Author Topic: Advice for rebuilding a 1979 chevy 4x4 dually. Things to fix as its a full reco  (Read 3051 times)

Offline paladn

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Hey guys,

I posted on this forum a while ago about acquiring a rusted K30 crew cab dually about 4 months ago.

However now that i have some time off and my suspension bushes have arrived in Australia. I am ready to start my reco/rebuild

As these trucks are uncommon here in australia im chasing some info from the experts.

I intend on using it for towing and some offroad work (from time to time) so im wondering if there are any major floors in the chassis, body or mechanical that i should be fixing while i have the whole thing in parts?

I will start a build thread once i have sand blasted the cab (as the new cab i have is a little ruff and needs some TLC)

Thanks in advance.

Offline Jason S

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Howdy from Oklahoma.

As for your question, the first things to come to mind are inspect cab corners, rocker panels and front floor panels.  Additionally, some other common rust areas include corners of the doors, areas around the wheel arches, radiator core support and areas around/beneath the battery.  Check the availability of rust repair panels, those panels are to service the most common rust prone areas on these trucks.

A common frame issue on these trucks are cracks in the front of the frame where the steering gear box attaches. If you have to convert to right hand drive, this may not be an issue.

Since you're tearing it all apart you will probably inspect/replace the body mounting bushings.  Urethane bushings are a pretty common replacement for the factory rubber bushings.

Mechanical upgrades, especially the engine, is wholly subject to your desires.  The powertrains on these trucks were/are fairly reliable and upgrade parts are generally inexpensive and plentiful.

Doing a search on this site for rust issues should give you some idea of the wide variety of issues that posters have dealt with.





« Last Edit: December 23, 2013, 01:23:12 AM by Jason S »
1973 GMC K2500, Super Custom, Camper Special, 350, TH350, NP203, 4.10's
1974 Chevrolet K10, Custom Deluxe, 350, SM465, NP203, 3.73's

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Offline paladn

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Thanks for that.

The new cab is fairly good just a little surface rust which will be sand blasted off. I will be checking every inch of the new cab prior to installing it.

It is currently RHD which is good and i have a full urethane bush kit for the whole truck.

everything in it seems just wanted to know if theres anything i should look out for