VIN, and it will give you a full breakdown of everything in your truck out of the factory. I buy and part out 2nd and 3rd gen rams all the time, and this is what I use to determine a lot of what's with the vehicle. Good Luck man
 

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