Frame Comparrison..New to the Fullsizes

[ICUDOGG]

Hey I am new here....So here is the short story...

I am a Minitrucker with a bagged 96 S-10...shaved, painted,.....blah blah blah...


So now to the point....I got a 1971 Short bed c-10 I rescued from a field of certain death.....No motor or tranny......Front right fender is trashed, Bed is a little beat up, and the rockers are gone.....The deal was I pull it out and haul it away and it is mine for free!.....Well I took it!

Big problem with it is the frame is kink right behind the control arms....BAD!

But I am going to bag it, Body drop it, shave it....Basically chop it up so I thought no biggy!

In my search for a frame I found a 1981 C10 long bed with a 305 and an auto tranny, air conditioning......Body is rough..>But she only want $100...basically the same deal just haul it out of my yard........

So since I plan on building a new frame to stock floor the truck from the firewall back,......How similar are the fronts on these trucks?....Can I pretty easily match up the bodies? with a little fab work....i plan on doing the Z while I am at it......

That read kind of confusing so I want to take the 81 frame....and make it a stock flor frame that is bagged and put the 71 on it...since the 71 frame is trashed!

So what are your guys thoughts? For $100 go for it! and start torching it?

Thanks guys....if you want to see my current show truck it is at www.fokispg.com
The orange s-10 is mine!

Later
C

[ICUDOGG]

no bobdy?

Damn!

Later
C

[PBFAB.COM]

The frames are very similar, and the suspension in the 81 would be a better choice (IMO). The body mounts are going to be different, so it will be a little work to modify those. And of course longbed to short bed requires some cutting/welding. If you have patience, the tools, and the know-how, it shouldn't be the most difficult thing to accomplish. Just make sure you use the tape measure, a lot, and put the body mounts in the right spot!
I am pretty sure there are some guys on the board who have actually done this type of conversion... maybe they will chime in and give some better insight.

[ICUDOGG]

From the looks of them I figued they would be very similar like you said. I know that bag mounts are say 67-87 so I assumed the suspensions are the same...

I am ready to fab it if I have to...I really was hoping to find like a 90's short bed 350 and use it as an underside....have all the new age stuff...but for the price I think I will start with this!

Probly will make the frame from the front back...and new body mounts.....

I hope I am not disapointed in the 305! Maybe if I get the money later I can get something different....after all I have a lot of work to do before I get to the motor! Maybe another deal will come up!

thanks
C

[BigChevMan]

I would take the front suspension from the newer truck and bolt it to the existing frame on the 71. Then just build a new frame from under the cab to the back half. You'll have basically all new frame from under the firewall to the back end. Search for a post by rockcrln. He has done some nice frame work on these trucks.

Is your S-10 still purple? I remember you from the st.com forums a long time back.

[ICUDOGG]

nope my truck was never purple! Different guy.....LOL

It was black then tangerine....

[BigChevMan]

Man...I could have sworn it was purple! Maybe I mistook the black for the purple. Anyway...There is a company that does frame rail forming. You could look in to having them mandrel bend you some frame rails if you don't want to fabricate. I can find the info for you. I believe their in PA.