my 48 s10 swap

[Lrall]

update: I got the driver side door hung today, seams are pretty good but will take some adjusting. I may or may not work on it tomorrow, if i do i will reprime the cab and get it ready for round 2 of blocking. Monday i will probably hang the passenger door. The goal for next week is to have the cab completely block sanded, doors hung with gaps adjusted, and firewall painted black and taped off/covered with paper. wish me luck!!

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

some of these are out of order obviously....But, i got the cab guidecoated and blocked(its DONE) Then i started fitting the front clip, i had to cut inner fenders and 'fix' my core support. The s10 kit uses different mounting for the support. In these pics its not fully welded and the welds are sure as hell not my best. I didnt have the voltage up enough and i had trouble with it jumping the angle. Anyway, i got that all welded up, then cleaned up the cuts on the inner fenders and sprayed them black(first time shooting a real color, didnt have any runs!!). The odd shaped brackets are the AC and alternator etc bracketry that bolts to the block.


finally, i got the brake bracket cut and in, i took it back out to clean it and paint it though. Its not perfectly square or pretty(the pic is me holding it...not how its mounted lol) but it will work because we have to bend the pedal anyway. thats not the column were using either.
Next week will bring a painted firewall(monday) and starting to install the motor/trans. The kwik-wire harness came in, the TBI harness should be in next week, along with radiator, steering column/joints and various other parts!!

[Lrall]

Anyone have more pics of this truck? Thats the look im going for, only w/ a chrome grill

[55dude]

nice update! thought we might have lost ya! lol. looks like you might just catch the last cruise of the season?

[Lrall]

Originally Posted by 55dude

nice update! thought we might have lost ya! lol. looks like you might just catch the last cruise of the season?

Well i live in the middle of po-dunk nowhere(but i love it), so we dont have many cruises. But it will be done by july 19th for 'cruise nite' here in kearney. Ill have a ton of updates within the next 2 weeks. Like i said were gettin parts in but tuesday/wednesday should bring the motor being set in, depending on when we do some things. I have to get the intake on, exhaust mani studs out and its ready to go for the most part.

[Lrall]

Finally got the firewall painted, i screwed up the sealer(long sag line) so i wetsanded that out and sprayed black. Nothing is ever as simple as it should be....

also got my intake sprayed black....

ooh purdy motor

and trans!!


yes i know it sits low...thats ok though, better handling...right?

steering column might be tight...but this is the first time the motor went in, i since pulled it out and we had to weld nuts into the frame for out mounts to bolt into. I then decided that things were going way too smoothly so i spaced the nuts in the wrong spot(you would think drilling out holes wouldnt allow you to get off that far) and consequently had to 'honk out' the bracket to make it all fit. So anyway, got the motor in, all mounted up and tight. Offset 1-1/4" to the passenger side for steering column clearance. I will take more pics monday but i HOPE there is more clearance with the new mounting adjustment. Also i should have the trans crossmember done by monday. Then i get to get the POS exhaust studs out of the manifolds...oh joy.

more clearance would have been nice..... its not quite that close now though

[Daniel U]

Coming along nicely!

[55dude]

dude, been away for a few weeks,looks like you have been kicking some A'! looks like you will have everything mounted by now? gonna be sweet.

[pgf545]

Looks great Lrall. Keep us posted on how progress is coming along.

Bernie

[55dude]

long weekend here, any new pic's or updates?

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

Ok, so the updates: I got the motor in, this took awhile as we had to flip the mounts around and blah blah blah. Then i build the tranny crossmember, ill have to get pics up of that. I am SUPER proud of it, as it was done 100% by me. Ill post up pics and explanation if i dont forget. Then we noticed the motor was hitting on the control arm, so we modified that aka grinder. then realized that we should have just raised the motor up in the brackets that mount to the frame. I think i needed more clearance anyway( or so i tell myself to justify the grinding ) I also got the intake on and sealed up, followed by high temp black'd exhaust mani's with OEM thick washers. Then i got the TBI base gasket and throttle body on. Oh, the front bracketry as anyone may or may not notice is GM....i got that all on after a TON of trial and error. I ended up needing to get a smaller pulley for the PS pump, 5 1/4 inch is what it ended up being i think. then i got the belt fitted on there, after more trial and error.

[Lrall]

I also got both dipsticks in and bolted down, then installed the Painless wiring harness....simple as pie. Of course this was after i installed a bunch of sensors and sendors, which some may have to be changed out for the gauges we got...which i should post pics of too. Also, we got the Lokar eliminator gas pedal assembly in today, instal should be soon.....We also ordered the 16" floor mount shifter, does anyone have experience with these? I have heard some not so good things about floor mount vs trans mount ones.....Then i got the interior sprayed black, which cleans it up a ton. Then i got the fuel lines figured out, stock lines to o-ringed fittings to fuel filter and yada yada. Then we will have to modify the sending unit in the tank as the gauge sending unit is different than the s10 one and we need to lengthen it...Custom right? Also, i got the steering column mocked up and our !@$!$!$!#%^&^&$ DD shaft that was too short has now been replaced by the 3 foot DD shaft i ordered off Ebay. Ill have to show you guys the sweet column mount im gonna do I htink thats all for awhile....props to my autos teacher for all the help, it will be staying up at the HS till she runs and drives outta there!!

[55dude]

thanks for the updates! looks like the "maiden voyage' is getting closer every day. minor mistakes we all make and it looks like nothing is going to keep the truck off the road. make sure you do a video of the trucks engine firing for the first time and moving under its own power.

[slimneverdies]

Do you know what is the latest year S10 that could be used for this swap? I plan on buying a 49 and just rat rodding it and laying frame with airbags but still I want a newer drivetrain.

[Lrall]

any year s10 will work, reg cab long box is the BEST although ive seen other models used(wouldnt suggest that). Newer is better with the model years. I should say this now....this is far from the bolt on BS they tell you....

[55dude]

how "bolt on" would you rate the kit you purchased and what were some of the pro's and cons so far? don't worry about being long winded on your opinions let us know.

[jkaylor68gmc]

Looking great! Glad to see the updates. Man how i wish I could work on mine instead of traveling so much.

[Lrall]

Originally Posted by 55dude

how "bolt on" would you rate the kit you purchased and what were some of the pro's and cons so far? don't worry about being long winded on your opinions let us know.

I'm not 100% done yet so i cant say how bolt on the bed and running boards are but from the cab and front clip mounting i can say it would be a 6 or 7 out of 10. It makes the process easier in some respects but harder in others. The cab would go on like a champ but the frame rails have a step in them which makes leveling the mounts a *****. I spent close to 4 days just getting the mounts level and square and how i wanted them.
Then the front clip...It works well but i dont know if it was just my frame or all s10s are like this. The passenger side frame rail curves down at a different time than the driver side, so i have to take a piece of angle iron and grind it to fit the curve so i had a flat spot to mount to. I really wish i could have mocked all this up before paint, as i could have addressed problems like this better. The bed will probably require some modifying also. Dont take this the wrong way, the kit has been a HUGE HUGE HUGE help. It is a top quality kit, but here is where i nitpick some more. The cab is mounted rediculously high.
I believe this is for 2 reasons. 1. The tranny has little clearance as my motor sits now, it is such that the motor is as far forward to give clearance for the hump but enough room for the radiator and accessories. 2. The s10 frame curves up and consequently so does the box....In hindsight i wish i could have cut the cab mounts down about 3 or 4 inches and just lost the box height. Live and learn though right? I want it to go much faster but i LOVE fabbin' stuff. It took me a week to make the tranny crossmember but i did it, it looks top notch and im proud of it. Updates to come today hopefully
lr

[Lrall]

lol bro read my thread its all in there, but ill answer all of the questions anyway

Originally Posted by Slowlearn

Are you using a kit or fabing yourself?--Using the AD engineering kit

What engine are you using.--350 TBI crate motor brand new from GM

I bought a five window 52 GMC that was res-toed about 15 years ago.

The bed's a mess but most of the other metal is in good shape. A very little rust in the usual places at the bottom of the front fenders.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to pull the sheet metal, fix and reassemble when I have a two car garage and the other side belongs to "she who must be obeyed."

I I could rebuild on an S10 frame using a kit, I might get it back together next summer before the Mrs. Civic has to come in for the winter.

Am I dreaming?

John

and btw....unless you half ass it or do a real hotrod style build you wont get it back together in less than a year

[55dude]

any updates?

[solidaxel]

Do you have any updates on your column drop?
Thanks and keep up the progress.