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In the modern truck market, Dodge Rams (whether called Dodge Ram or simply Ram Trucks) have been a solid player for years. With a simplified, straightforward way of ordering trucks (pick your payload rating, then pick your trim level, then add your options), a powerful range of engines that range from a competent 300 horsepower V6 to the brutal 702-horsepower Hellcat Hemi and the iconic Cummins turbo-diesel six cylinder, there’s little wonder why Rams are the vehicle of choice for many households. The Hellcat is newer, but the Hemi has been around in Gen III form since 2003 and the Cummins has been a Ram icon since 1989. Nothing against diesel fans, but for this exercise, we’re going to stay gas-powered and focus on the 1994-2002 BR/BE generation, better known as the “second-gen Ram”.
When the redesigned 1994 Dodge Ram hit showrooms, they left GM and Ford chasing their tails throughout the remainder of the 1990s and completely reinvigorated a brand that just a year prior was barely making a dent in the marketplace with a design that had been launched in 1972 and was barely facelifted for 1981. The BR-series Ram is perfect fodder for a restoration, a build, or a swap. With plenty of trucks still on the market and prices still reasonable, picking up one of these Rams should be easy. With International-inspired big rig styling that still looks as good as it ever has, the pickings are great for a project, a restoration, or your dream build. We wanted to take three separate versions of the truck and apply what we’ve learned with our Gen III Hemi swap kits for other models to see what could be done to the 1994-2002 Ram truck to make it something you’d want to own for years to come.
Of course, we had to create the most mental machine possible first. Aside from the 1996 Ram VTS concept truck that hinted towards the upcoming Ram SRT-10 truck, the closest thing to a hot sport truck on this platform were two sport package trucks: the 1996 Indianapolis 500 Pace Truck and the very similar SS/T. We wanted to give the most powerful-looking Ram the power it truly deserved. Take the half-ton, two-wheel drive shortbed Ram 1500, relieve the engine bay of the V6 or V8 and the transmission, and jam it full of supercharged Hemi V8. 392? Hellcat? Redeye? Demon? Whatever you can get your hands on, cram it into that engine bay. Don’t skimp on anything: We’d replace the gauge cluster with a Holley 12.3-inch Digital Dash to monitor the engine’s health and well-being. We’d really consider a 6.2L Hellcat/six-speed manual transmission combination to bridge the gap between 1970s muscle machines and modern horsepower numbers, exactly where this generation of Ram sits. Don’t forget the pistol-grip shifter! And if you think that 700+ horsepower just isn't enough, you could always look to NOS for a wet plate system for an extra thrill.
We took many cues from the Ram VTS concept, especially the Viper-aping front bumper treatment and a hoodscoop designed to mimic the Challenger SRT Demon. We added a foldable tonneau cover and a small ducktail spoiler to the back, and the rear bumper disappeared in favor of a proper 1990s-era sport truck-era roll pan that shows off the quad-cannon exhaust system. A mild widebody kit inspired by the Challenger and Charger Widebody cars would be able to hide 22x10 wheels while giving the truck an extra bit of aggression. Yes, it’s obviously a “dive off the deep end” build, the kind of psychotic, overpowered bit of rolling violence that we would love to see tearing it up at MoParty. But if we were going to focus on the other two builds, we had to get this out of the way first!
We had our fun with the wild monster that the Demon Ram build could be, but for our Quad Cab Ram 2500, we wanted to rein it in to something that would resemble what many of you would love to build: a 4x4 Ram that has additional power many have asked for. For the time, the Magnum 5.2 and 5.9L V8s (for all of you older types, that would be the later-model 318ci and 360ci small-block Chrysler engines) put out decent enough power. But these trucks are starting to get close to being thirty years old, and there’s no doubt that horsepower has improved greatly in that time. This generation Ram won 4-Wheel and Off-Road Magazine’s “4x4 of the Year” award two times running, once in 1994 with a shortbed/regular cab 5.9L-powered truck, and again in 1995 with a V-10-powered 2500 Club Cab. In fact, in the 1994 test the truck found itself with a mangled fender and a few other unintentional “tweaks” that happened during a trail test and the truck still came out on top. Kind of hard to top that kind of off-road prowess!
We’d combine an Apache-headed 5.7L to a properly built 46RE automatic fitted with a B&M Hi-Tek deep transmission pan for our mildly-lifted 4x4. Adding an Earl’s UltraPro oil cooler with fan system will go a long way to keeping that overdrive TorqueFlite cool and happy. Holley Terminator X Max can control both, if you utilize the 558-473 adapter harness. We’d also take the time to install a Gen III Hemi front accessory drive kit to clean up the engine bay a little bit. While there is not a Gen III Hemi-specific kit for the 1994-2002 Ram, a Flowmaster American Thunder kit like the one currently sold for the 1994-2002 trucks could theoretically be sorted out to work and can be routed out either straight under the bumper or at the rear of the bed, out of the sides behind the tires. Whether you’re repowering that old truck in the driveway or you’re building your next trail rig, doesn’t 370 horsepower on tap sound a lot better than 230? And yes, in case you were wondering, we couldn’t help but think of the 1995 Ram 2500 that was used in the movie Twister when we dreamed this one up. Name a more iconic second-gen Ram, we’ll wait. That's why we added the roll bar with Clearwater Super Sevina LED lights on top for an additional bit of light when it's needed the most.
Oh…and watch out for the cow.
Save your breath. We know that, given a choice, many would simply go straight to a Cummins-powered truck and call it a day. And we can’t blame you - the Cummins is a beast of a diesel engine that has earned legendary status over millions of miles and over thirty years of service in Dodge trucks alone, never mind other applications, such as medium-duty trucks and buses. But there is still a legion of fans who like a heavy-duty gas-powered truck, and that’s what this dually is for. We’d select the 6.4 BGE truck engine that is used in the current Ram 2500 and 3500 lines to stick with the premise of an actual towing platform. We’d leave the engine alone and focus on keeping everything together and happy. Here we’d recommend keeping the 8HP75-LCV automatic and opting for the B&M Hi-Tek HD Transmission Pan (70395), and we’d opt for DiabloSport’s Trinity 2 EX Platinum so that we could monitor the big Hemi’s health while hauling a fifth-wheel trailer down the road.
Or maybe you just say “What the hell”, shove all 1,025 horsepower worth of Hellephant Hemi under the hood, and haul your race car to the track with haste. Once there, ditch the trailer, and proceed to cause chaos in two different classes before you load up and head home. Who would suspect that a clean second-gen Ram would be packing four-digit horsepower figures under the hood? Have a buddy nearby film crowd reactions on that first pass once you leave for tire stripes from the burnout box on your way to 10-second lap in the freaking tow rig, just so you don’t miss any of the entertainment. Sure, a Hellcat-swapped Dakota makes more sense, but you have to admit that watching somebody’s tow rig lay waste to typical staging lane fodder would be a riot and a half.
We had a lot of fun messing around with the 1994-2002 Ram and composing various build ideas. As popular as GM and Ford trucks are, it is a bit surprising that there isn’t more out on the market for these trucks. Aside from Gen III Hemi swaps, what else would you like to see? Maybe you’d like restoration-level headlight and taillight assemblies to replace your sun-cooked originals? Would you like to replace the iconic door badging or do you need new tailgate callouts? Maybe you just want a new dash to replace the one that cooked itself to a crisp over the last few years. Follow along on Holley’s social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) and let us know what future products you’d like to see!
