One more thing, Gas fill. Because the bed sides are a single wall, and the Dakota fill tube comes up between the inside and the outside wall, the gas fill tube presented a problem. On a Dakota, the fuel tank sits just below the bed floor and the gas fill tube turns up almost instantly. One might be able to just remove the up turn and put a fill cap through the side of the bed, or maybe in the floor of the bed, but it would be a pain to fill, and I would be concerned about gas loss in hot weather, and possibly even right turns. That leaves little choice but to move the fill tube up and add the fill cap either inside the bed, or outside the bed. The ugly gas fill tube wide out in the open didn't appeal to me at all, so I would have to make a box to cover it. I chose to build the box for the gas fill inside the bed. I used the original Dakota fuel door and the plastic spacer under the cap, and welded a panel on the inside of the bed wall to screw the Dakota stuff to. Then I added the 3 sides to the fill box and screwed them to the bed side. The box in front of the gas fill box houses the battery.
The 2nd picture shows the clearance of the tires to the bed sides. This truck has a 78 1/2 ton pickup 9 1/4 rear axle, painted factory 15 x 7 steel slots with 225 60 R 15 tires. There is roughly 1 1/2" - 2" of clearance between the tire sidewall and the bed side with 49" inside side to side clearance (behind the gas fill box). The 39-47 rear fenders are nearly 12" wide, should give about an inch outside clearance.
Tire clearance on the front tires should be pretty close to the same as on the original wheel/tire to fender clearance.
In the pictures, you also notice I am using the factory offset air cleaner housing. This hood is hinged in the center. A standard chrome air cleaner housing ends up with the hold down center bolt directly under the center hood hinge which presents the possibility of rain water entering the motor through the intake system. That experience cost me a motor once, its a lesson I'll never forget, nor will I ever allow that chance to happen again. Gene
