Heavy heavy chevy, 3500HD 10 lug!

[MrBeast]

Well Friday last week after finding an ad on ebay I flew out to Fort Lauderdale Florida and picked up a a 94 Chevy 3500HD wrecker with a 2001 Dynamic Bed.

It was a long trip back with lots of late nights.





I had a lot of problems, wound up losing first the pmd, then the injection pump its self in Pensacola, so I took the truck to Pensacola Fuel Injection and had them rebuild the pump, and put a PMD with a relocation kit on it and when they handed it back to me it was running like a champ pulling over 16 mpg which is pretty damn good for a 8500 lb truck IMO.

From Pensacola I booked it on over to Houston to some other guy's shop and checked out his build that is coming together nicely.



Too bad it was still up on jack stands or we could have had a little photo shoot with our HD's

Richard also helped me get a ton of work done on the truck. When i pulled in it was having some serious issues.



If you look close you can see it has an extra special hood hold up device...



It was the first thing we tackled.

The next to go was the Work truck grill, it was being held in place by 1 screw and 1 zip tie, needless to say it was toast.

After a few hours of tearing the truck apart and putting it back together we had a 4 headlight grill installed, and the truck looking a lot healthier.



The fun didn't stop there, we wound up having to replace the headlight switch, dimmer switch, hi/lo beam switch, and the pig tails for all of those switches because the PO had installed HID headlamps with out installing relays, so it cooked everything, he had burnt up the headlight circuit and had em hooked to the marker lamp circuit.

We also had to redo all of the ends on the battery cables, they were really really rough, and pretty scary.

The last gem on the list was the seat, it was out of a 94-2001 dodge ram. It sat about an inch low on each side sloping towards the center. That was really really good on my back if you all know what I am saying. So we grabbed the seat out of a 96 Richard had up there and stuffed a seat cover on it, and it made things so much nicer driving home.

Needless to say it needed quite a bit, we finally finished up on it about 6:30 in the AM! But Richard was a huge help because he really knows his stuff on these trucks, and had everything we needed on hand, with the exception of a seat cover and battery terminal. Going to go back up in a couple of weeks and help him install the sneeker unit he has on his HD.

Today I got the truck down, got it registered, inspected and lettered, and did my first tow with it. It was a 02 Suburban.



It drug it down the road no problem. A bit later I towed my 85 Crew Cab Dually and utility trailer with it,



it grunted and groaned a bit with the weight of the truck and loaded trailer on the back of it, but it still got the job done and ran 55 mph on the 18 mile trip home.

The plan right now is to finish getting the electrical system put togeather, get new tires on it, king pins, carpet, get the seat re-upholstered, install another dash Richard has for me, and eventually get it painted, and of course it is gonna need a sound system.

I am planning on a Kenwood touch screen unit with a GPS nav system, and bluetooth so it can link up with my cell. I will also be putting a back up camera on it so I can get a better view of the wheel lift as it goes under cars.

[Palf70Step]

Nice looking Wrecker.

I hope the 85 doesn't get jealous.

[ChevLoRay]

Two, maybe three things....1. I like wreckers, always have. First one I drove (maybe the last) was a '53 Ford F-250 with a hand-cranked winch. It was legit, but primative. At least it towed my '56 Merc w/o any issues. It had a 6-cylinder with a 4-speed. 2. The panel beneath the chrome grille looks better in the pix when left black, compared with the white one, but I know that probably isn't possible unless the truck is black. 3. I was trying to figure out what a "96 Richard" is, until I re-read the sentence....

Looks good. Had to be a fantastic price to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, buy what undoubtedly couldn't be w/o any "issues", then drive it back to Houston. Probably would have been closer to fly to Upstate New York.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

Two, maybe three things....1. I like wreckers, always have. First one I drove (maybe the last) was a '53 Ford F-250 with a hand-cranked winch. It was legit, but primative. At least it towed my '56 Merc w/o any issues. It had a 6-cylinder with a 4-speed. 2. The panel beneath the chrome grille looks better in the pix when left black, compared with the white one, but I know that probably isn't possible unless the truck is black. 3. I was trying to figure out what a "96 Richard" is, until I re-read the sentence....

Looks good. Had to be a fantastic price to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, buy what undoubtedly couldn't be w/o any "issues", then drive it back to Houston. Probably would have been closer to fly to Upstate New York.

You are right, it cost almost 700.00 for the plane ticket, and then put another 2200.00 in parts and just under 400.00 in fuel coming home. But I did get a really good deal on the truck, so it was still worth it!

I traveled about 1520 miles coming back, so yes, it was a pretty long trip.

And Just for giggles I ran the mileage to new york, its about 1900 miles. So pretty close.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice looking Wrecker.

I hope the 85 doesn't get jealous.

Well the 85 is getting air ride, a Cummins, and a brand new coat of Imron, and a leather interior, so me thinks it will be alright.

[MrBeast]

Here is the switch panel I made out of the old cubby hole on the dash.



The little blotches are some touch up paint that was still wet, scuffed some of the paint off tightening the nuts on the switches.

The first two on the left are for my light bar, the next one if you turn it on to the first position turns on my lower backup lights, the second position turns on the work lights on the light bar.

The aircraft style safety switch is my PTO, Each of the lights lets me know when something is turned on, and I used ambers for the light bar and reds for the back lights and PTO so I know if I see a red light I am not ready to go down the road.

[Boog]

It looks really good Nick to be a 94 and has been worked. You're gonna leave it white aren't you? Oh yeah the newer grille makes it so much better too.
"96 Richard" LOL Don.

[ChevLoRay]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

Here is the switch panel I made out of the old cubby hole on the dash....The aircraft style safety switch is my PTO .

Sitting in the pilots' seat of a U-2, you could look to your left and see a switch like that, that was safety-wired in the open position. To activate it, you pushed down on that red piece as you were also about to exit the cockpit via the ejection seat. The label on that switch? Destruct. Think I didn't mind my P's and Q's when I was checking out a piece of avionics equipment?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

And Just for giggles I ran the mileage to new york, its about 1900 miles. So pretty close.

Plus if you would have gotten truck out of New York it would have been a rusty P.O.S! Ever look at those eastern wreckers on Ebay. Anything older than 5 years have more rust than the Titanic.

Nice wrecker by the way!

My dad bought this one brand new in 1991. It wasn’t a 3500-HD though. It was a 3500, 4x4, 7.4L, manual trans with an Eagle Claw wrecker unit that turned out to be the most worthless wrecker ever. First, I couldn't beleive the old man would by a wheel lift only wrecker without a sling as well. Second, GM IFS does not work well for wreckers as the front wheels come off the ground real easy with just a little car on the back when hitting bumps or dips in the road. With even a small car on the back the truck was outright scary to drive as the front wheels would just skip across the road when trying to turn or come to a quick stop. Around 10,000 miles one of the front upper control arm brackets broke clean off the frame. What a POS. That is where the 3500-HD's come in real nice....leaf sprung I-beam front axles! To hell with GM's IFS. No wonder most tow trucks are Stupid Duties these days.

Fortunately, I got rear-ended on I-25 and totaled it out in 1992 with only 19,000 miles on the clock so the insurance company took it off our hands. Hated that wrecker but a 3500-HD with a 4x4 conversion was way too much money for the old man to swing at the time. This wrecker was never replaced and dad continued to run our ’78 K20 with a slide in wrecker unit for many more years until he retired. The funny thing was the '78 K20 wrecker could tow the 1991 3500 wrecker but the 1991 wrecker couldn't tow the '78 K20 wrecker....that just seemed wrong.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Boog

It looks really good Nick to be a 94 and has been worked. You're gonna leave it white aren't you? Oh yeah the newer grille makes it so much better too.
"96 Richard" LOL Don.

Yeah, the truck is staying white, I am going to paint the chrome grille white too along with the lower valence, and the fender flares. Then I am going to put a stainless set of centers in it, and going to get a new smooth chrome bumper.

Also I really want to get a set of Alcoa Aluminum wheels for it.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Plus if you would have gotten truck out of New York it would have been a rusty P.O.S! Ever look at those eastern wreckers on Ebay. Anything older than 5 years have more rust than the Titanic.

Nice wrecker by the way!

My dad bought this one brand new in 1991. It wasn’t a 3500-HD though. It was a 3500, 4x4, 7.4L, manual trans with an Eagle Claw wrecker unit that turned out to be the most worthless wrecker ever. First, I couldn't beleive the old man would by a wheel lift only wrecker without a sling as well. Second, GM IFS does not work well for wreckers as the front wheels come off the ground real easy with just a little car on the back when hitting bumps or dips in the road. With even a small car on the back the truck was outright scary to drive as the front wheels would just skip across the road when trying to turn or come to a quick stop. Around 10,000 miles one of the front upper control arm brackets broke clean off the frame. What a POS. That is where the 3500-HD's come in real nice....leaf sprung I-beam front axles! To hell with GM's IFS. No wonder most tow trucks are Stupid Duties these days.

Fortunately, I got rear-ended on I-25 and totaled it out in 1992 with only 19,000 miles on the clock so the insurance company took it off our hands. Hated that wrecker but a 3500-HD with a 4x4 conversion was way too much money for the old man to swing at the time. This wrecker was never replaced and dad continued to run our ’78 K20 with a slide in wrecker unit for many more years until he retired. The funny thing was the '78 K20 wrecker could tow the 1991 3500 wrecker but the 1991 wrecker couldn't tow the '78 K20 wrecker....that just seemed wrong.

Yeah, that Eagle Claw is garbage. And I did get my HD a little light in the front end when I was towing my 85 Crew cab dually with a loaded trailer behind it, hit some train tracks doing about 15 and it did a mini wheelie, but once it was on level ground it ran just fine, drug em about 18 miles doing 55mph. I was probably towing over 10,000 lbs.

And I am well aware with the north east trucks, I used to run over the road, and man every time I went out that way I was disgusted with what it did to my truck, I couldnt imagine buying something out of there and trying to make it workable.

And you are right, it is crazy how the K20 would whip the C3500's butt, but that is the way of things. The square bodies were just damn good trucks.

I have just started using the Dynamic auto-hooker bed, I really like it, it sure beats the hell out of the old Holmes unit I used to run with the protec wheel lift, I have like 72" of reach on this thing, I can grab anything I need to. The Protec only had like a 48" reach, and I was always having problems hooking up to cars.

The thing I do miss though is I don't have my twin line recovery boom. But I am thinking about putting that on the next truck I build.

[newagecustom]

You have a pretty nice looking truck. I just drove from Phx,AZ to San Jose,CA to buy a 1990 ext. cab dually wheel lift. 4wd, 454 BBC. Do you have any problem with alot of underhood heat when you idle for a long time?

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by newagecustom

You have a pretty nice looking truck. I just drove from Phx,AZ to San Jose,CA to buy a 1990 ext. cab dually wheel lift. 4wd, 454 BBC. Do you have any problem with alot of underhood heat when you idle for a long time?

no, mine stays right at 160 degrees, has a brand new radiator in it as well which probably helps.

[newagecustom]

My truck doesn't get hot, it just seems like there is alot of ambient heat under the hood.

[MrBeast]

I dont have a whole lot to report with the truck, I have been running it pretty steady and hit pulls cars very well.

I have yet to run into anything it couldnt handle, I am really enjoying it.

On the first of december I am moving into a new place that is in the city, going to have to build a shop there, so I will be shut down from projects for a while.

Hopefully by this spring I will be up and running again.

[69-350]

Nice score. Those 3500HD trucks are bad ass. Btw, I have been told you cannot paint the chromed grilles. Idk why you can't just remove/sand the 'chrome' plating off, but I've been told you gotta buy a paintable grille. Anyways, sweet truck. I would love to find one and do a 4x4 conversion (hell a crew cab 4x4 conversion would be awesome too) would be one awesome towing rig.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by 69-350

Nice score. Those 3500HD trucks are bad ass. Btw, I have been told you cannot paint the chromed grilles. Idk why you can't just remove/sand the 'chrome' plating off, but I've been told you gotta buy a paintable grille. Anyways, sweet truck. I would love to find one and do a 4x4 conversion (hell a crew cab 4x4 conversion would be awesome too) would be one awesome towing rig.

Eventually I will be building a 4x4, I have a Dana 70HD dually rear that came out of a 93 dodge cummins that I am going to convert to a 10 lug front axle for one of these.

When I do that truck though it is going to be a longer wrecker with a 24" header box for more storage, and it will have a twin line recovery boom with twin 10,000 lb winches, and a 12,000 lb Hydraulic winch on the front in a custom bumper made out of 1/4" plate with some heavy shackle mounts made from 3x1" bar that tie right into the frame.

I can make good money down here with that truck doing pullouts on the beach.

[team39763]

I'm about to start working on the wrecker my friend left me. It's a 91. I'll post a pic in the morning. It needs a good bit of work since he left it on a goat farm and they ate all the wiring, then he let another friend barrow some parts off the motor.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by team39763

I'm about to start working on the wrecker my friend left me. It's a 91. I'll post a pic in the morning. It needs a good bit of work since he left it on a goat farm and they ate all the wiring, then he let another friend barrow some parts off the motor.

is yours a hd, or just a c3500?

[team39763]

I believe my wrecker is a 3500hd and my dually is a c3500. My friend told me they were different.
Maybe when I get it running and working, ya'll could help me figure out how to use it.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by team39763

I believe my wrecker is a 3500hd and my dually is a c3500. My friend told me they were different.
Maybe when I get it running and working, ya'll could help me figure out how to use it.

It is really easy to tell, the 3500 hd has a 10 lug rear axle, and it has a solid i beam front axle. If it is an 8 lug with ifs it is just a 3500.

Ane what part of Texas are you in?

[team39763]

Yeah the wrecker is surely an HD then. I'm outside Uvalde, near San Antonio.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by team39763

Yeah the wrecker is surely an HD then. I'm outside Uvalde, near San Antonio.

You ever get your truck working?

[Mayo]

Thats a pretty nice looking truck. It looks much better with the 4 headlight grill rather than the work grill. I have always liked tow trucks and that is probably my favorite body style. My dads friend has a nice little 3500HD wheel lift and he used to have a 3500HD rollback that he sold to his brother. I have never driven the wheel lift, but I have towed with the rollback a little bit and those HDs are some nice trucks.

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Mayo

Thats a pretty nice looking truck. It looks much better with the 4 headlight grill rather than the work grill. I have always liked tow trucks and that is probably my favorite body style. My dads friend has a nice little 3500HD wheel lift and he used to have a 3500HD rollback that he sold to his brother. I have never driven the wheel lift, but I have towed with the rollback a little bit and those HDs are some nice trucks.

There certanly a night and day difference driving one of these as opposed to a regular 1 ton, I am totally in love with them, allthough totally not with the 6.5 diesel.