A Custom 1,500 HP Short Bed Ram On A Duramax Silverado Chassis? What Is This Wild Truck?

Most purists would call it sacrilege, but Myer from Power Driven calls it a riot. This is not just a body swap. It is a full Duramax chassis swap designed to solve the problem of getting a truck to sit on the ground while retaining four-wheel drive. What he created is a 1995 Dodge Ram body that was a regular-cab short-bed configuration Dodge never actually produced.

1,500 Horsepower Squeezed In

Under the hood sits a 6.7-liter Cummins Street Fighter engine, but fitting the air needed to feed it was difficult. Because of the tight squeeze between the engine and the frame rails, Myer had to get creative with the compound turbos. He stacked them vertically instead of the usual side-by-side layout. He explained, “Normally, when you do a compound setup like this, you have to go side-by-side. However, because Duramax frame things, that was the only way I was able to get it to fit.”

The Logic Behind the Duramax Chassis Swap

The decision to ditch the Dodge frame came down to stance and traction. A solid axle front end usually handles poorly when slammed, but the independent front suspension of the Chevy offered a solution. Myer noted, “Regular-cab short-beds, in my opinion, only look good if they’re low.” By cutting the frame to allow axle clearance, he achieved a stance where the axle hits the frame at the same time the tire hits the fender. This setup allows the truck to launch hard in four-wheel drive without breaking parts.

A Daily Driver Built In 5 Weeks

One of the biggest perks of the project was regaining practicality. The Duramax chassis swap allowed him to use the factory Chevy fuel tank location. This freed up the bed space that previously held a fuel cell. Myer joked, “Ever since then, we’ve nicknamed this thing the work truck because, you know, it’s got a full 6-foot bed.” What is even more impressive is the turnaround time. Myer stripped the donor frame and had the truck driving again in just 5 weeks.

An Absolute Riot On The Street

The finished product is a confused but capable machine that loves to embarrass supercars. It handles the daily commute just as easily as it handles a sled pull or a burnout contest. The bold move to mix manufacturers resulted in a truck that can plant massive horsepower to the pavement without hesitation. As Myer put it, “With four-wheel drive now, it’s so much fun to take people for rides because they have no idea what’s about to happen.”