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I believe the "holy grail" is a 1998 ram 2500 4x4 quad cab short bed 12 valve with leather and then the 5 speed or auto can be argued depending on your application..... Now for the reason why it is so rare:i dont have the exact break downs that i would like to but out of all diesel rams ever built there were only approx 40,000 12 valves made in 1998 which is already a small number then out of all of the 40,000 take away the reg cabs and club cabs because they are basically the same from 96-98 except interior changes..... i would say u are already down to 20,000ish then take away all of the 2wd and 3500 and long beds now u have a really small number then u figure the leather trucks in 98 were scarce 14 years ago so now after some have been wrecked or flooded or whatever there are very very few left. i have only seen one in the last several years that i have payed attention
I have one, it is a great truck. 1998
Extended cab, short bed, 12Valve, 4x4, Manual Transmission. 279,000 miles. Purchased in 1998 new. Jessup has worked on it many times. The truck is bulletproof. It isn't my daily driver any more. I use it to camp out of and weekend trips.
The true designation for the Grail trucks is 98.5 model year as that was a quad cab with the later updated dash. There have been a few roaming my local roadways over the years and the guys know they are the gems. I found a rather decent 4x4 long bed in a neighborhood close to mine that only came out occasionally. I asked the owner what his plans were with it one day and he replied "just drive it. It's my truck." He's long gone now and the truck wasn't under his carport one day when I drove by. It would have made a nice sister truck to mine and I would have bought it from him on the spot had he ever considered selling it.....I think I mentioned this in the thread a while back....
The true designation for the Grail trucks is 98.5 model year as that was a quad cab with the later updated dash.
Kurt
I disagree. The '98.5 came with the 24V and WAY too much wiring for my tastes [and many others].
The holy grail truck is the 3 month only quad cab 12 Valve. It has the updated dash as that changed the beginning of the year in '98.
I own a very rare beast as it was special ordered with a strange combo - A 12V 5 speed 4x4 QCSB SRW 3500.
Not many 3500 SRW short beds I have run into, let alone one with the quad cab and 12V 5 speed option.
I disagree. The '98.5 came with the 24V and WAY too much wiring for my tastes [and many others].
The holy grail truck is the 3 month only quad cab 12 Valve. It has the updated dash as that changed the beginning of the year in '98.
I own a very rare beast as it was special ordered with a strange combo - A 12V 5 speed 4x4 QCSB SRW 3500.
Not many 3500 SRW short beds I have run into, let alone one with the quad cab and 12V 5 speed option.
I always thought the .5 designation was the Quad Cab and newer dash layout and the few 12v's left were used up until the 24v's came online...and also you could still order a Club Cab config for a while...
My truck is technically a 3500 SRW with the Plow package and extra rear leafs but I never knew them to offer the 3500 designation on a SRW back then for some reason and they also wouldn't rate it above 8800 lbs GVW....seems they are all 3500's now
The 98.5 denotes that a 1998 truck was built late enough to get a 24v instead of a 12v. My early '98, which has a 12v, is also a quad cab with the same interior setup as any other 1998-meaning the new dash, mostly.
I always thought the .5 designation was the Quad Cab and newer dash layout and the few 12v's left were used up until the 24v's came online...and also you could still order a Club Cab config for a while...
My truck is technically a 3500 SRW with the Plow package and extra rear leafs but I never knew them to offer the 3500 designation on a SRW back then for some reason and they also wouldn't rate it above 8800 lbs GVW....seems they are all 3500's now
Kurt
No the quad cab came out in '98.0. That '98.0 dash is updated from the '94-'97 years.
Yes you could order a club cab after '98, as I have personally owned a '99 1500 V8 2wd club cab [NO rear doors] but the newer dash.
Yes I understand the 2500 with the added camper springs and plow package, as I special ordered one of those in '95 with a 5 speed and waited a month for it to show up.
That is NOT what I am talking about.
My '98.0 SRW QC SHORTBED is a 3500, it CLEARLY stated 11,000 GVW on the door jamb. As I said it is a very LOW production rig with the 12V, 5 speed, quad cab, short bed, single rear axle and the GVW to back it up. It is NOT just a 2500 with 3500 door badges.
