This Slammed Dually Is Packed With Sound

Breathing new life into a forgotten project has its ups and downs. Taking something that could have found its way into the scrapyard and turning it into a show-stopping truck is a point of pride. The journey to get there can have its bumps, though. Usually the project wasn’t done right on the first or second attempts, and you spend a lot of time fixing problems or locating missing pieces instead of actually customizing.

Tanner Riedel out of Marysville, Washington, owns Sound Werks, an audio and fabrication shop. He’s had several show trucks and builds throughout the years, and a while back he picked up a ’bagged ’97 Chevrolet long-bed dually. The truck had been passed around, and the amateur ’bag job had seen better days. Tanner wanted to transform the tired truck into a laid-out show truck that could still put in work as a tow rig for projects or to take vehicles to shows.

He stripped the truck down to its frame rails and proceeded to chop those off and create a frame from the firewall back out of 2 x 4- inch box tubing and tubular cross members. He worked on the chassis in his off time when customer vehicles didn’t claim his attention, so it took about a year to complete. For the suspension, the front and rear were converted to a ¾-ton rearend with disc brakes and front suspension. The ¾-ton rearend is narrower than the 1-ton, allowing the large 24-inch custom-machined Alcoa rims and Sunny tires to tuck under factory-width fenders. The rear fenders had to be sectioned and stretched 5 inches to accommodate the large wheels once the body was laid on the ground. A 4-link setup with Contitech airbags takes care of the rear with a 5th wheel hitch mounted to the bridge. Up front, Michigan Metalworks control arms were used for correct geometry along with Bell-tech 2-inch drop spindles. Once the chassis was complete, the body sat 4 ¾ inches lower, putting the rockers flat on the ground.

BECAUSE TANNER OWNS SOUND WERKS, IT WAS ONLY FITTING THAT THE DUALLY WAS OUTFITTED WITH A HARD-HITTING SOUND SYSTEM.”

As summer approached, the Lowdown show was only a month away, so Tanner decided to finish the truck and debut it there to help promote his shop. For six weeks he worked 18-plus-hour days on the truck focusing on full wiring, body mods, paint and interior.

The engine is a 454 V-8 that had its wiring tucked for a cleaner look. It’s backed by a 4L80E trans with Cascade convertor set up for prime towing. A K&N intake and 3-inch Borla exhaust provide more power. The body needed some work, not only to bring it up to par, but also to complete Tanner’s vision. He turned the dually into a short-bed thanks to the new frame. The inside of the bed was raised and smoothed and a Street Metal roll pan was added. The door handles were shaved, and because the C/K crew cabs oddly came without the body line in the C-pillar, it was molded in to flow. The dually was then blanketed in Lesonal Impulse Blue at Kustom Collision and Rods. Lastly, Jason Smith threw some airbrushing under the hood.

THE DUALLY WAS FINISHED IN TIME AND WAS A BIG HIT AT LOWDOWN AND OTHER SHOWS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.”

Because Tanner owns Sound Werks, it was only fitting that the dually was outfitted with a hardhitting sound system. To power it, a Stinger 300-amp alternator and Northstar batteries were installed. A custom center console was built was built to house three 10-inch down-fire Crossfire C5 subwoofers. The console was topped off with floating skateboard decks. Four pairs of Crossfire 6.5-inch component speakers were used for the mids and highs. A 600.4 and a powerful 1700.1 Crossfire amplifier power the speakers. Corbin Custom Upholstery covers the bucket seats and the headrests were blanketed in black suede and leather. The dash and door panels were smoothed and painted to match, with a Budnik steering wheel topping things off.

The dually was finished in time and was a big hit at Lowdown and other shows throughout the summer. Tanner would like to thank everyone in the Perfect Poise car club, Aimee Aldrich, AVS, Crossfire Car Audio, Matt P., Ben Akins, Brad Loton and T-Bag. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Tanner Riedel

1997 Chevrolet C/K 3500 Dually
Marysville, WA Perfect Poise

ENGINE

• 454 Vortec V-8
• 14-inch electric cooling fans
• K&N air intake
• 4L80E transmission
• Cascade convertor
• 3-inch Borla exhaust
• Stinger 300-amp alternator
• Wires tucked

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Sound Werks
• ¾ frame of 2 x 4-inch box tubing
• 4 ¾ body drop
• 14-bolt 4:10 rearend
• ¾-ton rear disc brakes
• 4-link
• Contitech airbags
• AccuAir switch speed system
• VIAIR 480 air compressors
• AVS air tanks
• ¾-ton front conversion
• Michigan Metalworks control arms
• Belltech drop spindles
• Rancho 9000sShocks
• Hydroboost

WHEELS & TIRES

• Shop: Pickett Custom Trucks
• 24-inch custom big hole Alcoa
• 255/30R24 Sunny tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Jeff Schwab at Kustom Collision & Rods/Jason Smith
• Trenz billet insert
• Street Metal roll pan
• 5-inch stretched rear fenders
• Short-bed conversion
• Raised and smoothed bed floor
• Shaved door handles/gas door/wiper cowl/tailgate
• Added bodyline into cab
• Lesonal Impulse Blue
• Custom airbrushing under hood

INTERIOR

• Shop: Sound Werks/Corbin Custom Upholstery
• Black suede and leather seats
• Smoothed and painted dash
• Billet Specialties steering wheel
• Custom skateboard center console
• Three 10-inch Crossfire C5 subwoofers
• Kenwood head unit
• Sky High wiring
• Crossfire 6.5-inch component speakers
• Crossfire 600.4 and 1700.1 amplifiers
• Dynamat sound deadening
• North Star battery

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