James__ Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) I figured I would share where my love for all things automotive began and what started my interest for detailing. At the age of 15 I got my first vehicle under the agreement that I would be making half of the payments in order to ‘learn the value of money and responsibility’. What I wound up picking up was a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 RCSB 2wd 5.7L Hemi that had been well taken care of by an elderly gentleman. I went through a long process of adding and subtracting mods to suit my ever changing tastes at the time haha. Pictures below are from after the local Independence Day Parade in my small town where I pulled a float. I changed the front end to a Sport model bumper but was backed in to in the Walmart parking lot so it received this Street Scene bumper shortly after (go fast goodies were constantly being added during the process as well). I finally had enough of trying to keep the chrome clean and began the process of converting it to a ‘stormtrooper’ theme with black taillights and powdercoated factory wheels because they match the body lines so well. After removing all the chrome except for the headlights I headed out to get some updated pictures and was looking into custom headlights. These are after roughly 4 years of ownership. However, I never got around to the headlights….. A couple weeks later I hit some black ice where a sprinkler system had been leaking near the roadway which caused me to slide into the curb on a curve, breaking the lower control arm, causing the truck to turn sideways and ultimately roll over. After 2 months of fighting with the insurance company, I was finally able to get them up to an $8k offer for the total damage truck which didn’t leave me much to really replace it with an equal vehicle. At this time I was in college and almost all the money I made was going towards paying for school, I was driving back and forth to school and needed to get around in bad weather, and had begun working in the construction field so I opted for a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 (starting to see a trend? Lol) that I then drove throughout the rest of college before buying the 2012 Ram 2500 I have now. The 2002 did not receive many mods as my finances were consumed by school and living expenses but it did get a little love. Pics below are in order from oldest (the day I bought it) to newest. Edited January 8, 2016 by James__ Kingsford, Torch Red, Dan@Adams and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan@Adams Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks for sharing James, that first Ram sure did look sharp with the black and white stormtrooper theme. It's a shame what happened to it...black ice is never fun, but I'm glad you were ok! Really digging that black and white picture with the color US Flag with the 2500 and the that last muddy picture. Being a shine freak, I cry a little inside when I see so much mud like that, but I can definitely appreciate it and I know how fun offroading can be James__ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thanks for sharing James, that first Ram sure did look sharp with the black and white stormtrooper theme. It's a shame what happened to it...black ice is never fun, but I'm glad you were ok! Really digging that black and white picture with the color US Flag with the 2500 and the that last muddy picture. Being a shine freak, I cry a little inside when I see so much mud like that, but I can definitely appreciate it and I know how fun offroading can be Thanks! I really miss my first truck, it was a blast to drive. I loved going to meets and shows and cruises in it. The '02 2500 was a farm truck before I got it and had it's fair share of dents, dings, and scratches and the top of the cab was very heavily oxidized (very common on dark color 2nd gen rams). because of all that I wasn't too worried about keeping it immaculate but I always took it and washed everything off after getting it very dirty. The last picture is from going down a 2 mile muddy trail through the woods and about 300 yards down a beach on the bank of the Cimarron River to get to a prime fishing spot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red94chev Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I feel your pain with the dirt. I love keeping my stuff nice but there's something extremely satisfying about driving a truck through some thick mud on a backroad to get somewhere. I usually try to keep the offroading to my atvs though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
694doorbird Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 James, where is that bridge in your pictures? Love tose old bridges like that. They have one of them on 169 removed, sure going to miss those twin bridges whe the construction/widening project is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) James, where is that bridge in your pictures? Love tose old bridges like that. They have one of them on 169 removed, sure going to miss those twin bridges whe the construction/widening project is done. Bridges like that are excellent places to take pictures! My truck now may be too long to get sideways on one though haha. This one is in Sapulpa behind the VFW where old Rt 66 crosses Rock Creek. Link below https://goo.gl/maps/NmBrq8G5z6R2 Also, behind my truck in those pictures you can see the back of the old Historic Rt 66 TeePee Drive In Movie Theater Edited January 8, 2016 by James__ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
694doorbird Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 After all those trips I took down Route 66 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, I didn't know the road split like that. Looks like a road trip in the spring... Some of my Route 66 pictures from the Random Photography thread. These are between Tulsa and Vinita http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/28879-random-photography-thread/?p=464774 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) After all those trips I took down Route 66 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, I didn't know the road split like that. Looks like a road trip in the spring... Some of my Route 66 pictures from the Random Photography thread. These are between Tulsa and Vinita http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/28879-random-photography-thread/?p=464774 Well it is kind of a weird split. But it is old 66. They put in a new road a long time ago and tied them together. Very cool pics by the way. I have driven past blue whale dozens of times but never thought to stop and take a picture. Maybe next time! Edited January 9, 2016 by James__ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirahnah3 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 some great looking Rams there, Def digging the first one, great choices in the end for the mods. I can give you a great recommendation on some headlights if you want still for the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 some great looking Rams there, Def digging the first one, great choices in the end for the mods. I can give you a great recommendation on some headlights if you want still for the new one. Absolutely, I would appreciate a recommendation. I know I want to go with 55w HIDs but I don't know what route I want to go with the housings. Considering a custom set from Jeremy at RetroShop but with that price tag, there's a few things I want to do first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirahnah3 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Absolutely, I would appreciate a recommendation. I know I want to go with 55w HIDs but I don't know what route I want to go with the housings. Considering a custom set from Jeremy at RetroShop but with that price tag, there's a few things I want to do first. HAHA I was going to recommend him! Great guy! I have been on a few boards with him from before he started up the shop and was only doing it as a side project here and there. He really does some of the BEST work for these. Be glad you dont have my truck, Going to be over $700 for him to do the lights when I get to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Yeah, he's a good guy! I've been on a few boards with him as well and in a club that he was a part of / sponsored. I met him when he was just getting started with it as a formal business. He does some incredible work. What is your truck? Because I'm looking at $745 for the lights I want and that's if I send my lights in. It's another $200 if I have him use new lights. Definitely worth it, just need deeper pockets before pulling the trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirahnah3 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I have a 2015 F250. Guess I never really did look at the ram prices, that deeply I know back when the ram was the cheapest light he did as it was usually for board members and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garner Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Very nice! I too started with a 2 door ram, then stepped up to a crew cab. Now I'm wanting another ram James__ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GXPaycheck Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Nice trucks! Just traded my old Tacoma for a newer Tundra (2006, 65k miles on it). Always good to have a truck around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Nice trucks! Just traded my old Tacoma for a newer Tundra (2006, 65k miles on it). Always good to have a truck around! Very nice! My brother loves his Tundra. I love having a truck but wouldn't mind having something a little more agile too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GXPaycheck Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Very nice! My brother loves his Tundra. I love having a truck but wouldn't mind having something a little more agile too. That's what the car in my sig is for ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirahnah3 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Very nice! My brother loves his Tundra. I love having a truck but wouldn't mind having something a little more agile too. Bigger truck....then just run over whatever is in your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James__ Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 I have a crew cab long bed 4x4 Ram 2500 Cummins. Doesn't get much bigger! I have a leveling kit and 35" tires for it, just waiting to put them on. Maybe a 4.5" long arm lift and 37s in the future. DieselDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirahnah3 Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I have a crew cab long bed 4x4 Ram 2500 Cummins. Doesn't get much bigger! I have a leveling kit and 35" tires for it, just waiting to put them on. Maybe a 4.5" long arm lift and 37s in the future. so what is the problem then, you go OVER the obstacles or take the long way around. who need nimble when you can crush nimble lol James__ and DieselDude 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now