oddballdually needs help

I bought a1983 chevy c30 with a flatbed. I removed flatbed put dropped hangers and shackles on and went to put a regular bed on. I had to remove inner tire to get bed to sit on frame but with tire centered in fenderwell I have a 6 in. gap between cab and bed. I am a little puzzled as to what is problem or solution.

Sounds to me like you've got a chassis cab rear axle (narrower than standard dually) in there...I made this simple diagram that should help you figure that out, just look at how the front tires line up with the rears:



Richard

i thought it was c&c but what about gap between cab and bed ? how do you fix that ? thanks for replying

Chassis cab wheelbase is usually 4" longer than a comparable regular pickup. Shorten the frame or do some serious bodywork to extend the bed...

Richard

Again thanks for replying. That was the answer I was afraid of. I guess if it was easy everyone would have one.

Ron

It sounds like a ton of work but many people have solved it in a number of ways. Shortening the frame on a chassis cab isn't that big of a deal just a lot of grunt work and some careful measuring. Most chassis cab trucks have straight frame rails so it's just a matter of carefully measuring your new mount points for the spring hangers and shackle brackets, drill them, then drill/chisel/grind/torch whatever your old rivets and move everything up, bolting it in with some grade 8 locking fasteners, have the driveshaft cut and balanced to match, and of course shorten the brake hard line, taillight wiring, etc.

Extending the bed forward may be simpler if you or someone you know can knock out the bodywork, plus the benefit of a little extra payload room and something that's just different enough it will have people wondering WTH it is that is different. Subtle.

Richard

Maybe more work than you wanted...but here is what I would do. In fact I always keep my eye out for the cab and chassis duallys. Perfect for Semi's. No longer will you have to make fenders or shorten the axle. Just bolt on with adapters and go. Since the wheel base is longer this is a great time to get a short bed, and make it a short bed rollin semis...AWESOME

With the bed on , there is a lot of room between tire and fender. Is the spacer you mentioned a wheel spacer to move the tires out and take up the gap?

Ron