75 Dually Project - 22s and stylin

So how did you do your front suspension? You said that you still have the stock AC/Heater setup on the firewall. I really want to keep my stock setup if at all possible. Really would like to see some pics of how you did your suspension setup. I am getting ready to turn the truck around in the shop and get started on the front end as soon as I get a couple of items finished on the rear end. Thanks again for the info above!

Last night I got some work done on the bed. I started squaring it up and getting it set up correctly. I spent a ton of time cutting all the tubing I am going to need for mounting it. The pics below look like a mess with all those ratchet straps all over the place, but it is coming together slow but surely...

my truck has the standard upper plates like below.....the bottom plate is just a circle plate welded to the lower arm.....i have 3 inch drop spindles....even have stock length Sensa-trac shocks in stock location....its maybe an inch from laying out flat up front......the tire barely touches the a/c blower box when laid out....if i drove it all the way down it would destroy the a/c box but after a year and half its still good....its about to come off though cause in gonna cup my lower arms and body it

Thanks so much for all the info! I can't wait until you get that done. That will look killer...

Look what the UPS guy brought me! Rear dually fender trim. Does anyone have a pair for the front? If so please let me know!

Today was a half day in the shop. I wanted a full day, but noooo.... First of all I hate plumbing!!! I had to fix our bathroom faucet. After I bought a new one at Home Depot and got it home I opened the box and found out it was broken!!! So back to Home Depot I went... Did I mention that I hate plumbing!!!

Once I got to the shop I finished up the rear bed mounts. I will be making up the upper frame later in the week once I can get to the steel house and buy more 1X1 stock.

I have decided tonight that I am going to have a raised wooden bed. At first I was going to reuse the stock metal bed, but even though it is in really good shape it will be just too much work. I have a very good friend who is a cabinet maker in town and I will get him to cut me the planks. He always has some stunning wood around for his customer builds, so I am sure that he can find me some really cool stuff for this build.

By the way I have the ugliest tailgate in town! Maybe in all West Texas! I picked this thing up last year in Amarillo for $25. It is actually in good shape and just needs the old paint stripped and some body work done. Only slight surface rust so It should not be that difficult to make the ugly duckling into a swan...

here is how I framed out my bed.....i used all 1x1 tubing.... about 70 foot of it.....it would be real easy to mount wood....i bought a wood bed kit for one of my previous builds but it got rear ended before i ever got to put it in.....hard to beat the look of stained wood.....to mount it I made spacers outta 1x1 and some all thread.....i welded the upper nuts on good and cut the all thread the right length and welded a nut on the other end to make my own bolts....also left enough space between sheetmetal floor and bracket to get a wrench in on the upper nut incase the weld ever fails i can still get a wrench on it

I looked at how you did your bed quite closely. My pictures above are just of my lower structure and to get the bed located and level. I really like how you did the all thread to mount the upper deck, really cool! (I have a feeling I will be using that idea...) I want a completely flat upper deck with wood. I talked to my buddy at church this weekend and he gave me a ton of ideas on what we can do for the wood bed. First of all I have to get the upper frame work completed...

I also added a pic I took of the front structure. I wanted to tie in the stock mounting locations on the lower structure. I wanted to be able to take the bed on and off in the future. So I drilled 5/16" holes through the 1X1 stock for the mounting bolts and then on the outside I drilled a 3/4" hole so I could get a socket in the hole to tighten the mounting bolts. Hopefully you can see it in the pic. I am not totally done with the lower structure yet, still want additional bracing, but it is getting close to being finished.

Taking a straw poll. What would you think of a 61 Chevy truck dash in place of the 75? We have found another starter truck for my son and I to build, so we are going to use the 61 (the cab of which is very rough) for a parts vehicle.

Your thoughts???

Do it, I like the style of the 61 dash. It will be different. Great build.


Shannon