1983 DODGE RAM
OFF-THE-GRID FIRST-GEN
A GROUND-UP CREW CAB DODGE, BUILT FOR OVERLANDING
BY MIKE MCGLOTHLIN
DIESEL
WORLD
MAGAZINE
Kelly Pfledderer is a successful businessman on the verge of his second retirement. He appreciates a quality product and he also enjoys a good adventure—reason enough to drop a crew cab first-gen project in the lap of J.B.’s 4x4, a small yet first-class custom vehicle operation in Kingman, Indiana, and have them turn it into an overlanding rig. Two years of fighting parts shortages, extended lead times, and shipping delays later, J.B.’s 4x4 was finally ready to deliver Kelly his off-the-grid first-gen. But before the truck headed West to the Rockies, we trekked over to Indiana corn-country for an exclusive look at a one-of-a-kind build.
The word “clean” would be an understatement when referring to the Cummins swap performed on Kelly Pfledderer’s ’83 Dodge. Although the 5.9L Cummins option wasn’t yet available in 1983, Dodge’s truck line went virtually unchanged from ’81 to ’93, which made this crew cab W250 repower pretty straightforward for J.B.’s 4x4, a shop that specializes in high-end diesel conversions and Jeep builds. The donor 12-valve was overhauled, upgraded with ARP head studs and a 178/208 camshaft from Hamilton Cams, and was aptly integrated using a custom wiring harness sourced from Painless Performance Products. No strangers to custom fabrication, the folks at J.B.’s 4x4 also fabbed up the aluminum radiator.
CUMMINS SWAP