Mods
Shortening the truck to accommodate a period correct 8 foot dually bed. LED Lighting, Authentic Nathan Train Horn.
Build story
I bought the truck as a project sight unseen in Atlantic Canada. I had the truck shipped to me in Ontario.\r
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I was looking to have a medium duty truck for my toy hauler... I am a big fan of doing what I call "Budget Builds", doing everything I can on my own and using budget methods to do this. \r
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The chassis is from a medium duty GM Topkick. Motor is a 3116 CAT mechanical diesel, the trans is an Eaton 6 speed and the rear axle is a Spicer dual speed axle.\r
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When the truck arrived I started on everything that related to safety and driveabilty. Brakes, Suspension and Tires. \r
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From there I shorted the rear drive/suspension by cutting the rivets and re drilling, having the driveshaft shortened and balanced.\r
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From there a subframe was built to align the factory body lines.\r
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I painted the truck with Tremclad Gloss black using the 50 Dollar method, wet sanded multiple times and then high speed polished the truck. However, I saw some Avery Dennison wrap film I liked and decided to go with that along with our Driver name and logo...\r
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Fuel tanks are from a Freightliner and I thought they fit the trucks lines well.\r
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Truck gets lots of attention wherever I take it. Looking to upgrade the power from the CAT to Cummins and rear gear it to a more highway gear. I am looking at air suspension ideas for the future.\r
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Truck is not perfect by any means but I like it.
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I was looking to have a medium duty truck for my toy hauler... I am a big fan of doing what I call "Budget Builds", doing everything I can on my own and using budget methods to do this. \r
\r
The chassis is from a medium duty GM Topkick. Motor is a 3116 CAT mechanical diesel, the trans is an Eaton 6 speed and the rear axle is a Spicer dual speed axle.\r
\r
When the truck arrived I started on everything that related to safety and driveabilty. Brakes, Suspension and Tires. \r
\r
From there I shorted the rear drive/suspension by cutting the rivets and re drilling, having the driveshaft shortened and balanced.\r
\r
From there a subframe was built to align the factory body lines.\r
\r
I painted the truck with Tremclad Gloss black using the 50 Dollar method, wet sanded multiple times and then high speed polished the truck. However, I saw some Avery Dennison wrap film I liked and decided to go with that along with our Driver name and logo...\r
\r
Fuel tanks are from a Freightliner and I thought they fit the trucks lines well.\r
\r
Truck gets lots of attention wherever I take it. Looking to upgrade the power from the CAT to Cummins and rear gear it to a more highway gear. I am looking at air suspension ideas for the future.\r
\r
Truck is not perfect by any means but I like it.