Ram truck SLT to SRT in 329 easy steps!

[Kern Dog]

One last thing to do for these corner pieces. There are three metal clips that have to go on the sides to hold the panels tight to the body.

I just have to pull the corner cladding pieces and measure down from the tape to the flanged edges.

Here you can see a gap the will be closed up with those tiny brackets in place.

I measured 1 1/8” from the top of the panel to center of the hole for the bracket.

 

[eldubb440]

 

[Kern Dog]

Ha!
No matter what I do, I get cracks on my hands. If I sit on the couch, my hands would heal and stay soft. They dry out and get cracks when I'm busy doing man things.

 

[Kern Dog]

We all know that automakers will copy a design that others have used. Yesterday I saw this....

That is a Chevy....

Note how the panel extends past the corner and taillight.

Who did it first? The SRT-10 was built 2004-2006.

Not much progress today...

 

[Kern Dog]

Maybe you are like me.
Sometimes when I embark on a new experience, I have it in my head that it will be more difficult than it turns out to be. Often times I get into it and realize that it was easier than I expected. Sometimes it goes the other way but this time it was the former.
The little support clips for the rear cladding had to be in a pretty specific spot to work. The tape line above the cladding did give a reference point.
I measured the 1 1/8” and had it marked as such.

The drill bit often “walks” a bit and gets you away from the target.

I’m at 1 3/16” which will still work. I’d rather be slightly below the target than above it.
I made pilot holes with a 1/8” bit then a 5/16” bit.

Here is a view from underneath. The nuts and bolts are accessible from both sides.

Drilling into metal on a shiny painted surface!

The panel sips into place and fits great. Same with the left side.

Now some body filler to fill a few dings on the right bed side.

 

[multimopes]

Drilling into painted petal always makes me nervous.

Great thread Greg, not that I have done any drilling in painted panels lately, but way back when; a guy I knew that did body work & such said to always put masking tape over the area you are going to drill through to keep the paint from chipping. I'm not sure myself, but I think I used that tip a few times over the years. However I could be suffering from pre-senility!

 

[Kern Dog]

I'm looking to replace the headlight housings since mine look a bit weathered....

I saw these on ebay, they seem unreasonably cheap!

Several other listings had prices about the same so Maybe these are okay?
I might upgrade the bulbs too....

 

[multimopes]

I got a pair for my 2000 Dodge Ram at a similar price from Carparts.com, it's the old J.C.Whitney people. Very happy with them.

 

[ckessel]

See if there are pictures of the backsides of the lights. The Depo units I've been using on my 04 do not have vertical adjusters. Only horizontal. There is another brand, don't remember which, that showed theirs with vertical and horizontal.

 

[Kern Dog]

Here is a little bit of progress:
I ordered and received the headlight housings. I also ordered a SRT 8 badge that I'll affix to the tailgate where the SLT badge sits on this tailgate:

The filler on the right side was smoothed out, blocked multiple times, primed and considered finished.

I'm considering a spray in bedliner. I want to wrap it over to the top of the bed side but beforehand, I filled in a couple of dents up there.

Next up, install the cladding for good. I plan to scuff and shoot 3 more coats of color with the cladding in place. Fitting the cladding takes some patience and planning. Here it is finished:

Starting from the LEFT, that corner piece sits into clips attached to the bed side. It has screws in the wheel opening flange and one more around the corner near the tailgate. That was an easy once I got the clips figured out. The one up front at the fender is easy, just 3 screws into the wheel opening and two strips of 2 sided tape.

 

[Kern Dog]

Having the rear piece on, then the front allowed me to pull a string line to establish a perfectly straight line to apply a guiding tape line.

(That picture is out of sequence)
The next piece to go on is on the bed, forward of the wheel opening. It takes 2 plastic push-pegs that slip into the back side of the panel. The right one is in, the left hasn't been put in yet.

Holes need to be drilled to allow these pins to pass through. There is a little wiggle room but not a lot.

I test fit, then applied the 2 sided tape and stuck it in place.

The cab corner piece just sticks in place with the 2 sided tape.
The door is the hard part. There are 4 pegs to measure and drill for, it takes 4 strips of 2 sided tape, each strip about 4 feet long.

Remember, I had to remove that 16 feet of old tape from this panel. I had globs of that stuff all over the place.

I was nervous about drilling the holes in the wrong spot. There are two on the top edge about 1 1/8" below the edge. The other two were about 3/4 the way down in a curve so getting the measurements took a framers square, tape measure and luck.

Again, it somehow fit where it was supposed to and looks right.

The left side was next. The door is the hardest so I'll finish that tomorrow.

 

[Kern Dog]

Fender piece:

This is getting easier, I already pulled the tape over the bed pieces.

I've considered removing that chrome fuel door. It was on the truck when I bought it, the dealer installed it.

Just the door left to do.

Looking at the truck, I already had planned on painting about 80% of the bed, only masking the left side above the cladding.

Now I'm tempted to paint the whole bed. The tailgate is getting replaced as is the rear bumper which also gets painted. If I decide to replace that fuel door, it makes sense to paint the whole bed.

 

[MiradaMegaCab]

Nice thread, excellent progress! I filled these holes on my truck before I had the bed sprayed. It provides a smooth look.

 

[ckessel]

Greg, just think how much this change would have run you from a putty palace. As you're finding out, there is quite a bit to getting those pieces hung. At least they're factory parts so the fit is light years better than aftermarket. At the shop I managed, we would get some ricers coming by to ask us to hang their body kits, paint them etc. We stayed clear of those jobs since the "fit" of those kits sucked massively and the car owners had Alligator Arms.

 

[Kern Dog]

The last piece of cladding to install was the drivers door. Just like the right side, I was careful in how I measured and drilled and it went into place correctly.

I love the look. It is sort of like a wide body without the flares over the top.
In a couple of places, The panels don’t lay against the body as tight as I would prefer. Maybe the flanges got stretched a bit when they are removed from the junkyard truck?

The tape pulled up a bit too.

I may have to pull the right door piece to redo it.

I used the best tape they had. I still have some left if I have to try again.

 

[Phantomx]

Hey Greg. If you want that thing to look more “correct”, put on a pair of earlier smooth tail light lenses. Whoever they let redesign those things either loved 50s cars, or previously worked at Pontiac and thought that truck needed some circles on it. I’ve always thought they looked out of place.
Travis..

 

[Kern Dog]

The SRT 10 was built from 2004 to 2006. The 2006-2008 trucks all used these lenses:

I actually like them more than the 2002-2005 design.

I still have paintwork to do but I'm taking a break from this.
I'll lay down another 3 coats of paint before clear. The hood scoop and 2 replacement grilles will be painted off the truck and swapped after it all dries.
I'm still considering the Line-A-Bed coating to tidy up the bed area.
No, I will not be mounting a rear spoiler. I never thought it looked right on a truck and yes, I do use this as a truck, at least in terms of light duty towing and hauling. I've towed cars....

 

[Phantomx]

I’m pretty sure those lights started with the 07 model year. It makes no difference as long as you’re happy with them. I’m with you on the spoiler, not a fan. The srt unit may actually do something along with the bed cover, but the Daytona units just looked ridiculous.
Travis..

 

[Kern Dog]

Crap, you're right.

I’m pretty sure those lights started with the 07 model year. It makes no difference as long as you’re happy with them. I’m with you on the spoiler, not a fan. The srt unit may actually do something along with the bed cover, but the Daytona units just looked ridiculous.
Travis..

My 2006 truck...

 

[Kern Dog]

The gaps just kept nagging at me. I knew that I could do better.
On the left side, I pulled the door panel to see if there was anything that I could do from the inside.
I first peeked in there and saw that the plastic push clip you see here:

... that is attached to the top flange of the cladding...

...wasn't in all the way. The blue circled area in the top picture shows the black plastic peg that needs to come through a hole in the body and then spread to secure the panel and lay in tight. I pounded on the outside a few times and then saw that the black peg finally came through enough and spread open enough to get the panel to sit much closer to the body. It isn't flush but it is within 1 /16". This was at the rear of the door. For the middle and front edges, I wondered if I could maybe add screws from the door skin to the flange of the cladding piece. I thought I was careful, I could draw the top flange in tight. Well, the front edge is tight now....

I put a screw (from the inside) about 1 5/8" in from the front edge, near the hinge.

It pulled the panel in quite well, but....The screw was about 1/4" too long and it punched through the outer skin.

I dressed it with a grinder to below the surrounding area. I'll use some bumper repair epoxy to fill and hide the hole.
The panel lays much closer now though.

It is not perfect but it is close enough for me. I don't clearly remember how tight the panels fit on actual SRT-10 trucks. These pictures are the closest thing I have to them.

Looks pretty good. Nice and tight.

Here the right door shows a bit of a gap below the RAM and SRT badges.

I'll still do my best to get these as close as I can get them.