Dually Pickup

Dually Pickup PICKUPS Modifications 13-4-3 When Lynn Owens drives into town, he gets lots of strange looks and comments from people who want to know where in the world he bought his pickup. If he's in a playful mood he'll say he got one of only a handful of 1957 "Duallies" built by Chevrolet. No one ever guesses he built the pickup himself. "I like old pickups but I also like the dually pickups Chevrolet builds today with dual tires and flared fenders. So I decided to make my own using an older truck," says Owens, who started with a '57 1-ton fitted with a flatbed. "The truck was very clean with only 72,000 miles on it and drove like new. It was already fitted with dual tires. I took off the flatbed and shortened up the frame and driveshaft about 9 in. I found a short bed box from a 1956 Chevy, removed the wood floor, and split the box up the middle and moved both sides out so they would fit over the wider frame and cover the duals. The box is 16 in. wider than the frame. "Next, I took the metal floor and fender wells out of a junked 1974 Chevy and welded them inside the widened-out short box. It fit great and needed only little trimming. I then mounted a tailgate from a 1966 Chevy on the back of the box. It fit perfectly. "This was a simple project that took only about 2 hrs. once I had the parts assembled. Once it was painted, it looked like a factory job and I get comments about it wherever I go. Some guys tell me they've seen trucks like it before but when t ask them where, they don't know! Then I tell them there's never been another pickup like it." Owens says the conversion would work with any 1955 to '57 pickup fitted with duals but notes that the truck is hard to find. He's already bought two more, though, which he plans to convert and sell. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lynn Owens, Rt. 8, Box 172, Sulphur Springs, Tex. 75482 (ph 214 885-9874).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.