Utility Truck Build

[mikey_d05]

Figured I might as well throw this into a thread to document things. Came home with an '84 K30 a couple weeks ago. 454/400/205...came with a big dumb farmer hitch/bumper that hung a solid foot below the tailgate. Plan is to build it into an all around utility truck/tow rig.

First thing I did was cut off the massive hunk of steel that planted the rear tires.

I shaved the drip rails and the fender badges straight away. Got a different/better bed lined up for it since the passenger side of mine is in VERY rough shape. Currently trying to decide what color to paint it after the rust repair is done. Plans call for bumpers, hummer 37's on 0-1" of lift, a new gooseneck plate, oba, and some other stuff that will make it a nice all around hauler. Also picked up a set of headers the other day to redo the exhaust system. It's completely farmer ****ed together and it needs to go. I have a Spintech dual 2.5 to single 3 that I'm going to solid mount along with the rest of the exhaust.

Got started on the new rear bumper today. 4, 5, and 7 pin trailer plugs, room for a weatherproof 110 outlet, and battery posts for running a trailer winch or jumping a rig on the trailer.

I'm waiting on a pair of hella utility lights so that I can cut the wings of the bumper and finish it off. Will probably get started on the center section for the front bumper tomorrow.

 

[sweetk30]

if that hitch works its worth money.

nothing better than a springer hitch to take out the shock on the driveline and you.

i use to pull a hay wagon that had a springer toung on it. i allways picked thatone after that.

 

[79rustyk10]

my 79 had one of those hitches when I bought it, which makes no sense because the thing had 2.76 gears from the factory. Im guessing thats not really so much of a towing gear ratio.

Are you just gonna scrap the box thats on there now?

 

[mikey_d05]

Are you just gonna scrap the box thats on there now?

The driver's side bedside is in very good shape. I think there's someone that's gonna take it off my hands.

 

[Merv]

I have a cherry dually box if you be interested.

 

[cybrfire]

i have a cherry dually box if you be interested.

oh no...:d

 

[ryan22re]

Does this mean you are gonna finish the buggy to have something to tow around?

 

[mikey_d05]

Made a fair bit of progress over the course of Friday and today.

Finished and painted the rear bumper. Of course there's still no box on it. :

Got the 37's mounted, but didn't have time to trim the front fenders before I left for drill on Friday. I bolted two of them onto the rear. This gave me a pretty cute little redneck dragster. :

Found time to trim the front fenders tonight. I chopped the inner fender at an angle and trimmed the outer in a radius type of pattern so that it blended somewhat with the existing lines.

I was worried about the tires contacting the fender in the rear. Ironically enough, they are very close to hitting at the front "corner" of the inner fender where it transitions from swooping down to forward. I might have to throw a couple of EZ Inch bricks in there to raise the truck 1" in the front. There's only about 1" of uptravel left in the front suspension, but it just might be enough to make the tires rub when they're turned. Time will tell on that one.

It's got quite a rake to it right now and I'd like it to sit slightly more level when unloaded, but I'd rather not shell out the $100+ it would take in new u-bolts and bricks to make level it out...not to mention the $$$ setup it would take to put bags in the rear to keep it level when loaded.

 

[yellowK20]

NICE!!! I got a dually bed in Two Harbors Rust free New Mexico bed!

 

[mikey_d05]

I have a cherry dually box if you be interested.

Thanks, but not at the moment. This truck is going to stay SRW. I don't haul enough to make a dually conversion worthwhile even though I like the look of a dually with big tires.

Does this mean you are gonna finish the buggy to have something to tow around?

Unfortunately no. My best wheeling buddy hasn't had his truck out in 11 months and it looks like it's going to stay that way due to a fiance and kids. The buggy is on the chopping block and I'm looking at buying an aluminum jet boat to run the rivers around here so that I can head out on a Saturday afternoon without gearing up all week and spending $300+ on fuel just to make the trip to the nearest wheeling area and back.

NICE!!! I got a dually bed in Two Harbors Rust free New Mexico bed!

Everyone has a damned dually bed, nobody has a rust-free SRW long bed damnit!

On a side note, it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get the rust repair done on the body before I leave for Ft. Benning for basic and AIT, hopefully it'll still be warm enough up here (yeah...right) when I get back to put new cab corners and rockers on it.

 

[plumber mike]

When I saw the title of the thread I thought it would have a utility bed on it

A flatbed with sideboxes would work too, but a plain old bed......I don't know

 

[yellowK20]

LOL I got a rust free regular bed there too

 

[mikey_d05]

When I saw the title of the thread I thought it would have a utility bed on it

A flatbed with sideboxes would work too, but a plain old bed......I don't know

I drew up plans for a very nice looking utility bed in the past, problem is that it's for a dually, and I think that utility beds look fairly goofy on SRW trucks. If I'd have bought it as a dually, it would get a utility bed. But it's too much time, effort, and money to convert it for what I need out of a pickup right now, so it's staying SRW with a traditional pickup bed.

LOL I got a rust free regular bed there too

...and now you're going to say you want it all for yourself you selfish bastard.

 

[yellowK20]

I could be persuaded lol , Actually if you do decide you want a bed let me know I'll be coming up from NM in September I can find you a good rust free bed for pretty cheap and throw it on the goosneck

 

[mikey_d05]

I'll be at Ft. Benning in September, otherwise I'd take you up on the offer. I'm looking to get a new bed installed before I leave in a month.

 

[yellowK20]

Thats cool, thought I'd offer I know how hard it is to get the good sheet metal up there

 

[mikey_d05]

Got the front bumper finished up today. Custom roller fairleads are in progress. Hella Micro DE Fogs, Kragen HID's, and a big-drum Warn (gear ratio points to a ~10,000 pound rating) with a 6 HP 9.5 XP motor strapped to it.

Gooseneck hitch just needs another coat of paint and it'll get smoked down. The rear shock setup had to be cut out to make room for the plate, so a new shock setup is in the works and will be done tomorrow. Exhaust will be started tomorrow as well.

Kert has convinced me to leave the body work to the shop that did his crew cab. I'm (hopefully) going to get a bed on it this weekend and take it by to get a quote on Monday. Anybody got some NOS clearance lights laying around? Mine are cloudy and cracked, and I plan on replacing a lot of the lenses on this truck as most of them are cracked or broken....the clearance lights are the only ones I can't buy from LMC.

 

[mikey_d05]

Oh yeah...the winch is offset on purpose. The 9.5XP motor is ridiculously long, so the overall width of the winch is centered in the bumper, and I still had to grind the frame slightly to fit it between the rails.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Damn dude, all this work and I'd have sold you Big Ugly.


Looking good man.

 

[mikey_d05]

Finally some pictures.

Muffler, the batwing mount that we made, relocated shocks, and turnover ball gooseneck setup.

This picture was taken at an angle that really magnifies it, but because of the slim profile of the bumper out on the ends, the truck looks like it's lifted because of how much tire you can see.

We were busting ass to get my truck done so that I could swap beds tomorrow and we could start making a paint booth for Kert's blazer. In my haste I didn't get a decent shot of it with the bed on, but here it is all lit up....minus one clearance light that I can't get a good ground on.:shrug:

Bed swap tomorrow, body shop next week, final touches in December.