the ram D50 project

my brother and i are going to bag his 85 dodge ram D50. its an older truck with a few problems. the motor is the best part, a turbo diesel tho.


so i was told that the frame was "redone and fixed of all the reust".
so soon we will see if it was done. i took out the carpet today and its bad!! so much rust!

this is the front drivers side cab mount.

this is the drivers side of the tranny tunnel.

now looking at this i know i have to fix it! my question is should i BD it or, fix it? now cash it kinda tight so cant do much right away. i need it for work in jan so cant have too much down time.

i would body drop it and fix it while you go along it would help alot

Get used to it. I built the entire front of the floor in my truck, along with the tranny tunnel. Body drop it and make new floors where needed, and make sure to coat it all with something that will actually keep the rust out. Don't put seam sealer on bare metal, and dont put sound deadener down over bare metal, you'll be good.

how long do ya think it will take me? i have to use it for my work truck in a few weeks. some more pics=i almost think i should drop her to the doors.i also got a welder for christmas.its a clarke turbo 150EN. right now i dont have a tank for it so i have some .030" flux-core wire to practice with tho.

You could probably bodydrop it in two weeks if you work on it a lot. I did mine alone and it took about that time to cut it, build the floor, and mess with the pedals and tubbing the firewall.

is the flux-core wire i have good enough to do the BD? what kind would u use seth? i know u wuold just use gas but now the budget i have for her is on a fat diet!

I would trust a flux welder with a bodydrop. Just probably not for the bag job.

I have lincoln wire welder and i used it two 2 link my tuck and no problems drive it every day jast take your time when welding

i wouldnt try and rush a body drop to drive it, let alone anything else your doing to it. Just take it slow and get it done right. No sense in doing it twice.

that rust isnt so bad...

dont get me wrong it isnt good or anything. if having it driveable soon is important. id hold off on the b/d. id grind down around the areas, cut a hole until you get to good metal, and build some patch panels out of 18-16 ga sheetmetal. do one at a time as to not have a ton of gaping holes in the floor at once and be weak as hell.

good luck bro, those trucks are kinda cool, just be safe with what you do and dont rush anything.