RED RAM ?

[Hirschy41]

My grandfather drove nothing but Dodge trucks, and I now have a 66 D200 Crew to remember him. One of his trucks was re-done while I was a child and I always heard him and my mom refer to it as Red Ram. I have been in this Sweptline group for a couple of years now, and have looked around a bit for anything referring to a potential Red Ram. Originally I was thinking that he had restored it back to the original Red Ram that he bought.

Because I have found nothing about Red Rams, I am now thinking that he simply restored his red Ram pickup and gave it a formal name. Anyone else ever heard anything about this?

Also, I would like to get an idea about the rarity of what I believe he had. Understand, this is from the memory of a child so I could be off. I know it was an early gen sweptline ute due to the grill and four headlights. Dont now what engine, but it had a push-button transmission. I have rarely seen any push-button trucks on the site pics. Were they rare because they were odd? Were they problematic? I always thought it was cool as a kid, and it was the only vehicle I ever drove/drove in that had it.

Eric

[WD]

Most Dodges were work trucks at some point, and flat got worn out. Automatics weren't rare, but not common like they are today. So they went away sooner.

Red Ram was probably a pet name for the truck, my 69 D100-128 is called Rat F*** the Wonder Truck... Red Ram was also the name of the early Hemi V8s in the Dodge car division.

[712edf]

Dodge used the term "Red Ram" to describe certain V8 engines that they offered in the late 50's. For 1958 it was applied to the 325 poly v8. In 1960 it was applied to a 230hp 318 v8 (both according to allpar.com)
I don't know if these were strictly car engines or if they came in trucks too.
Bucky

[RAYMAN]

A freind of mine has a 1964 Dodge 1 1/2 ton truck witha poly 318 and the air cleaner says Red Ram on it. That truck is all original his dad bought it new and the motors never been out of the truck. It only has 97 thousand miles but they are very hard miles.

[Jims68]

I had a '55 Dodge Royal Lancer (car) and it had a "Super Red Ram" engine. That was a very small Hemi. They also had in '55 a Red Ram engine that was a Poly. But I am not sure of either engine displacement for '55. Easy to Google though I am sure.

Jim

[66patrick]

Mt '53 Coronet sedan that I owned in 1977 had the Red Ram Hemi in it, with Fluid Drive. The Red Ram name applied to Dodge Hemis in cars and trucks from 1953 through the last use of the Hemi in trucks in 1958.

Don't take allpar.com's word for everything Mopar as gospel; they are wrong every now and then.

[712edf]

I merely credited Allpar as the source of my information. I wasn't claiming it to be 100% correct or exclusive.
I'm guessing the OP's grandfather had a truck from the 50's.
Bucky

[WD]

My 58 D300 stake had a 315 poly in it, no name on the valve covers, they just looked like a cross between poly 318 and Ford 272-312 Y block covers. Rusty Crusty Fugly was what Lisa named that heap...

[Johninky]

I had a '55 Dodge Royal Lancer (car) and it had a "Super Red Ram" engine. That was a very small Hemi. They also had in '55 a Red Ram engine that was a Poly. But I am not sure of either engine displacement for '55. Easy to Google though I am sure.

Jim

Knew someone with the same car when I was a teenager.Almost sure the engine was 270ci. His car was also a stick, super rare. Can't count all the Fords and Chevys he beat in that car. Thinking the Red Ram started as a 241Cid engine. Grew to 270 and finally the 315.

[Hirschy41]

Thanks for the input. I also found similar info on the 50's era engines with Red Ram name. My grandfather's truck that I was referring to was a Ute, four-headlight grill version. In looking at various pics around the site, I believe his was a 63 or 64.