’94 RAM Cummins Roars

We don’t see many these days… so we just had to share the 1994 Dodge Ram work truck that Ted Soares brought to the Banks Installation Center this week. To say that his ’94 stands out in a crowd would be an understatement. Ted’s company, Aloha Fab & Dockworks Inc. in Anaheim, CA, specializes in loading dock equipment and installation, and everything he needs for a job is on the truck. “The truck was built around my tools,” explains Tony. “And, it’s been with the company almost as long as I have.” Tipping the scales at over 15,000 pounds, his Ram desperately needed more power. Because Tony has no interest in getting rid of it, he opted instead to upgrade his beast’s power with the Banks Twin-Ram Intake Manifold and the Quick-Turbo turbine housing with Banks BigHead Actuator.

“This truck was a dream of mine in the early days of my business. The fact is I bought that when I was only four years into it. Cummins was a customer of mine, too, and I needed to represent. I had a bunch of Ford work trucks, and this was the only Dodge. I loved the looks of it, and the fact that it had a Cummins in it only made it better. The engine, even this old, is just a fantastic workhorse. It may weight a ton, but it’s as durable as an anvil. I mean, the truck is over 30 years old and I’m the original owner, so I know its entire history, and it’s one of the best diesels you could ever own. Made me wish I had a Cummins in all of those Fords.”

The truck is his calling card, and Tony made it as outrageous as possible to get noticed.. “I cut that truck up in the front and fabricated the suspension. I thought that it was going to be a two-week job, but it ended up being two months. It’s a custom setup with Fabtech and Superlift suspension components. Did I need that set up for what I was doing? No, but it looked really cool. The truck’s suspension, paint scheme, and dual big rig exhaust make it memorable. I even had a buddy of mine polish up the Twin-Ram before it was installed so that it had more bling. Sometimes, when I drive up to a construction site, work stops. It’s a branding thing. People call me up, saying that they saw me here or there, and that’s the point. People see this truck and either know the business it comes from or want to look it up. And that right there is the whole deal, man.”