My 89 CC Dually: Double Wide

[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...

[aggie91]

just noticed something...

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

[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.....

[Jonboy]

Originally Posted by aggie91

just noticed something...

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

Scoti has a thing for Alcoas. He just doesn't like them.

Scot, what master cylinder and prop valve did you use? You did do discs on the rear, right?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by aggie91

just noticed something...

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

Originally Posted by Jonboy

Scoti has a thing for Alcoas. He just doesn't like them.

Scot, what master cylinder and prop valve did you use? You did do discs on the rear, right?

Yep.... I've never cared for the small hole 16" Alcoa's. My buddy had these on his 94 but the fronts were pretty rough. I DA'd the snot out of them w/some 80grit to remove the heavy gouges & then just started sanding them w/finer grade paper until running some ScotchBrite over them. Haven't decided if they'll stay. If so, they'll get polished. I did consider Eagles 20" wheels but tire sizes for them are limited & to do 22's would require more $$ than I wanted to spend on a shop/tow truck (wheels, adapters, tires, widening the fenders, & repaint adds up quickly).

Or...... (wait for the shocker......).....

I just might run steelies. Some close to me might say I should change my NET name to N2Steel since I tend to stick w/low budget OE type steel wheels

I stuck w/the OE drum set-up out back so it's just a master cyl for a 75-79 C20 app Burb w/13" vac brakes & uses the stock prop valve. I considered the disc swap based on the cost factor since I had to replace just about all of the parts but in the end I really felt the big arse drums on these things would suffice so I kept it simple. The OE bias valve for the rear brakes was removed.

[SCOTI]

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

[aggie91]

I kinda like those with the caps, bet they would really pop with some polishing...

[Drewkimble48]

looks pretty awesome man. My buddy with a 86 crew cab dually would be pretty jealous, especially it being red too and all that suspension work you've done.

[SCOTI]

I appreciate the good vibes guys!


So I got the a-arms back late Wed night. I started cutting the bump stops off Thursday as well as laying out my cut lines & Friday I picked up the re-chromed OE front bumper.

Today I chased down all new bumper bolts as the ones that came off had seen better days. Once back @ the shop, I got the bumper back on but it will need to come back off again to open up some holes & allow adjustments (needs to be pulled back 1/2" on the pass side to equal the driver side).

Then I moved on to the a-arms.
Drilled holes for the corners to minimize stress related issues....
Cut the spring pockets out....
Cleaned everything up & removed the remaining shock gusset on the bottom....

[SCOTI]

One almost done. The inner structure is welded on the outside seams now. I dropped it back into the 'pocket' & everything still fits well. This allows the front bags to be @ their spec'd height (~6") with the gap currently between my current lower a-arms & the bottom of the x-member @ ride height (~4.5-5"). There's approx 1/2" clearance between the bag & the sides.....

[Low Elco]

Looks goood to me! Please continue, we all enjoy it.

[SCOTI]

Since you asked..... 2nd side prepped. They're ready for welding this weekend.
Now to research sway bar options....

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Now to research sway bar options....

Scot,... can you run an "end-link" style sway bar (Addco), by welding a tab to the front side of your control arm?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Scot,... can you run an "end-link" style sway bar (Addco), by welding a tab to the front side of your control arm?

That's the plan. Fab a mount the can be welded inside/outside of the arm w/end links vs the OE bushing arrangement. I was looking @ Addco & RideTech as possible replacement sources.

*Edit* It appears the largest bar Addco offers for the 73-87 square body is 1 1/8". I'd prefer 1.25" as the minimum.

[Low Elco]

Check this out-Might help

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...563833&page=49

[bigblock73]

Nice work on the A-arm fab! My only concern would be the amount of dirt, gravel, water and debris that will collect in them...leading to corrosion and maybe even bag damage. Would it make sense to open up the four corners just a tad, to allow some of this stuff to escape out the bottom?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Nice work on the A-arm fab! My only concern would be the amount of dirt, gravel, water and debris that will collect in them...leading to corrosion and maybe even bag damage. Would it make sense to open up the four corners just a tad, to allow some of this stuff to escape out the bottom?

Holes will be drilled in the corners to allow necessary drainage.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

That's the plan. Fab a mount the can be welded inside/outside of the arm w/end links vs the OE bushing arrangement. I was looking @ Addco & RideTech as possible replacement sources.

*Edit* It appears the largest bar Addco offers for the 73-87 square body is 1 1/8". I'd prefer 1.25" as the minimum.

Scot - The Addco bar I used in Korbin's truck was 1.25" diameter. I got it thru Travis at ProPerformance. It is a PBFab bar for the PB Forward Arms I put on that truck.

I think you could make it work...If I was closer or you could wait till early October, you could borrow it for a test fit...I am planning to go to GG's at TMS October 4th and 5th.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Scot - The Addco bar I used in Korbin's truck was 1.25" diameter. I got it thru Travis at ProPerformance. It is a PBFab bar for the PB Forward Arms I put on that truck.

I think you could make it work...If I was closer or you could wait till early October, you could borrow it for a test fit...I am planning to go to GG's at TMS October 4th and 5th.

I can wait to validate fit. But..... I'll be on vacation the week before GG's & will actually be returning from out of town that Saturday morning (Oct 4) so timing might be a possible issue.

I do plan to be @ the show Sat though. I remember when he did the install but will go back through the thread for a 2nd look.

[aggie91]

OK, sounds good. Maybe we can touch base before you leave out on Vacation.

On the initial install that is in the thread, we put it in using an existing hole in the frame for the frame mounts, we should have moved it forward 1/2"-3/4" to avoid some interference when laid out. But since we only ran it at a set height, it worked really well.

[SCOTI]

Well.... I jumped the gun.

I just ordered a Bell Tech 1 3/8" bar. It was about the same price as the Addco units & available to ship immediately (I've heard of shipping delays from Addco/PB units) so I didn't want to get mixed up in that. I couldn't justify the additional expense for the Ride Tech 1.25" Muscle Rar (although I do like their end links).

The down side to this kit is it's a silver bar w/red bushings. My uber analness won't allow red bushings so I ordered some black ones while clicking away. To my door @ $200. I'll fab my own sway bar tab on the arms & will install the frame mounts where the bar dictates once attached to the arms (relocating if necessary). Since I'm doing the caster mod, the frame attachment point will change....

The arms are fully welded now too

[COS399]

Subscribed and can't wait to see this one.

One of these years I plan on redoing my 88 R30.

[SCOTI]

Cleaned up the weld slag today & then started trimming the lower arms for the caster mod. I trimmed them enough to yield 3/4" forward shift... But, to be honest I'm not liking how close things are between the lower arms & x-member even after the clearancing.

I really want some PB 1" forward arms but trying to keep this thing @ low/no budget. The caster mod helps drivability & front wheel position (somewhat). I just don't want to open another can-o-worms so I'll keep pushing forward. New lower shaft kits are scheduled to be delivered on Monday so I'll mock things up again to see if the budget approach will work.

[lolife99]

What about moving the balljoint pocket forward on the a-arm?
(instead of doing it from the cross shaft end)
Plate it top and bottom and call it good.

[bluex]

What thickness of plate did you use to "cup" the arms? Does the pocket hang down further than the lowest point of the arms? I'm thinking of doing that to mine when its apart for the frame swap. Might have the crossmember sectioned as well. The only problem with that is then the front will drop lower than the rear lol. If you can could you post a picture of the bottom side of the arm?