swirvin 21's build thread

[DoubleTakeDodge]

Originally Posted by myoung84 I'd have the bed painted to match and the cab blended in. That's a good looking color.

I agree with this. I like that color. It's not really super common and looks nice.

[swirvin21]

my wife really wants me to go white....like the entire truck which I feel is a little bland. I tried countering with a 2 tone kindof thing with a dark sand lower and maybe a stripe or block of the same color on the hood (or as a racing type stripe) to break up glare on a white hood. Not sure why she wants white soo bad.

I do know that I want to go with a tan/sand interior or something non-black/gray. Not sure why it's a big deal right now, I know it looks a little ghetto with the 2 color setup, but she HATES it! I'd rather spend some coin on the trans, a goose, some steering upgrades, etc rather than paint...hence my looking for a simple, cheap way to do a transition. Maybe a simple small wrap??? Need something to appease her! LOL

Oh by the way....we have a little girl due in Dec, hence my sudden jump for a crew cab. Looking forward to it, already cleaning my shotgun!! LOL

[Randall488]

congrats on the baby Kyle, i think the white gold 2 tone would look real good.

[swirvin21]

Okay, so after being lazy and not posting these up and being out of town without internet, here's the flatbed! If any of you guys can help me find some quality LED lamps for this that won't eat up all of my money I'd be very appreciative! I also need some help figuring out exactly what resistors or any other parts I may need to add to convert over to LEDs on my '03. Heard a number of people say it's a little bit of work since the lighting setup is all weird computerized and crap...

Anyways..here's the peep show! Gonna start working on the paint job here soon as I'm getting hammered by my wife on this thing looking like the "Joker Mobile" with the almost purple and green :shaking:










Have 4 2.5" stop/turn/tail lamps at the bottom rear, 8 smaller 1" or 1.5" marker lamps (3 in rear, 4 on each side) and 4 2.5" white reverse/cargo lamps on the top headache rack.

Need to figure out how to do the gas filler as well....suggestions are appreciated!


Unfortunately, the one thing I'm not sure about is how the bed is mounted to the truck. The previous owner had it setup as a bolt-on flat-bed with a crappy weld on a nut and square steel over each bed mount.... I don't know that it is capable of handling a large weight on a gooseneck with this setup, just not looking all too safe in my mind!

Here are just a few pics showing how BAD this is setup!! issed: :roflmao: :jerkit:

[Randall488]

it looks like a really bad lift attempt...

[swirvin21]

The flat bed is located in the correct position for the truck at least, just need to redo the brackets to make it strong enough to haul on the goose. Thinking of going to a local flat bed dealer and ask what they would charge to fix it. I have some ideas myself, just not sure I have the time to do them here right now...

[ramthis9501]

Gonna be cool to see what you got in store!

[swirvin21]

Well....unfortunately my good luck finally ran out and some punk kid decided my truck was too nice! Pretty bad situation; kid made an illegal u-turn, everyone steps on the brakes, trailer jack-knifed after someone hit it from behind and took off, I hit the Ford in front, then skidded to a stop on the shoulder after sliding through the right lane.... Fortunately there were no injuries. Unfortunately the White Ram had no collision coverage so I am fighting insurance tooth and nail!

So here's the damage, nothing super serious, but biggest complaints are flat spots on tires, front bumper/headlamp/fender and something wrong on the driver side front axle...ugh! Hoping just a warped rotor from the heat of locking everything up.

[myoung84]

I hate people sometimes. Looks like that beefy bumper saved you from a lot more damage. Good luck with your insurance...

[0212353]

damnit, that freakin' sucks man! sounds like that kid needs to have taken a header off your bumper....