duallys to singles

[matcoman]

hello everyone,  i am new to the sight.  incredible amount of info here.  and i thought i knew chevy trucks!  i own a 85 K20.   my son-in-law wanted an old school chevy like mine.  last summer i found a 1979 GMC K35.  i bought it and gave it to him.  it has a fisher plow on front and a steel dumping flatbed on back.  dually wheels on back.  it currently has 6 bud wheels on it.  he wants to run 4 singles wheels.  and a small lift kit.  say 4 inch.   what do i need to help him achieve the look he wants?  thanks in advance.  mike in mass.

[Engineer]

The front hubs will need to be switched out for the SRW hubs.

If it is a cab/chassis you will need to switch out the rear hubs for the SRW hubs. If it has a pick up bed on it the rear axle will be way too wide and will need to be switched out for a SRW style.

Look at this link:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/

It explains in detail all of the 14-bolt variations.

Here is WAY too much info on the Dana 60 front that is in the K35:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/60_front/index.html

But as I said earlier, the hubs are all that are different. The brake parts are all interchangeable.

[matcoman]

thank you engineer for the timely info and links.   i understand about changing the front hubs. however in the rear since its a cab & chassis with duallys, wouldn't the single tire be very far in so to speak?  would i have to get a complete SRW rearend?  thank you again. 

[Engineer]

The c+c rear housing is the same as the SRW housing. Only the hubs are different.

If you keep things as is the rear will be about 4" narrower than what it should be.

You can tell this by looking at the differences between your K20 and his K35. His hub will be longer sticking through the wheel.

4" may not be enough to worry about.

[matcoman]

hello engineer,  thank you for again for taking the time to respond and thus help me along.  we could sell the K35 and keep looking for a K20.  but, we already own the K35 and the cab is rust free and the frame is solid.  needs to be sandblasted and painted to look better. around here clean old chevy's are getting tougher to find.  what my SIL wants to do is get rid of the dumping steel flat bed and install a regular 8 foot pickup bed on the back.  i have a line on a decent bed. i assume a bed will be a direct bolt onto the K35 frame?  being 4 inches narrower might look odd. he wants some chrome rims and larger tires. 33-37 inch rubber.  what could be done with rims to make up this 4 inches?  different backspacing? spacers? thank you.

[Engineer]

Most likely the C+C wheelbase will be 4" longer than a pickup.

The C+C had a 135.5" wheelbase whereas the pickups had a 131.5" wheelbase. If you put the bed box on it you may have to move it rearward to split the difference. Or you may just be fine with the tires being set back like a truck puller would do. Or you could drill out the rivets holding the rear spring brackets and drill new holes 4" farther forward.

In my build thread you can see I just bought a perfectly rust free bed. They are still out there. The old Army M-1008s had very few miles on them and you can still luck into a rust free bed pretty easily. Many of these old Army trucks were broken up for their D60/14-bolt axles and the remians were usually scrapped.

14-bolts are a dime a dozen. You should be able to find hubs, or just swap out the whole axle. However 4" may not be a big deal. If you had a 1/2 ton it would have a narrower axle anyhow.

[matcoman]

hi engineer, a local shop that specializes in rears, gears etc.  did not have any used hubs. they did suggest dynatrac in california. i called dynatrac and the hubs are $229. each. made in USA!  i then found out that the hubs can be machined down. essentially converting dually hubs to SRW hubs. i believe if i went this route you have to press in new wheel studs too?  some guys commented that machining these hubs down can result in a potentially  unsafe hub? your thoughts on this please. where is your build thread? thank you.  mike in mass.

[matcoman]

hello again engineer,  i forgot to mention in my above post that i did not know that a C&C wheelbase was 4 inches longer than a pickup.  i learn something new every day.  thank you.  mike in mass.

[Engineer]

Machining the front hubs is iffy in my opinion. It will work but I, myself would only do it on a off road truck.

My build thread is in the "Member's rides" sub forum. Titled "My '77 K30 Monster Truck Build". My truck started as a sled puller, then I deceided to go a different route and build a monster truck. Check it out.

[werewolfx13]

Its most unfortunate you're so far away, I would JUMP on swapping my d44/14b k20 axles for those DRW sets...