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The Wife's Dually - '82 K30 dually

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The Butcher

The Butcher

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Texas. In a van, down by the river!
The Butcher submitted a new Build:

The Wife's Dually - '82 K30 dually

I picked this up about 10-11 years ago from the same guy I bought my K5 from. It had been sitting for awhile at his place, and it has sat in various places since I picked it up. The day I got it we did get it running, and I actually drove it up on the trailer that I towed it home on. It sat at my wife's dad's shop for several years until he needed it gone, and then it sat at one of my employee's house for awhile, and she said her husband could get it running. I got a call a couple of days later that he had managed to get it running, but had a "small" engine fire... I'm not really sure of the extent of that damage (if anything I think maybe some melted wires). It has sat in a couple of other places since then, and it has been in my yard at work for the past three years.

I get offers all of the time to buy it, but I really like this truck and hope to one day restore it. Plus, my wife really likes it and actually wants it fixed up so she can drive it. So, that's why I'm starting to dip my toes in the water to start the rebuild process, and I think I may have found a body to swap on it. The original body is complete junk. Rusted in just about every place these trucks can rust, so I think a full body swap is really the easiest (and cheapest) solution for this thing. Suprisingly, the frame really isn't very rusty from what I can see. A little surface rust, but nothing too major.

I found a guy about 4 hours from me that has a decent cab, front fenders, and hood. Those are pictured in the last few pictures I've posted. We have agreed on $800 for the whole thing and that includes the 454 that was running a year ago when he parked it. It doesn't have a bed, but I can probably source one of those at a later date if I can't cure the rust issues on the one I have. The cab is from a 2wd, but it already has the floor cut for the manual trans. I'll just need to cut the 4x shifter hole for it. Other than that, it should just swap right over, shouldn't it?

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Read more about this build here...
 
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what t-case are you using?

I have a 2wd cab on my K10 frame so I know a little about it.....
 
I'm pretty sure it's an NP205, but I haven't crawled under there in 10 years to confirm. Isn't that what came with these from the factory? It has the following as far as I know (or at least this is what I was told by the PO):

454
SM465
NP205
Dana 60 Front (4.56 or 4.10, can't recall which)
Dana 70 Rear (4.56 or 4.10)
 
my np205 cleared behind a th350 with a 1" ORD body lift.

Cab is a 84 2wd auto, lowest they came from what I read.
 
The Butcher said:
That's right, I remember reading that in your thread. I think the alternative was to bang the crap out of the trans tunnel, wasn't it?

Love your truck, BTW.
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I think with a little love from a hammer & fresh body mounts you could probably get away without using the pucks. Just depends on the trans/adapter length difference between the th350 and your sm465.

and thank you.

These single cab dually trucks are cool, you just don't see them anymore.
 
I haven't looked at it too close, but I suppose worst case I could cut the trans tunnel out of the current truck and graft it into the 2wd cab. Not sure if the current tunnel is as rotted as the rest of the truck though. Both driver and passenger floorboards might as well not even be there they are so rusted out. It's great foot ventilation though!

Yeah, it's rare to see the single cab duallies for sure. Especially 4wd ones. I'm sad this one has rusted out so bad, but I think I can get it at least somewhat back together without dropping a fortune into it. Famous last words...
 
2wd standard trans should be a high hump cab wouldnt it?
 
The trans tunnel should be fine, it's the T-Case area that's the potential issue with the 2wd cabs. I've seen the 4wd removable humps grafted into the 2wd cab though.
 
I swapped a 2wd cab from an 86 onto an 83 3/4 ton auto trans truck one time. I just used the removable trans cover off the 4wd and had no transfer case clearance issues. NP208 transfer case I believe. I love the look of a lifted reg cab 4x4 dually.
 
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what size tire I can fit on this as it sits? I know it has a Superlift lift on it, but not sure if it is a 4" or 6". I think maybe it's just a 4". Current tires are 235/85R16. That's about a 31.5" x 10". I'm thinking I can get 35's under it, but might rub some. I know I've seen pics somewhere of a 35 stuffed onto these factory rims. Getting someone to actually mount them for me might be a bit tough though.

IMG_6068.JPG
 
I have 315/75R16 tires on 16x7 wheels and they work fine. I like the tall skinny look. Are your rims 6" or 7" wide? I'd say you have a 4" lift. There is a 255/85R16 tire that's popular for duallys, it's like 33x10.50 I think. With 35s I'm sure you would need a spacer between your rear duals so the sidewalls don't rub.
 
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