1990 Dodge Ram D150 "RestoMod"

Recently had the opportunity to pick up this straight body overall clean 1990 D150 for $250. Came with a title and a 3.9 v6 and a 5 speed.  Was running until an electrical issue caused it to be parked about a year ago. Originally wanting a cheap challenge truck i hopped on it with plans to LS swap the world as always. But then the stars aligned and something perfect popped up....

A 1996 mustang v6 with a quite unique swap. A gen 3 Hemi 5.7 out of a 2013 challenger with a TR6060 6-speed. All controlled by a holley terminator-x and paired with a nitrous outlet 2 stage progressive kit. I purchased this car for $4500. A deal to me as i had been tossing the idea of putting a newer gen 3 hemi in it if i could find a deal on the drivetrain. However the drivetrain with the TR6060 was anywhere between 4-6k by itself. 

So i think everyone at this point gets the idea for whats planned. In a nutshell, pull the drivetrain our of the mustang and plop it into the D150. I will most likely be using some motor and trans swap mounts that holley conveniently started offering earlier this year for this exact swap.  Before i yank the drivetrain though i am dying to know what the mustang will do in the quarter mile. The base challenger R/T isn't all that impressive, probably due to the car weighing as much as a Tank. but the sn95 is substantially lighter. For those wondering stock specs are 375hp/410tq.  

Also, for anyone interested in a 3.9 v6 from this truck and/or the 5 speed NP535/A535 feel free to let me know as both are for sale. 

Hahaha berkeley yes to everything above!!!

This will be epic. I want to Hemi swap my Dakota in the future, so I'll be watching this. 

Definitely Epic!

More pics of the raptor please

Thanks Everyone! Excited to get to work! 

mr2s2000elise said:

Definitely Epic!

 

More pics of the raptor please

you can see the raptor Here in this thread. 

That's a great price for a SWB 1st gen.   Prices are starting to spike on the shortbeds.

Where the hell are these deals when I'm looking!   Nice score, man.  My D-150 was $800 and doesn't have a straigt panel on it!  I'm a little bit angry lol.  I'm going to be watching this.

I figured it had to be a good deal. i like C10's and F100's but dont really know the market on these. But in my mind a complete clean title truck for 250 couldnt be a bad deal lol.

I got it cheap because the previous owner brought it to my buddies shop and eventually said i dont want to fix it. he told me buddy "get what you can for it" so he messaged me and asked me what i wanted to pay. Being the cheap person i am i said 250 and he said yes lol.

Dodges haven't gone up yet beyond the special edition stuff. It's going to soon in my opinion so that's an astoundingly good deal. I like the LS swap as well, we went and looked at a 350 swapped one two weeks ago for $1k.

$250 for a clean short box truck of any make? You're lucky to buy a good door for that! Super deal! 

As a mopar guy, i approve! Never cared mych for my 85 1 ton ram when i had it, but miss it in hindsight. 

Oooh.  That's Hawt.  I kinda hate you for buying that truck for $250...but all is definitely forgiven considering your plans for it

chandler said:

Dodges haven't gone up yet beyond the special edition stuff. It's going to soon in my opinion so that's an astoundingly good deal. I like the LS swap as well, we went and looked at a 350 swapped one two weeks ago for $1k.

SWB D series are most certainly on the rise.   As are the Ramchargers.   Especially the 2wd ones.   I have been checking prices all over the country for over 10 years now as I buy and sell, and in just the last year, Sweptlines, Ramchargers, and '72-93 Dodge trucks have all gone up.  Parts have doubled and even tripled, depending on what you are looking for.    I am selling the NOS and new takeoff '91-3 chromed plastic grill for $1K-1500, and I sell a little below market. Argent color painted takeoffs are going for $500 and up, and people aren't blinkig on $200+ shipping prices.   The aluminum grilles from the '70s are going for $400 in decent used shape.  The could be found for $150-200 easily just a year or two before.

My D200 crew cab truck has gone up a couple grand in value in the last two years, while the shortbed D100 I drove back from California for $1400 can't be found for lss than $3K out there anymore.   And it likely will be a roller at that price.    That said deals can be found, but you had better snap them up quickly, as they are usually gone in less than a day.

 

In reply to Cooter :

so you buy and sell ay? this is good to know because eventually id like to replace the dash thats cracked in this d150 lol. as far as i know thats really the only issue. im sure ill find more but im in no way trying to make this a show truck. lol

Here is a closer look at the truck. 

Is this still a $2k Challenge build?

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

No. That went out the window when i got the mustang lol. If i did an ls swap it could be. 

I didn't think you'd be able to work enough budget magic to possibly get back down under $2k so this tracks.

What you could do is put the homeless 3.9 and manual trans in the Mustang and go Challenge with that.  Should do, uh, something.

Nice scores on both vehicles! 
2013 Hemi, does it still have the MDS system or has that been bypassed already? 
It's great that it's controlled by a stand-alone system, as the Chrysler EMS sucks being a CAN bus system. 
 

I put a 2005 Hemi 5.7 into a 1955 International Harvester, but I cheated and did the entire frame swap.
 

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Idk, that 3.9 is absolutely pathetic. I wouldnt waste my time. Lol

In reply to Chappers :

Im going to assume its been bypassed through the holley. I could be wrong but i havent messed with it much yet. It has a collapsed lifter im going to fix first. 

Hemi Mustang sounds so wrong, and so right.

surfshibby07 said:

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

Idk, that 3.9 is absolutely pathetic. I wouldnt waste my time. Lol

Truth. The civil engineering company I worked for in college had some Dakotas with the 3.9. They were almost dangerously slow with a load of surveying gear in them. And this was by the standards of 30 years ago.

Love this will be watching. 

My first ever truck was an 88 D-150 with the 3.9 litre V6, and a 5-speed. It was bare bones stripped, but had some aftermarket alloys, a body lift, and arrest me red paint. I loved that truck!! I later in life has a 92 D-250 Cummins club cab 5-speed as well. That was a much better truck, but I loved the short bed regular cab.