M1Lover

I bought my '96 2500 Club Cab Ram with a salvage title. No worries, it's Cummins 12 valve powered, runs great and has 4X4 and a 5 speed. LOVE this truck. Cab and doors are pretty hammered though. Wind noise and lots of bad body work.

Ya know, I'd love to have those back-cab doors and I found a pretty clean '98 Ram 1500 for $1500. Cab looks straight and solid. Anybody swap out a '98 cab onto a '96 ?? Wondering about fit and whether the work is worth it.

Thanks all. H.

oliver foster

The big thing will be the different dash style and wiring of the later '98 truck.

You can swap all the '96 dash, cluster, a pillar trim, head light switch, bezel, wires ETC into the '98 cab from the '96 and get it to work though.
I own a truck like that. It is a '99 quad cab with a '96 powertrain, wires, dash 12V and all.

M1Lover

Thank you for the reply Oliver Foster. So, you'd have to strip both trucks just about completely, mount the 98 cab and start installing the '96 wiring into the 98 cab beginning at the firewall. A big job, but with them both sitting side-by-side at least you know that it's all there. Then there's the VIN plate. This sure wouldn't be a '98 4X2 1500 gas truck any longer, but it would have a clean title! LOL.

oliver foster

When you change the whole dash, what the VIN tag is attached to, the VIN # on the '98 will become the '96 VIN and dash.... I mean the whole dash needs to be swapped. The '98 dash pad, frame, bezel, gauges ETC is ALL different.
How you deal with VIN and / or cab swaps in your state is a good question to ask before you do the swap.

M1Lover

In Arizona, it would all be on the up and up with titles to both vehicles handy..

So the cab mounts etc etc etc is all identical? Man, it would be nice to have those rear doors for the dog, tools, rifles, etc.

oliver foster

Cab mounts are in identical in style and location.

You might need to change the brake booster / hydro boost [96 is the first year for hydroboost on the diesels..right or is it '97?] but it will bolt up to the firewall the same.

texasprd

Must be '97 on the hydroboost, unless it was optional on the '96. I have a '96 and its vacuum boost.

M1, check with your state DMV as Oliver suggests - I don't know about AZ, but in TX plates and VIN are linked. When I get the plate-renewal notice, it has the VIN on it. If you have the door-frame sticker with VIN on the '98 cab, and the dash has the '96 VIN - that could get very interesting if you have to go through annual inspections or if stopped by law-enforcement. Also, you are in effect changing the fuel type of the '98. Best to ask your DMV how to handle these questions - hopefully, you'll get some straight answers.

M1Lover

Getting straight answers from our DMV over the phone is damned near impossible. I had to train the local supervisor on the fact that Arizona allows year-of-manufacture plates so I could run them on my '69 Grand Prix.
I live up in northern Arizona and we are not subject to smog inspections like PHX and Tucson are. That said, there's a level III inspector there that I could probably meet with FTF to get some answers. I'm not trying to make my '96 into a not-salvage-title status. I couldn't care less about that, the vehicle value is there regardless. But the VIN tags are on the cab dash and driver's door jamb, so in essence this truck would become the '98 1500 4X2 which would indeed freak out the PD in the event of a stop.

oliver foster

Since you will need to re-use the '96 dash with the '96 VIN on it in the '98 cab.
It will be a '96 diesel truck with a Gasser 1500 4x2 cab and VIN on the door jamb. Best to get the answers before hand, rather than try to sort it out on the side of the road after getting pulled over.

I know the Ramcharger I got from AZ came with the title for the RC and another one for the 12V motor and other donor parts that came with it in a pile of parts.

M1Lover

Would all of the above imparted knowledge hold true for ‘98-‘02 cabs? The more I look, the better the deals get. They made a TON of these 98-02 trucks...

oliver foster

Yes

M1Lover

That’s what I figured.
Thank you for your input Oliver Foster.

SkyHarborCowboy

Get all of your answers in writing. The end concern is you want to maintain your 1996 manufacturing date. As an example in California a Diesel truck 97 and prior do not require a smog inspection but a 98 does! You will surely have to go through at least a level 2 inspection in AZ.