Dodge Done Texas Style

Jason Matthew Woodall is a happy camper. His good mood stems from the fact that he loves his '98 Dodge Ram, and he says he loves the whole slammed show truck atmosphere. Jason's Highlands, Texas, address put him in the backyard of some very talented truck builders and he was not one to waste a good opportunity.

Back in June of 1998, Jason plunked down $19,700 for his Ram and busied himself with extensive modifications over the next two years. Perhaps that should read: Ekstensive modifications, since nearby Houston, Texas, is the home of Bill Carlton's world-famous custom shop, Air Suspension by Ekstensive.

Jason delivered his Dodge to Bill's shop for a bit of altitude adjustment in the form of an Ekstensive airbag suspension. The big red Ram received Belltech shocks and Firestone 2600-series airbags at all four corners. A C-notch in the rear framerails and an Ekstensive custom two-link rear setup allowed Jason to install 20-inch B. Coddington billet rims wrapped with Nitto P255/35R20 tires.

After getting his ride height right, Jason turned his attention to the business of creating a body beautiful for his Dodge. His truck didn't need a haircut, but it certainly did get a shave. Jason chose Chaotic Customs in Tomball, Texas, as the preferred shop for his exterior mods. The Chaotic crew shaved the Dodge's door handles, tailgate handle, antenna post, and the bodyline across the tailgate. While they were sanding and smoothing things, Jason had Chaotic soften the bodylines on the side of the truck too.

A pair of Cadillac taillights replaced the stock items, and a steel roll pan was molded into place at the same time. Mesh inserts were added to the grille and lower valance and a nifty billet Iron Cross was welded to the tailgate. A SnugTop hard tonneau finished up the bed and the Dodge was ready for paint. Another Tomball shop, Maxed Out, performed the white-to-orange faded flame job using House of Kolor Flame Red, Pearl White, Sunrise Yellow, Tangelo, and Electric Blue. As evidence of its handiwork, Maxed Out personalized the paintwork with the names Chaotic Customs and Maxed Out just above the billet cross on the tailgate.

Having completed the exterior of his Ram, Jason turned his truck over to two more shops for some custom interior amenities. Madd Concepts in San Leon, Texas, was charged with transforming the stock Ram cab into something more closely resembling the reworked exterior. Most of the dashboard was painted bright red and accented with tweed and black leather trim. The stock Dodge bucket seats were redone in black leather, and the headliner was covered in more tweed with raised flame-pattern accents.

Madd Concepts fabricated a custom center console and a pair of custom door panels to finish off the upholstery work. As a final custom interior touch, Jason bolted on a Colorado Customs billet aluminum fire-design steering wheel to reinforce the flamed exterior motif.

The last stop in Jason's tour of the custom shops in Texas was at Envirotech, an audio/visual specialty shop in Houston. Envirotech mated the stock Dodge CD head unit with amplifiers from Punch and Kenwood. Two 12-inch subwoofers were wired up behind the seats and mid- and high-range speakers mounted in the door panels. The combination of stock and aftermarket audio components resulted in a clean, uncluttered interior with most of the hardware hidden out of sight.

After spending the better part of two years modifying his truck, Jason spends a lot of time showing it off whenever he can. He claims his Dodge has taken a trophy at nearly every show he entered it in. To further express his enthusiasm for his custom Ram, Jason ordered his Texas license plate with just two appropriate words on it, GOT RAM.

And that's just about all that needs to be said about this custom creation from the Lone Star State. Jason Woodall has definitely got Ram.

The license plate says it...        read full caption The license plate says it all. Jason has definitely got Ram.

Chaotic Customs fabricated...        read full caption Chaotic Customs fabricated the nifty billet Iron Cross on the tailgate. Just to make sure it stays in place, Jason had it welded to the tailgate.

The stock Ram front end looks...        read full caption The stock Ram front end looks surprisingly custom with the addition of a mesh grille insert and matching panels in the lower valance.

Mike Jones at Chaotic Customs...        read full caption Mike Jones at Chaotic Customs in Tomball, Texas, performed most of the body mods on Jason's Ram. The Cadillac taillights look right at home on the back of this Mopar machine.

Five different colors of House...        read full caption Five different colors of House of Kolor paint were used to create the fading flame graphic.

It's big, red, radical, and...        read full caption It's big, red, radical, and it's a Dodge Ram. Jason Woodall's '98 Ram spent a lot of time in custom shops in his home state of Texas. After two years and $20,000, the truck went from mild to wild in high style.