interior changes between '97 & '98
 

I know I'm getting excited just a bit too early, but I may have found a truck. It's a '97, so I need to know exactly what changes there were in interior, dash, etc. between the 1997 and 1998.

Thanks.

The Seats are similar, except for the integrated seat belts.

The dash is changed up to a more modern looking one with digital odometer. A/C panel changes slightly, cupholders are now down in the bottom of the dash.

'98 is also the change from club cab to quad cab, with the 2 rearward-opening doors.

A 12v '98 is the Holy Grail of CTD's, but I read of more than one person hating the sqeaks & rattles from the quad cab...

Although it was a club cab (therefore, rear seat access was more difficult), our 1996 3500 had far more back seat leg room than our 2002 3500 quad cab!! There were a number of things I liked far better in the early 2nd gen interiors - for one, the ability to have more control over use of the A/C compressor.

Rusty

I had a 97 1500 then went to a 99 2500.

The differences were:

Dash (97 was the last year of the original 2nd gen dash)
Seats (97's don't have the integrated seatbelts and had different cloth)
Quad Cab availability in 98
Cup holders in the 97 are at the top of the dash
Door panels
Steering Wheel
HVAC controls
Addition of a passenger airbag

I agree with Rusty that the Club Cabs had more legroom in the back.

Those were all the significant ones. HTH.

Duane

Thanks everyone. Here's the thread about the truck. DTR Thread

It is just the truck I'm looking for. A '98 would be nice, due to the digital odometer and stuff, but I don't think it's worth making a big fuss over. What do you guys think? Of course, if I don't look at a '98, than I'll never know what I'm missing.

I love my 97! With out the extra set of doors the truck cab is much stronger (no rattles) and we rarely have many people in the back. When we do, its still better than a 2+2 car to get in due to the bigger opening.

The 97 may have been the last year for rear seat cup holders under the center arm support.

My 98 has rear cup holders.

Srigs - The center arm support on the front seat? So does the support roll over to the rear, and expose cup holders?

My 98 has the rears also. Just went and looked[eyecrazy] . Never rode back there. Bottom center of console. Had to pull like crazy to open, guess they had never been used[laugh] .

Ed

My 01 has rear cupholders, too. Bottom rear of the center console.

I stand corrected about the rears! :p I believe some locations where built, Mexico vs St Louis, have some differences in equipment.

I have used the rear cup holders some but then got a Cup Smoothie from Geno's and don't have to worry about the crappy cup holders in the dash. :D

Well, I can't wait to drive home my Mexico assembled '97 this weekend.

I think ya made a good choice - mechanically, its the same as a 98.....just make sure to take care of the KDP - 97's seem to drop more than their fair share of pins.

royta-

Go to Ebay and look at some trucks. Lots of interior shots to show the differences between the '94-97 and '98-02 trucks.

bmoeller - Yeah, that's exactly what I did. Thanks for the tip though.

Dr. Evil - It's just about a full 1400 mile drive for me to get the truck home. It also just so happens that my parent's place splits the drive exactly in two. So, I'll probably leave Friday afternoon, drive until I can't take it anymore, sleep in the truck somewhere along the way, wake up when I get to cold, and hopefully get to my parent's early enough to slam out a KDP fix. That will certainly give me a peace of mind.