My 89 CC Dually: Double Wide

[SCOTI]

So this thing became a distraction in the midst of my 1964 swb 'Recycle' project when the motor locked up.

I had done exceptionally well not touching much on this thing after I bought to help maintain my focus (& cash stash) on my 64. It's a 100k mile truck originally from the left coast. Pretty clean truck but was kind of 'cowboy'd' which is a no-can-do for me.

Initially it was a stock 7.4l TBI/th400 w/some glasspacks, 1/4 sleeper shell + running boards, & 'Limited Edition' interior mood lights (including custom wiring hazards). I promised myself I would not touch the suspension until my 64 was done but there were some other priorities that needed correcting before I could drive it daily:

I yanked the mood lighting to minimize the wiring hazards.
The running boards & sleeper were nixed (TY Jon).
The glasspacks & cowboy exhaust tips were cut off as quickly as possible.
Rear aftermarket bumper was nixed for a Burb/Blazer sport model.
Front grille was swapped for a tweaked GMC unit....

[SCOTI]

That got me going initially. I purchased dropped spindles & a flip kit for it before it was officially mine knowing that the stuff would sit awhile before I would get around to installing it.

After driving it for about 6months, I started having issues w/water loss under certain conditions. I was trying to diagnose the issue when I ran out of time & the motor locked up. So despite my efforts..... the can of worms was inadvertantly opened.

[SCOTI]

Since the drivetrain was out to be rebuilt, there were only a few bolts in the way from yanking the OE x-member out & swapping in a notched unit in so the lowering commenced....

1.5" notched x-member
3" drop spindles
1-coil cut
Front end rebuild
Sway bar bushings swapped for Energy Suspension pols units
Bilstein shocks

[SCOTI]

It was around that time I came across a guy up north selling an old ART HD 4-bar set-up. It was missing items & was rough but the price was right & after research I knew tweaks would be needed before it would be installed so that I could optimize everything. The goal was 6/8-ish drop w/no bottoming out & improved ride quality w/o sacrificing the capacity.

I was working on it every chance I had but between 60-70hrs a week @ work, working weekends, and/or family obligations, fall soon became winter & the driveway thrash was hindered.

I was working on motor/transmission details & building the exhaust in the spring when my X turned my world upside down: "We are done. You need to move out". Obviously this tends to create a big ripple in one's 'mechanical momentum'.

So I had to relocate my possessions along w/my torn down dually.... my disassembled 67swb.... my 64.... & a 79 Malibu. This sort of killed my enthusiasm for a bit but I continued moving forward. I decided to upgrade to a GM based sepentine set-up that would be visually more appealing....

[SCOTI]

Once the accessories were worked out, the brackets had casting lines removed, they were DA'd as much as possible, & then PC'd. So the project was relocated & then all the various parts had to be re-organized to resume the build.

About that time I won a pair of Slosh Tubs so I started working on that install...

[SCOTI]

Cleaned & detailed the core support. Added a trans cooler. Relocated the auxillary cooling fan & made sure the trans & oil coolers were as symmetrical as visually possible while allow the most undisturbed airflow across the radiator & condensor....

[SCOTI]

The motor is the OE assembly bored .030 w/some cast flat-tops vs dished pistons, a mild towing/RV cam, aluminum Edel TBI intake, 1 3/4" full length headers, dual 3"SS head pipes & crossover through 3" in/out turbo style mufflers to SS 2.5" mandrel tailpipes. A Harris Perf custom chip is in place to help optimize the combo....

[Low Elco]

Yaay! A thread on the Dually we've all heard about! In like Flynn!

[lolife99]

Everything looks great!!!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Everything looks great!!!

Pics are deceiving.... It's low budget for sure .

[Jonboy]

Looks friggin' awesome, Scot!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Looks friggin' awesome, Scot!

It's getting there. Front bumper was dropped off last week for re-chroming & N2Billet feels it will buff out nicely. It really needs a bath!

[bluex]

Nice, your work looks great as usual. Glad you made the thread finally, ive been curious how this truck had been doing. Sorry to hear about the bumps in the road along the way.

[Painter D]

Nice to see a build thread for this thing. I'll have to come check it out in person ometime.

[TheChief]

great build so far

[n2billet]

I've seen this in person and it's extremely well thought out.

[slimneverdies]

Nice build so far. With your bags located where they are would you be able to put 4 semi wheels back there without any rubbing? The porterbuilt notch you're going with, does it put the bags in the same place or inboard of the frame?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by slimneverdies

Nice build so far. With your bags located where they are would you be able to put 4 semi wheels back there without any rubbing? The porterbuilt notch you're going with, does it put the bags in the same place or inboard of the frame?

I don't know 100% if 4 semi wheels would not work w/my set-up. Most of them I see have the bags placed under or inside of the frame when going that route. I considered that but then where does the other important stuff like exhaust go? Stability & full exhaust were my priorities. The bags in the OE leaf position offered the best stability & made it much easier to fit the other stuff inside the rails & allow the exhaust to run all the way out back.

The Porterbuilt notch doesn't change the position of the frame rails. It slips over the existing rails for positioning, you tack it in, then weld the outside edges, cut the notch area out, clean the rails where they were cut so the 'caps' for the inside of the rails fits flush & then weld the caps on. I opted to build my own notch crossmember to tie the sides together simply because I already had the scrap material.

[SCOTI]

I liked the current wheels because of the caps. No scrubbing between the lugs....

[hot trux]

looking good!

[slimneverdies]

I tried to skim through the entire thread but didn't find it but what size are those rolling sleeve airbags in the rear??

[JWall]

Everything looks very nice & well done!

[aggie91]

Glad to see that you finally put this in a build thread. I have been hearing all this stuff about the dually, but you know what they say, pictures are worth a 1000 words.

You work looks great and well planned out. Hopefully we can get together over the fall/winter and see this thing in person.

BTW, we just moved into our new house and the boss says I can start building my shop as soon as the updates to the house are done! Ordered the door yesterday for one room and hopefully the carpet and laminate flooring this weekend...

[SCOTI]

Thanks to everyone! I appreciate the nice feedback.

I finally got the extra set of a-arms back late last night. I knocked one of the bump/steering stop pads off @ lunch today. I'll get the 2nd one done after work & start the slicing & dicing.....

[aggie91]

just noticed something...

The wheels changed between post #1 and post #13. What's up with that?