BETTER THAN NEW
Shane Ryans’ 90,000 Original Mile 1993 Dodge Power Ram W250
Shane Ryans’ grandfather William D. Moody purchased this 1993 Dodge Power Ram W250 new in July of 1993 to use his daily driver and farm truck. Unfortunately, he was only able to enjoy the truck for a few months until he suffered a stroke in September of 1993. The stroke left him paralyzed on his right side and unable to drive the truck. While the truck did get occasional use around the farm and for towing/hauling duty when needed by the family it mostly sat outside exposed to the elements. In December of 2005 Moody passed away, then in 2006 Shane and his family decided to restore the truck to its former glory in honor of their late patriarch.
Being exposed to the elements for 13-years the truck had quite a bit of surface rust as the early ‘90s factory paint failed the test of time. While it was in need of fresh paint and some other work, it had relatively few miles on the clock and was in pretty darn good shape all told. Deciding to address the condition of the paint first Shane stripped the bed from the chassis and began the tedious work of whipping the 5.9L Cummins-powered rig back into shape. He handed the truck off to the experts at Pro Body Shop in Kingsport, TN to take care of the surface rust and spray on fresh coats of Dark Spectrum Blue Metallic over Light Driftwood Satin Glow paint then they buffed and polished it to perfection.
The exterior body trim was reinstalled after the new paint was laid down to retain the factory original appearance of the truck. The original chrome bumpers were cleaned then reinstalled and look like new along with the factory chrome mirrors. Not wanting to risk the rare original grille Shane replaced it with an aftermarket grille that was on the truck during our photoshoot, but since then he has reinstalled the original DODGE grille with a clear protective film installed on it. To improving lighting all the way around he installed an APC headlight conversion with LED bulbs and replaced the incandescent bulbs with LEDs in the rest of the factory original housings front and rear.
Shane’s father Jackie Ryans cleaned up and repainted the chassis bringing it back to nearly new condition to match the amazing paint work done by the team at Pro Body Shop. While most of the chassis is fully stock Shane did opt to install a 2.5-inch Skyjacker leveling kit up front for a more appealing stance. To tame the ride the factory shocks were replaced with adjustable Ranch RS9000XLs on all four corners. The front and rear axle assemblies are stock as are the brakes, but they painted the front calipers and rear drums blue as an accent color.
With the added ride height Shane was able to increase the tire size on the 4WD truck by installing a set of Fury Country Hunter R/T 33X12.50R20LT tires wrapped around 20×10-inch chrome Hostile Alpha eight-spoke wheels to give the classic truck a modern touch. The open spokes in the wheels allow the painted calipers and drums to be easily seen. He also installed a set of 1.5-inch spacers in the rear to match the front track width rather than having the rear tires sit inboard as they did from the factory. Amazingly the truck still retains its unused original spare tire below the bed.
After the exterior was whipped back into shape Shane turned his attention to the interior which like the exterior was still in great shape and only needed a little additional love. The original dash down to the fully functional original cassette player with factory equalizer was simply cleaned and left alone, but sound quality was improved by installing a pair of Pioneer 4-way 6×9-inch speakers in the doors behind the factory grilles. The seat was reupholstered by Philip Almany at Kingsport Trim Shop in Kingsport, TN using factory style cloth and vinyl materials in a factory pattern. The truck is an LE model, so it came fully loaded with tilt wheel, cruise control, power windows, door locks and mirrors that are all still working along with the original air conditioning that still blows ice cold air.
To help keep an eye on the Cummins’ performance Shane installed a gauge pillar pod on the driver side A-pillar with a pair of AutoMeter Cobalt gauges to monitor boost pressure and exhaust gas temperature. Then to help keep prying eyes out of the interior and look cool at the same time he had the windows tinted. The final dress up item in the interior was a replacement gear shift knob painted in silver to row the gears in the original Getrag G360 5-speed manual transmission.
The final part of the restoration turned out to be more modification than restoration with Shane wanting something more than a clean stock appearance under the hood. Internally the 5.9L Cummins 12-valve engine is completely stock, and why not with only 93,000 miles on the clock many Cummins enthusiasts would say it is just now well-seasoned and broke-in. To improve engine performance, he installed a set of 50 hp injectors driven by the original VE44 rotary injection pump along with a turbo upgrade and free flowing intake and exhaust.
“The final part of the restoration turned out to be more modification than restoration with Shane wanting something more than a clean stock appearance under the hood.”
Spent exhaust gases exit the cylinder head through a polished stainless steel exhaust manifold from Stainless Diesel. The hot gasses spool a 62mm Bullseye Power turbo charger to make boost quickly and efficiently before exiting the truck through a stainless steel 4-inch turbo-back exhaust system. Clean air enters the Bullseye turbo through a Pusher Intakes air filter and intake tube that is painted silver to match the truck. The boosted intake charge is sent to the factory intercooler through Pusher Intakes boost tubes that are also painted silver and carry the intake charge to the cylinder head as well. Shane installed a custom painted Cummins valve cover plate to cap the individual valve covers and dress the 5.9L. The engine work was handled by Don’s Diesel Repair in Surgoinsville, TN along with help and work by both Jackie and Shane.
On the electrical side of things Shane installed a large single Optima group 31 battery in the factory location on the driver side but painted the top of it blue to blend in with the theme of the truck. He also carefully cleaned, loomed and rerouted the wiring under the hood for a very clean look that is far better that it was when it rolled off the assembly line.
Shane and his family finished the restoration in 2019 after 12-13-years of hard work and excellent attention to detail. The final result is a stunning W250 that any Cummins enthusiast would be proud to own, but it is even more special since it is a rolling tribute to family patriarch William D. Moody. Since completing the truck, he has entered the truck in several truck shows earning Best of Show, Best Truck, Best Dodge, Best Antique and People’s Choice awards. No doubt Moody would be proud that his truck brought the family together for the build, we know that Shane and the rest of the family are certainly proud of their hard work.
