No doubt you have heard the expression, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” but in many cases it is much easier said than done. This was the case for Seth Johnson, a 26-year-old Indiana state highway worker from Brazil, Ind., when he wrecked his beloved 1999 Dodge RAM 2500 not long after graduating from high school. The truck was a total loss and written off by the insurance company, leaving him with no ride. Rather than wallowing in his loss, he purchased the remains of the truck back from the insurance company and went to work salvaging the chassis and drivetrain.
But having a functional chassis and drivetrain wasn’t enough to drive to work or take his wife Brooklyn out on a date, so he needed a new body to round things up. Johnson and his father had seen a classic Chevrolet C/10 sitting in a nearby field and decided it would be a great match for the Dodge chassis and Cummins engine. The owner of the truck wanted it to have a new life and Johnson was the one to make it happen.
No doubt you have heard the expression, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” but in many cases it is much easier said than done. This was the case for Seth Johnson, a 26-year-old Indiana state highway worker from Brazil, Ind., when he wrecked his beloved 1999 Dodge RAM 2500 not long after graduating from high school. The truck was a total loss and written off by the insurance company, leaving him with no ride. Rather than wallowing in his loss, he purchased the remains of the truck back from the insurance company and went to work salvaging the chassis and drivetrain.
But having a functional chassis and drivetrain wasn’t enough to drive to work or take his wife Brooklyn out on a date, so he needed a new body to round things up. Johnson and his father had seen a classic Chevrolet C/10 sitting in a nearby field and decided it would be a great match for the Dodge chassis and Cummins engine. The owner of the truck wanted it to have a new life and Johnson was the one to make it happen.
While the suspension retains the factory Dodge configuration, Johnson upgraded the ball joints with Dynatrac rebuildable units to firm up the front end and improve longevity. The original 3.55-geared Dana 60 and Dana 80 axles were dressed up with a fresh coat of chassis black paint to match the reworked frame. The chassis rolls on a set of 33X12.50R20LT Atturo Trail Blade M/T tires that are wrapped around 20×12-inch Fuel Maverick 8-spoke wheels with chrome centers to give the classic truck a modern look without going overboard.
With the original valve cover removed, Johnson replaced the factory valve springs with a set of performance valve springs from Hamilton Cams, then installed a color-matched Cummins Industrial valve cover. He also replaced the stock fuel injectors with a 250hp set from Scheid Diesel that are fed plenty of #2 through a set of .093 stainless steel fuel lines and a P7100 P-pump conversion rather than the original VE-pump. To improve performance further he upgraded the pump with a set of Full-Cut delivery valves and 5k governor springs to deliver large amounts of fuel even while spinning at high RPM. An SFI-rated billet ATS Diesel flexplate is used to link the engine to the billet Recon torque converter, sending the estimated 600 horsepower to the Dodge 47RE automatic transmission.
With the original valve cover removed, Johnson replaced the factory valve springs with a set of performance valve springs from Hamilton Cams, then installed a color-matched Cummins Industrial valve cover. He also replaced the stock fuel injectors with a 250hp set from Scheid Diesel that are fed plenty of #2 through a set of .093 stainless steel fuel lines and a P7100 P-pump conversion rather than the original VE-pump. To improve performance further he upgraded the pump with a set of Full-Cut delivery valves and 5k governor springs to deliver large amounts of fuel even while spinning at high RPM. An SFI-rated billet ATS Diesel flexplate is used to link the engine to the billet Recon torque converter, sending the estimated 600 horsepower to the Dodge 47RE automatic transmission.
Moving to the sides of the truck he installed new replacement marker lights from LMC Truck. Rounding the corner to the rear of the truck you’ll find another bright chrome LMC Truck bumper also with flush-mount Auxbeam LED pod lights installed. Each rear corner is dressed up with a new set of taillights from LMC while the bed is capped by a tonneau cover from Truxedo, a Truck Hero brand that conceals the bed-mounted fuel cell.
Looking at the finished truck it is easy to see that Johnson’s hard work and determination paid off. He entered the truck in the famous Scheid Diesel Extravaganza show-n-shine and won the Best Custom award in 2018. While working on the truck project he and his father drew close to the former owner of the C/10. After finishing the build, they took the truck over and showed him how it turned out. He was overwhelmed and with tears in his eyes said that he couldn’t believe it was the same truck and that he was happy that the truck was in good hands and brought back to life from the old truck that sat in the weeds. So next time life gives you lemons, think about this amazing C/10 showing that even a totaled truck and a rusty classic can be turned into a stunning showstopper!
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