dodge ram 95 and up???

[D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.]

Looking in dodge rams trucks regular cab short bed 4x4. Don't know much about then (Ford man). Looking to do an extended cab swap with a custom flat bed and eco cage for a street legal trail rig.
What should I be watching out for?
What are common failure points?
How easy are parts to find?

Any help would be nice.
If anyone knows where I might be able to find a running and driving one with working 4x4 for a grand or less with a good frame please let me know looking to buy one by November.

[xjs3667]

Got one here...$750obo...needs some body work....bed is all smashed up...missing bumpers and other little stuff.....its a 97 ram ext. Cab long bed 4x4 318....... let me know

[Flat_Black]

94 and up had issues with the plenum gasket blowing out. kinda a pain in the ass to change but not bad. a lot of people say the trans are junk but they have 2 weak points, shift solenoid and the check valve in the stock trans cooler. trans cooler issues is a simple fix, cut off old end at radiator and add a after market cooler. solenoid is around 250 to fix but again easy fix. i lost count on how many cheap 2nd gen trucks iv picked up with these issues and fixed them on the cheap and drove the crap outta them and never had any problems. my 00 quad cab has over 400k with no issues other then the plenum gasket but ill buy a huges performance kit and never have a problem again. got any more problems give me a shout and ill help any way i can.

[D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.]

Thanks XJS but I really want a regular cab short box

Thanks Flat_Black might be hitting you up with a few questions now and then Looking at a few this weekend. Do you I. If a extended cab will fit on the frame I want to use without a lot of modification

[Flat_Black]

im not sure but i think the cab section of the frame will be to short from a ext to a reg cab.

[D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.]

Ok thank you I see a decent amount of body lift in my near future in that case. Im wanting the shorter wheel base andthe wife says I have to fit all 5 of use

[xjs3667]

You can always cut Ito the floor boards in the ext.cab section to fit over the frame where it rises back up and weld some sheet metal over...

Ohh and if you need any parts let me know

[Flat_Black]

why not just cut down the rear of a ext cab frame and make a super short bed?

[D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.]

Looked at an extended cab today thinking it might be easier to go that way. But a clean cab is out of my price range and I hate body work.