1986 Chevy K30 Gets Badass New Suspension, 42-Inch Tires
Alaskan Army truck powers through all obstacles enroute to glacier top.
When Fred Williams from Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road wanted to build a truck to make it all the way to the glaciers in Alaska, he decided to dust off an old 1986 Chevy K30 for the job. Previously, he had toyed around with the truck, dubbing it the Alabama Army Truck, but over the last few years, he’s stripped off all the modifications and the truck was collecting dust in his backyard. Well, the truck is about as far away from a dusty old truck now.
While he added an 8.1-liter big block engine from a Suburban, and upgraded odds and ends throughout he truck, the biggest improvement was the suspension system and new 42-inch Maxxis tires. Expecting to hit some major obstacles on the trails in Alaska, Williams enlisted the help of Offroad Design for the new five-link and coilover shock suspension conversion kit. This kit definitely didn’t disappoint.
In addition to the kit, he added AxleTech Portal gear boxes to the front and rear 1-ton axles, which added ground clearance and gearing. After almost two weeks of getting dirty, cutting, welding, grinding, and overhauling the Alabama Army Truck, it was time to test the truck in Alaska. Williams had to change the name to the Alaskan Army Truck, for obvious reasons.
In the episode of Dirty Every Day that chronicled the build and the Alaskan trip, viewers see just how impressive the 86 Chevy was on the trails. Handling everything thrown at it with ease, the truck made its way over rocks, water, and ditches with no problems. Then, the end goal was accomplished, and the Alaskan Army Truck made it all the way to an Alaskan glacier.
Not bad for an old army truck that was collecting dust in Williams’ back yard just a few weeks prior.
