The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts I May Build A 1-Ton instead of Big Bolt???

I am about to start a Truck Project where I am putting a '53 GMC,2-ton cab and nose on a modern Chevy Chassis (2006),using all the 2006 running gear.Basically putting a 1953 cab and nose on a running 2006.I plan on melding a couple of modern utility bodies together and detailing the fabrication for a 1953 look.I intend to use this as a WORK TRUCK on a daily basis!The gross weight of the 2006 truck is 12,000 pounds.The body in back of the cab will be about 12 feet long.

The cab and nose are off a retired fire truck,and are in very,very good condition and very solid.I am replacing the floor and cab corners,but everything else is very sound.I have never owned or even seen the chassis for this '53 truck,all I have is cab and nose and interior.I plan to build a truck that is like new,everything to be fixed,fabricated,blasted primed,bodywork and first class paint.

Anyway...I am thinking about going with a 3/4 ton nose(I don't have this yet).The reasons are that I don't need the extra height that the 8.25/20 tire would give(about 36 inches) and the truck will be a dually and there really are no reasonable choices for a 20" 8 lug Chevy dually wheel yet.Best choice is a 19.5" bread truck dually wheel,but there is no reasonably priced tire for this in a 34-36 inch diameter.The 2006 tires are about 31 inches in diameter and would look silly with the big bolt fenders.

So,the question is,what would I change,bodywise,mounting wise,etc.To put a 3/4 ton nose on the 2 ton cab?What about the GMC grille,grille surround and bunper,and bumper filler piece?All of this stuff I have are mint.

The other thing is that even with my extra wide 2 ton fenders,they are still 2 inches narrower than the 2006 truck.Does anyone make a wider aftermarket fender?Or am I going to be sectioning and welding a filler piece anyway?

I guess,more simply put,if I have a Big Bolt,what on the nose would I be able to use or not use,if I wanted to use 3/4 ton fenders.What would I have to locate?

While I am not an expert on this, but I think the cabs are the exact same between the 1/2 tons all the way up to the 2 tons. The only differences are the front fenders.

What year(s) are you talking about? Most of the "Big Bolts" do use the same cab,regardless of the years,but the fenders,and in some cases,the hoods may be different. I've seen "Big Bolt" (front)fenders used on some 1/2-1-ton 4X4's,but 1/2-ton fenders'wheel openings would be way too small to acomodate the 20" wheels. Hope this helps.

Thank you for that.Yes I am aware that the cabs are the same for pickups and Big Bolts.With my question,you can disregard the matter of chassis as I will be using a 2006 chassis and doing a ton of fabrication.I think in my situation the stock 2006 tires at 31 inch diameter will look ridiculous,thus my desire to go with AD pickup size fenders.Being able to use readily available wheels and tires will save me thousand$.I plan to drive this truck 400 miles a week as a work vehicle.

My dillemna is that my big bolt nose is pretty mint.I want to know what from my nose and grille I can still use if I choose to go with 3/4 ton
fenders.The truck is a 1953 GMC.

Not sure about GMC's, but I think it's been stated here in the past that Big Bolt Chevy grilles and perhaps the hoods are different than pickup ones. Not sure if that applies to Jimmies.

If nobody has an answer for you by next Tuesday,I can take some measurements,and get back to you. A friend's got a '53 G.M.C. 3/4 -ton,and a '51 bus to compare to.

Thank you so much for the help and kind offers.I keep going back and forth on this one.I mean I wake up this morning go look at the truck and decide that I really like the Big Bolt Hood/fender combo maybe the best.And the stuff I have is showroom compared to what many others are working with.I think the "larger scale" of the Big Bolt Nose will fit right in with the size of the utility/service/tool box body I will have on the back at approx 12 feet in length.

I really need to stop looking at pretty pictures of AD pickups.LOL.It really is funny how a few inches here and a few inches there change the look of the Advanced Design trucks.They have 2 very different faces.The pickup noses remind me of a young,cocky George Clooney,while the Big Bolts remind me of my goofy and chubby next door neighbor...at least in photos.

But the thing I really want to address most is the wheel well and tire size issue before I go to town here.Even with my wide Big Bolt fenders,I still will need maybe 2 inches more in each fender to get the tire inside the wheel well with the 2006 chassis.And I really want to use the smaller size tire of the 2006 truck,at about a 31 inch diameter.With the mileage I am going to put on,it would be a big deal to get cheaper tires,being that I need 6(it is a dually) and to have 2 spares around.But, I HATE the look of a small tire in a Big Bolt fender.I know that Grigg has spoken about this plenty.

So,maybe I need to see a photo of a small fender wheel well melded on a Big Bolt fender.I know I have read that someone here has done it,I guess I will go back to the search function.It could be a way of getting the width and wheel well issue accomplished.