New from Arkansas

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lucemsequimur

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2014
Posts
78
Reaction score
6
Ram Year
2001
Engine
360 Magnum
Hey all,

I'm Sam, I'm 16 years old and currently a junior in high school. I live in Northwest Arkansas, and I've been driving for about a year. Long story short, looks like I'm gonna get my dad's 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9, with 114k miles, since we've kind of came to a consensus that obviously, since I'm a new driver and I'm a teenager, I'm not going to get anything particularly fast. So, I realized that it's dumb to even want to get myself a car, when I could just use his truck. He wants to buy a nice used SUV for himself. Eventually when I get the money, I'll buy a car that I can call my own, and of course, his truck is still his truck. He was thinking about getting me a Mustang GT but for obvious reasons, he changed his mind fairly quickly. So I guess this is sort of a compromise? Not really. We have plans for this truck, and since it's HIS truck and he likes it, he wants to make it a sleeper. He told me he'd pay for the stuff since it's his, but I get to be the one who works on it. I'm not complaining. This is pretty much what I wanted anyway; I get to trick out the car I'll be driving without doing it out of my own (rather empty) pockets. So, without further ado, here's what's gonna be done:

Rebuild the 360, forged bottom end, stroke to 408ci, maybe other things (replace EFI with carb?)
Install headers
Aftermarket exhaust
Manual transmission swap (I'm not sure how well the stock automatic could handle a 408 stroker)
Replace the totally broken dash
Replace the dash bezel
Maybe replace the headlights
New weather sealing
Fix various other things that have broken
New shocks/springs
Some kind of self-fabricated gauge cluster

Just tonight I vacuumed her out and fixed the damn drink holder that's literally been broken in five different places for the past six years. While I was wiping off the dash, a huge chunk of it completely fell into the area underneath. Needs some work done lol. The dash is really expensive everywhere I've checked. Anyway, yeah, I'm Sam.
 

Harley Harrold

USAF Ret. 36+ years service
Navy Badge Air Force Firefighter
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Posts
6,654
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1,656
Location
Mississippi
Ram Year
2007
Engine
5.7L HEMI
:welcome:
You have a great 1st vehicle project to tackle. I bet when it is fixed up, your going to want to keep it as YOUR vehicle. Have fun fixing it up. I love my Ram, and I also like the fact I got a great truck for around $15K, where a new one was going to cost me $45K to $55K. I still have a little money left to fix up my truck to my vision.:waytogo:
 

Brakelate

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Posts
1,236
Reaction score
748
Location
South/Central Utah
Ram Year
2018
Engine
6.4 Hemi
Welcome!

Great introduction. Good luck on the project. I imagine Insurance would be MUCH cheaper on the truck, as opposed to any year GT. With that stroker motor (a upgraded Auto could handle that power) I bet it will burn more rubber farther than any Mustang would.

Have fun, enjoy the time with Dad, the truck and be careful not to crash it out as you develop your driving experience.

And remember, take lots of pics to share here and keep for the future.

:happy160:
 

1ATony

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Posts
3,245
Reaction score
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Ram Year
2006
Engine
hemi
Welcome to the site.

Tony:rockit:
 

Statcher1

Senior Member
Joined
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Posts
4,419
Reaction score
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Location
Kentucky
Ram Year
2012
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Welcome aboard.


Sent from the Rocket in my Pocket
 

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