1996 Chevrolet c3500HD CrewCab BEAST - Junkyard Rescue Take II

[seth_fisher]

Mine has the plate in the door jamb still. I asked a few dealerships and they were not very helpful. One guy had only ever seen one in 35 years selling GMC commercial trucks.

 

[seth_fisher]

Where did you find that company out of curiosity? From what I found out it has the RPO code WHV which is "HANDLING CHARGE - GMTG TO JANESVILLE VEHICLE MODIFICATION CENTER" although the VIN pulls up a 135.5" wheelbase when it is really 163.5" with the crew cab mounted. From what I could tell mine was manufactured as a regular cab like every other one. I wish I knew more info! No RPO codes indicated that it was ever a true 4 door truck. Whenever I get around to this I do plan to pull the cab off the frame so I can paint it, and at that point maybe I can see if the frame was extended under the cab. From what I could tell is that it's a true crew cab body and wasn't half ass spliced from a regular cab.



Hopefully the cluster works! I find it cool how they light up blue and the needles are a little different. And with the odo on this one being over 300k, I don't know if it stopped working or if it really did die at 300k!

Sucks being over in Cali, I swear all over facebook on the east side these 3500HDs pop up for parts all the time, it's just not in me to spend a bunch on junky rims then have them shipped at 52lbs a piece!

General motors never made them as a crew cab. I'd imagine yours has the 12" frame brace where the frame curves upward to clear the rear axle? Seems that all the crew cab 3500hds that I have seen have that extra brace for the rear cab mounts, and the center rear of the cab has to be cut out and new sheet metal welded in to clear the monster frame. General motors wouldn't be that ambitious in my opinion, which is why they were sent to up-fitters to do the conversion. The closest estimate that I have gotten on a price for the crew cab option was from the topkicks and that was almost a 10k option to put a crew cab on those.

 

[seth_fisher]

Where did you find that company out of curiosity? From what I found out it has the RPO code WHV which is "HANDLING CHARGE - GMTG TO JANESVILLE VEHICLE MODIFICATION CENTER" although the VIN pulls up a 135.5" wheelbase when it is really 163.5" with the crew cab mounted. From what I could tell mine was manufactured as a regular cab like every other one. I wish I knew more info! No RPO codes indicated that it was ever a true 4 door truck. Whenever I get around to this I do plan to pull the cab off the frame so I can paint it, and at that point maybe I can see if the frame was extended under the cab. From what I could tell is that it's a true crew cab body and wasn't half ass spliced from a regular cab.



Hopefully the cluster works! I find it cool how they light up blue and the needles are a little different. And with the odo on this one being over 300k, I don't know if it stopped working or if it really did die at 300k!

Sucks being over in Cali, I swear all over facebook on the east side these 3500HDs pop up for parts all the time, it's just not in me to spend a bunch on junky rims then have them shipped at 52lbs a piece!

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[Supercharged111]

That overload is bigger than an entire half ton leaf pack.

 

[gstubbz]

Damn I just totally deleted my post on accident but at least you saw it lol. And those leafs are nuts! Good thing I'm young, probably won't have teeth forever driving this thing.

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So my frame is like all other gmt400s where it bows back up behind the cab. Yours looks like it is still the original wheelbase and they didn't stretch the frame like they did mine.

Cab mount picture is **** but it's what I had on my phone from months ago.

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[gstubbz]

So I'm picking up a flatbed tomorrow from a cab and chassis dually since the guy wants it off his property (looked at it again today), and right along the driveway his neighbors have something....

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Well **** me running. I will have to see if they would be kind enough to let me borrow two rims for a day lol

 

[someotherguy]

So my frame is like all other gmt400s where it bows back up behind the cab.

No, the HD frame is very different altogether, including behind the cab. Yes, it has an upkick behind the rear of the cab, but after that the rails are flat, dead parallel, and on 34" centers. That is standard chassis cab configuration and is not shared by the regular pickups.

Richard

 

[gstubbz]

No, the HD frame is very different altogether, including behind the cab. Yes, it has an upkick behind the rear of the cab, but after that the rails are flat, dead parallel, and on 34" centers. That is standard chassis cab configuration and is not shared by the regular pickups.

Richard

I understand they are insanely different, what I meant was the frame rises right behind the cab regardless of a 1500 or 3500HD.

 

[gstubbz]

Picked up one piece for this truck today. Picked up this flatbed for free about two miles down a back road from the house out there, so that's why we didn't secure it like you would going down the highway. And half of the stake pockets were too small to run the ratchet strap through. Either way it's made for a cab and chassis truck, came off a first gen dodge. I'm going to clean it up eventually and redo the headache rack and rear lights as well as black paint. Not bad for a free score! Loading it was fun.

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[seth_fisher]

Yeah, mine still has the original frame and wheel base. They cut the floor pan to clear the frame on mine. Make a replacement cab hard to find for me. I like that your will use a standard gm cab instead of a custom one like mine.