Shortening my 96 Club Cab
 

Thought id show my 96 manual truck project...


BEFORE:

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6302/dsc07116nv4.jpg

AFTER:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/155/dsc08205ajx7.jpg

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/660/dsc08206hn9.jpg

job that has been done:
shortened the frame, between cab and axle, and behind axle, welded it together, and put a plate over it with 8 bolts.

shortened fuel lines, driveshaft, exhaust, brake lines, etc...
had to buy another fuel tank, and a bought a used short bed.

later put on 98+ style body moldings and black plastic mirrors and badges
and tinted windows. and a 5" chrome tip (15° cut)

i think it looks nicer now! the whole truck costs now around only $6,500 after all the work

what do ya think?

It does look good, I personaly prefer a long bed, but the 2wd does look good:D Nice work!

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5...c08223agj1.jpg

and the real 98 shorty...
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6...c08219ayz7.jpg

Looks Good! Good work on keeping everthing very "factory" and a job that was obviously very after market.

OK I'll do it , that is ask the question ...... Why????

Opps forgot to say nice job though..

looks good, but ditch the pinstripe and body molding!!![dummy]

Very much in agreement here

Rick

1- the bed had a big dent on the driver side, so we had to fix that anyway, so we decided to buy a short bed while at it!

2- I think 2wd club cab long bed look a bit too long.... looks good if its a 4x4 though

3- And its the new fashion in my area :)

4- quad cab's short bed are hard to get a hand on (expecially for $3,500 like I got this one)

5- Currently we can legalize them here in Mexico only 10 years and older (90-97) They made no short by 96 with the Cummins

6- it sells better with a short bed, but this might be a keeper.

7- You can make shorter turns, when the truck's shorter.

As for the pinstripes, i wanted to remove them, but my bro's where against me!

and why ditch the body moldings? (at least the 98 + style look better then the 97 and older)

but the truck came with ditched body moldings, with all the sticky stuff still on! so i scratched the paint on a few places with a razor blade while removing it!

you're right, the later molding looks better, but it'd look super clean without it.

don't get me wrong, you did a great job, and that truck looks super clean!!!

a 3M rubber eraser wheel in a drill set at a slow speed will wipe out the pinstripe and the molding adhesive no problem. don't run it on high speed when you're hitting that glue or it'll burn the paint (you gotta hold it there a good while w/ some real pressure to burn it) but if you keep it on a slower speed setting, it'll take it right off and won't hurt the paint at all! :D

Does everyone on here prefer a truck with no body moldings?

sorry just i havent looked at that so much,

never heard of a "3M rubber eraser wheel" i might need it one day, thanks!

nice work! Well done - nice to keep it factory looking!

i think it looks good with the moldings in place and the pinstriping in place. coarse its just my opionion.

can you get some pix of the frame?, I am really interested in doing that to a 4x4, I just want to see what Im up against, VS, buying a 98 quadcab shorbox frame{I know where there is one for sale dirt cheap}

i removed mine when i repainted it..... i also prefer a truck without the thin bodyline and doorhandles..... but that's just me...... pics in my gallery..... it also seems you have too much time on your hands...... if you need another project come to GA i can find some projects that need done properly that i don't have the time or motivation to do...... truck looks 100 times better IMHO