A Mopar Masterpiece: The Evolution of Aaron West’s Custom Build

AARON WEST’S MULTI-FACETED MOPAR RIG

As many know, it takes a village to build a radical truck. Sometimes, it even takes a bunch of parts from multiple vehicles in order to piece together one complete pickup that features the best components from the various sources. Luckily, there’s no official playbook to follow when customizing vehicles, which makes this scene so much fun to watch. The best completed projects often feature top shelf creativity and ingenuity, and that is a combination that we never get enough of.

Aaron West of Plano, Illinois, is just under 30 years old, but he spent more than half of those years attending truck shows.

“I was introduced to it throughout some of my dad’s friends,” Aaron says. “I first attended the Schied Diesel Extravaganza with them back in 2005, and ever since then, building my own custom diesel trucks has been a lifelong passion for me.”

With the help of brother Austin and friend TJ Ostreko, Aaron set out to build a killer truck from what would soon become nothing more than a parts donor. With his previous truck projects also being Dodge pickups, it’s safe to say that Aaron is a bit of a diesel Mopar fanatic.

“This build originally started off as a 1992 W250 5-speed Cummins,” he admits. “I planned to push a little bit of power out of that truck, but with it being from the north, it had rust and needed a new cab. I quickly found a complete 1990 Dodge D150 gasoline truck in Southern Illinois that had been left in a field since it was parked in 1998. Surprisingly, it only had some light scratches and dents and was very clean overall for a Midwest vehicle.”

This was the point of no return for Aaron’s W250 as he knew it. Even with a new cab, his plan to extract more performance from the truck’s engine remained in place, although his method in getting there altered course.

“My buddy TJ and I started discussing chassis upgrade options, and he suggested something I would have never thought of—doing a third-gen chassis swap.” Aaron exclaims. “Doing this would simplify the process of boxing the frame and coil spring-swapping the first-gen chassis. With help from guys on forums and Facebook groups, we knew the swap was doable, so we searched and found a wrecked 2003 Dodge Quad Cab longbed 4×4 that we salvaged the frame from.”

Once that frame was freed up, TJ shortened it 28.5 inches behind the transmission crossmember and removed all cab and bed mounts.

“The front cab mounts had to be notched to clear the frame, and the body was set on all new body mounts,” Aaron says about the swap. “TJ also built a new trans tunnel to clear the 48re that is under the truck now. In wanting to maintain the factory look of the bed, we had to chop the rear spring and shock mounts to sit flush with the top of the frame. We also notched the bed frame rails and got the bed to sit level with the cab while sitting on the rails.”

Even though Aaron did follow through with his plan to build up the original engine the truck started with, it wasn’t long before he began looking for something newer with much more muscle.

“During the winter of 2023/2024, I found a 2006 Cummins that was owned and built by Ethyn Johnson in Richland Center, Wisconsin,” he adds. “He used it for dirt drags and had built the engine pretty much exactly how I had planned. At the time, it seemed easier to buy the engine already done to save time and money, so I sold the 12-valve I built and bought the truck from Ethyn. I then sold the rolling chassis and trans and used the money to finish the swap how I wanted. The engine was built internally but I cleaned it up, added and changed a few things, and swapped the 488 single charger for the 476 that’s on it now. I finished the swap by using a Firepunk standalone 846 relocation engine harness and hid the ECM behind the dash to clean up as many wires as possible.”

The last phase of the project so far has seen the addition of 18×12 Weld Racing Cheyenne wheels that Aaron found on Marketplace in Georgia. Luckily, the seller was cool enough to ship them to save Aaron a trip. Once he had the wheels in hand, Aaron began shopping around for new rubber, and landed on a set of 315/40/18 Nitto 555G2 tires.

Even though Aaron also made some progress inside of the cab, he still has a lot he’d like to see done to his ever-changing Dodge.

“My plans in the future are to finish cleaning up some wiring in the engine bay and behind the dash,” he says. “I’d also like to add some race seats and harnesses so I can do a bit of racing with the truck. I’m hoping to have it on the track at a few Outlaw Diesel Super Series (ODSS) events in 2025. I’m sure as I learn more through racing, the truck will continue to change and evolve as I go.”

1990 Dodge D150

Owner: Aaron West
Plano, IL

Engine & Drivetrain  

• 2006 5.9L Cummins (.20 over)
• Assembly by Ethyn Johnson, Richland Center, WI
• Haisley 12-valve rods
• Colt 188/220 camshaft
• 6.7L Cummins cylinder heads
• 7/16-inch pushrods
• Hamilton Beehive springs
• Fleece rocker arm bridges
• ARP 625 bolts
• Wehrli Custom Fab intake
• Factory 2nd gen Cummins intercooler
• FIS 476/96/1.15 turbocharger
• Pusher intake manifold
• AirDog 5G 220gph lift pump
• S&S 300% injector and 12mm injection pump
• EFI Live programmer tuned by Paul Cato at Maverick Diesel
• Firepunk standalone 849 relocation harness
• Steed Speed Comp T6 exhaust
• 4-inch stainless exhaust
• Tear drop hood stack (BSI wastegate) piping done by Drew Laskowski at Flatout Kustoms
• 2006 48RE transmission modified by Carl at Redline Powertrain, Batavia, IL
• DPC triple disc convertor
• Muldoon valve body
• B&M switched shifter
• ATC driveshaft
• Optima RedTop battery

Chassis & Suspension

• 3rd gen Dodge chassis swap
• Crew cab long bed frame shortened 28.5 inches
• Borgeson steering shaft, modified 1st gen steering column
• Custom traction bars by TJ Ostreko
• Modified factory front coils
• Bilstein 5100 shocks all around
• Factory leaf springs
• 2-inch drop shackles

Wheels & Tires 

• 18×12 Weld Racing Cheyenne wheels
• 315/40/18 Nitto 555G2 tires
• Factory brakes

Body & Paint 

• Bed rails notched to clear 3rd gen chassis
• Phillips headlights
• 20-gallon fuel cell in bed
• Custom trans tunnel to clear 48re

Interior & Stereo

• Factory seats
• Tan bandana pattern headliner and matching custom door panels
• Motion Raceworks MPI steering wheel
• Power windows and locks
• Double DIN radio
• 3-gauge pod in old radio location
• Power driven diesel boost, EGT, trans temp and lift pump PSI
• Control panel controlling custom key, EFI Live switch, push-to-start, radiator fans