This truck was built almost...
This truck was built almost entirely by Jimmie, which makes its finished state that much more impressive. Since our photo shoot, Jimmie has sold the dualie and began construction on a '67-'72 Chevy shortbed. If it comes out anywhere near as cool as the dualie, it will undoubtedly land in front of our Truckin' lenses.
Sparks fly as metal hits the asphalt and rocker panels begin to fold. The sight of 19-inch polished aluminum hoops spinning inside severely dropped fenderwells combined with loud gold-pearl flames blazing across a purple backdrop is enough to put your senses on overload. As this 'bagged and body-dropped '97 Chevy C3500 dualie comes to a halt, out steps 28-year-old Jimmie Broyles of Norman, Oklahoma, and onlookers begin to drool over the six-wheeled Crew Cab work of art he has created.
Jimmie is a member of the Pleasures Trucks & Compacts truck club in Oklahoma and built the truck to cruise, show, and throw sparks. All it took was one look at this body-dragging and flame-embossed beauty at the 2003 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and the Truckin' cameras were out and ready to bring this dualie into the limelight.
Although sitting flat on the ground now and laden with a wicked set of hot licks like most custom trucks out there, Jimmie's finely crafted Crew Cab was not always such a looker. According to Jimmie, when the truck was first purchased in April of 2000, it was a farm truck complete with a toolbox, running boards, a brushguard, and large towing mirrors. In an effort to rid the dualie of its grandpa-style bolt-ons, the truck was immediately stripped of these custom obscenities and the mission to get the body on the ground began.
Setting the truck up for a hard landing on the Oklahoma soil was done at Auto Trendz in Oklahoma City, where Jimmie fired up the welder and began to notch, cut, and fabricate until the dualie was resting on terra firma. Chassis Tech 2-inch drop spindles were used up front to begin the dualie's initial descent, while Firestone airbags were used to fill the front coil-spring pockets and enable the front end to close in on the ground below. Out back, the frame was cut and bridge-notched to provide additional clearance for the rear axle, when the rear airbags are robbed of their air supply. An Elite Street Rod parallel four-link setup was welded in place of the original leaves, and Phoenix 3800 airbags were placed atop custom 'bag mounts to move the rear of the dualie up and down. For show detail, all of the rear suspension, along with the rear differential, were removed after fabrication and fitment, and then powdercoated by Performance Coatings of Oklahoma City.
To really get this extra-heavy Chevy down in the weeds, Jimmie performed a 4-inch body drop on the truck at Auto Trendz and successfully got the rockers flush with the shop floor, while resting on 19-inch wheels. The bad-boy rollers of choice for Jimmie's rocker-wrecking crew are 19x8-inch APP Thunder II wheels from Brentz Wheels in Dallas. The wheels were shaved down from 19.5- to 19-inchers to enable the use of a low-profile tire, which came in the form of Nitto 555 Extreme low-profile skins. After this 1-ton wonder successfully signed the asphalt, the powerplant was given some mild performance enhancements and detailing to increase the go and show factor.