The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts front fender width on big bolts

I have heard that the front fenders are wider on the bigger trucks. if so how much. I am thinking about puting my 1950 suburban on a 2003 2500 diesel frame. The front of the 1/2 ton sub seems to be about 3 to 4 inches too narow. Thanks in advance for any info.

Thanks, that helps. Will the larger fenders bolt to a 1/2 ton body. are the fenders the only thing that is larger?

Front fenders, hood and inner fenders are all larger. The larger trucks will all have a 34" frame width which is still the standard today.

Will these fit a 1/2 ton suburban?

I suspect you need a new radiator support to go with the rest of the front clip?

The sheet metal will bolt up to a suburban.
The wheel openings will be noticeably larger than the pickup/suburban rears and will take a good size tire to make them look right. Will probably take a larger tire on the front to look good than you can fit in the rear fenders, making this an interesting idea but in my mind probably not the best one.

In this thread I have some front fender measurements from both small and big trucks, the critical measurement for fitting a wider axle seems to be the inside to inside of the fenders at both front and rear of the wheel openings(wider on top so less worry there).

That translates to a 1.5 or 2 ton is about 4" wider over the front fenders than a baby truck.

Thanks for the info. I will explore some other options. May just widen the front fenders. I could try to get wheels with a back spacing to bring the wheels in some.....any ideas? has anyone put an AD truck or sub on a late model chasis with a diesel?

Probably a lot cheaper/simpler to put your diesel in the otherwise reasonably original truck.

These things don't have an abundance of room to start with, so wrapping the sheetmetal around a whole newer bigger truck could be a huge chore or a big mess.
Making just what you need fit the old truck without bringing along a lot of extra stuff or unsuitable parts is likely the better choice. That's my approach at least and so far I'm very pleased and have no doubt that using the original frame and suspension is the right choice for me. I'm able to solve each part of the build one at a time and pick and choose the best part for the job considering strength/life, fit, and ease of service. Those aren't choices you'll often have with a body swap, there will be a bunch of compromises.

Grigg

Another issue is the running boards won't line up the same with the fender if you change to big truck fenders, there is about a 2" height difference.
If I've got my math right with big fenders the small truck running boards will appear lower than they should.

Grigg

Hi .I am using a big bolt body on an86 dually chassis .mainly because of the 500 cad engine ,modern brakes ,better rear end ratio and I want it to ride low .I can fit my front track width by going to smaller front disks, and my bed is completely custom built for the look I want . You on the other hand need to have the side profile look right because of the solid sides of your body. Adding the big bolt fenders/hood etc is also longer and taller in profile, making your rear fenders look out of proportion. You may also find that the frame shape does not follow the body very well .I have only seen that conversion done with lifted 4x4 styling,where the wheels were oversized and the body was lifted to clear the frame. In your situation, I would use as much of the original frame as you can , clip the front if you want,build the front suspension to fit your track width (a dodge dakota works well,nicer than an s10 )and beaf up the springs to carry the heavy drive train. I think you will find it less work over all, and a nicer looking finished project . good luck ,Paul