A Family Legacy: Miles Flight's Pristine 1994 Dodge Ram Cummins Build

A Family Legacy: Miles Flight’s Pristine 1994 Dodge Ram Cummins Build

Twenty-two years old. 177,000 miles. Original paint. One glance, you’d never believe it: Miles Flight’s ’94 Dodge Ram has spent more than two decades exposed to Northern Ohio winters. One reason for this second-gen Cummins’ near-perfect condition has to do with the fact that it’s been garage-kept most of its tenure. But don’t be mistaken; it’s seen its fair share of harsh weather. In fact, the truck plowed snow for the first three years of its life, and regularly saw snow until ‘08.

FAMILY HEIRLOOM

But the primary reason for the truck’s showroom stature rests in its sentimental value. You see, the truck originally belonged to Miles’ father, whose untimely passing in 1998 left the truck in the care of his mother. A few years later, it was sold to Miles’ uncle, who retained ownership until 2008: “I was a senior in high school when I bought it back,” Miles told us. “Essentially, the truck never left the family.”

Less is more when the right parts work in conjunction with each other.
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As you might’ve imagined, a lot of time, effort, and pride has gone into not only preserving the truck’s factory paint and bodylines, but also in modifying it. Add to that the fact that Miles is a talented fabricator, and you start to understand why the truck is built the way it is. Its traction bars, 5-inch lift, front long-arm kit, track bar, sway bar and links, dual steering stabilizer mount, and steering box stabilizer bracket can’t be ordered in a catalog—Miles built all of these components himself.

Under the hood of Miles Flight’s pristine ’94 Dodge Ram sits a 177,000-mile 5.9L Cummins with a stock bottom end. The factory 12-valve head was ported, polished, and fitted with O-rings at Enterprise Engine Performance, also sports 60-lb PacBrake valvesprings and is anchored to the block via ARP 2000 head studs. Miles, the owner of Flight Fabrications, built the valve cover plate.

A pair of Industrial Injection turbos cram 70 psi of boost into the engine. Up top sits a wastegated S364 with a polished compressor housing, while a T6 flanged S475 beneath it serves at the atmosphere unit. Miles fabricated all of the intercooler plumbing and exhaust piping to make the chargers work. The S364 mounts to a three-piece exhaust manifold from PDI.

The 12mm Bosch P7100 truck left the factory with is still employed, although it’s been fitted with .022 delivery valves, a billet rack plug, 4,000-rpm governor springs, and a #5 fuel plate. The old P-pump feeds a set of Dynomite Diesel Performance Stage 4 injectors (5x14’s) and Miles leaves the timing set around 16.5 degrees. — The 12mm Bosch P7100 truck left the factory with is still employed, although it’s been fitted with .022 delivery valves, a billet rack plug, 4,000-rpm governor springs, and a #5 fuel plate. The old P-pump feeds a set of Dynomite Diesel Performance Stage 4 injectors (5×14’s) and Miles leaves the timing set around 16.5 degrees.

From top to bottom, almost nothing has gone untouched on this second-gen. Just days before our photo shoot, Miles built the mesh steel grille insert you see here and had it powder coated to match the rest of the truck.

POWERHOUSE

Aside from the custom fabricated mod’s that made the truck more drivable and visually appealing, Miles didn’t skimp on anything in the power department either. While the factory bottom end was left alone, the head became the beneficiary of 60-lb. valve springs and was ported, polished, and fitted with O-rings at Enterprise Engine Performance. ARP head studs hold down the fort, anchoring the worked over 12-valve head to the block.

At the heart of the 5.9L Cummins rests the original 12mm P-pump. It’s graced with .022 delivery valves, 4,000-rpm governor springs, a billet rack plug, #5 fuel plate, and 16.5 degrees of timing advancement. The 175-hp (factory rated) P-pump is supplied with 35 psi of fuel pressure thanks to a 100-gph AirDog fuel system and sends fuel to a set of DDP Stage 4 injectors.

Ensuring adequate fuel supply makes it to the P7100 is a 100-gph AirDog system. Miles told us the original AirDog lift pump is set to send 35 psi the P-pump’s way.

The long arm kit shown here was built using 1026 DOM steel, Currie Enterprises (greasable) Johnny Joints, and greatly improved the drivability of the truck.

HOMEMADE COMPOUNDS

For airflow, Miles put his fabrication skills to use once more. After receiving an internally wastegated S364 and an S475 from Industrial Injection, he built his own compound turbo system. The intercooler tubes, hot-pipe, and turbo support brackets were all handcrafted in his shop, along with an aluminum airbox. The factory intake elbow was also ported for improved airflow.

POWER TRANSMISSION

Although NV4500 manual transmissions are robust in nature, Miles didn’t take any chances when it came to power transfer. In addition to adding a dual disc 3600 clutch from South Bend, he had the crew from nearby Tantrum Drivetrain beef up the five-speed’s weak links. The input shaft was upgraded to a 1-3/8-inch diameter unit, a chromoly main shaft was added, and third gear was cryogenically treated for utmost strength.

With stunningly clean looks, showpiece-worthy suspension components, and all the under hood bells and whistles to go along with it, this truck is truly an heirloom worth preserving. Even better: Nothing has been overdone. The cosmetic changes don’t disrupt the truck’s overall visual appeal, the suspension and steering upgrades were done—more or less—to improve drivability, and a time-tested combination of power adders are utilized to make good, “streetable” horsepower: “Less is more when the right parts work in conjunction with each other,” Miles told us. We couldn’t agree more. DW