1947 S10 4x4 Blazer swap

[shok]

Nice table, I taught myself to weld, if you can say I know how to weld , by making some tables. Nothing as nice as that tho.
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Posted via Mobile Device

[msaintg]

A few people have asked my how I am able to take the cab and bed on / off so much all by myself. Well, I use an engine hoist and a welding table that I built years ago to build RV gates. The table is 5' x 5' and tilts almost verticle to both sides. Makes loading, turning, and unloading heavy panels pretty easy. Heres a few pics

[msaintg]

week 28 - Big milestone this week. I spent about 26 hours on the truck project. I finally got the frame cleaned and painted. Before I could do that I had to remove 4 of the 6 running board mounts and remount them higher up. I also reenforced them while I was at it. I decided that I did not want to use the transmission with the transfer case hanging off of it, so I found a shop on Craigs list that would rebuild my transmission for me and convert it to a 2X4 tranny. They also through in a new drive shaft with the smaller spline. The old tranny cross support bracket will not work with the 2x4 mount, so I will have to build a new tranny cross support next. The last pic shows the tranny clearance problem.

[cleanshaven84]

Looks like some good progress. Keep it up man!

[54 jimmy]

make sure you leave a stub part of the front cv in the wheel bearings or the will come apart on you while driving. they will seperate. a bolt and nut will work too with washers. just drill a hole in the bolt to put a cotter in it to keep it from backing off.

[msaintg]

54 jimmy... are you talking about what I did in the first pic in post #10? I was going to replace the spindles with 2X4 spindles, but that did not work. I cut the spindle off of the front CV shafts.

[54 jimmy]

yes sorry i didn't see that you had already done that.

[msaintg]

Week 29 – I modified the transmission cross support bracket by cutting out the center section, flipping it over and welding it back together. I then installed the gas tank and began the arduous task of installing the fuel and brake lines (the lines were all original, but I had to modify them because of the motor being moved back 5”, the frame lengthened 9” and the new bed mount was a little in the way). It is not done yet, but after 5 hours of struggling with it, I had to take a break, if you know what I mean.

[msaintg]

week 30 - I finished up connecting the fuel lines after I installed the charcoal canister. Then I moved on to do some more rust repair on the front cab corners. Here are some before and after pics of the cab corners.

[msaintg]

more from week 30 - I spent a couple hours making a mounting bracket for my windshield wiper motor and mounted it up under the dash. I could not mount it in the stock location because my guage cluster sticks out too far there. I ended up turning the motor around. Luckily I don't have the cowl vent to deal with. I hope it still works that way.

[msaintg]

Week 31 - Doesn't seam like I got much done this week. Man I hate 'cleaning'. Spent some time cleaning, touch-up welding, lots of grinding, and putting body filler on the cab floor and underside. I then sprayed on a few cans of undercoating.

[msaintg]

Week 32 - Since I am using the Blazer steering column, I had to create a different mounting plate for the firewall than other columns used on these trucks. It is not really a mount for the column as much as it is a mount for the rubber boot that goes there to keep water out. The last pic shows how close it is to the master cylender booster.

[chevyboy73]

nice! I will for sure watching this

[msaintg]

week 33 - Spent this week doing body work on the firewall and cowl area. I also spent some time doing misc. stuff on the chassis like painting the radiator support. My goal is to get some paint on the firewall next week so that I can put the cab back on the truck.... and not have to take it off ever again.

[msaintg]

week 34 - I spent this week doing more body work on the cab and finally got some paint on it. I decided to stay away from any metalic paint because of my skill level, my dirty paint environment, and my crappy tools. I think a light, basic color will hide my defects better. It is hard to tell from these pics, but it is a cream color. It is just Rustoleum from Lowes. It comes in quart cans, no mixing, called 'Almond'.

[msaintg]

A few more pics from week 34. I ran all the wiring to the gas tank, tranny, cat, and taillights. Then I set the cab back on.

[msaintg]

week 35 - I spent three long days doing bodywork on the cab. I ground the 1/2" of dirt and rust off of the floor and sprayed undercoating on it. I then sanded the rest of the cab and did a lot of body filler on the back and shot some primer on the whole thing. I still need to touchup my bodywork before I can paint it, but I am 90% there.

[msaintg]

More from week 35 - I know I am boring you guys with all these updates, but heres another one. I touched up my bodywork and painted the entire cab. God I love this Rustoleum paint.... so forgiving.... and cheap.

[rgunlock]

Not boring at all! I look forward to your weekly updates.

[sabre67]

Great job so far, I like it much better with the trailer hitch gone. You are one talented guy keep it going

[msaintg]

thanks guys. I am happy with my fab skills, but very disapointed with my bodywork skills. The truck could never pass as a show truck, but I keep reminding myself that it was never intended to be a show truck when I started. (I would just like it to be that nice) It will be really trick for a daily driver, but nothing more. I hate body work, so my skills will never improve and I can't afford to pay for a professional paint job. I hope to have the bed done next week so I can finally clean and organize my garage. Hard to work with so much dirt and clutter.

[msaintg]

Well, I was doing a little math this morning.... I am still averaging about 10 per week on this project. I have about 350 hours in it so far and my grand total is now up to $3500. Not bad. I think I am still on track to have it done in 2 years for less than $5000.

[Daze57]

v v nice color and . it s gonna be a really nice truck keep up the good work

[gregw98]

Not everyone can afford to write check after check to have someone else build there car for them. You are a true inspiration, proving that the 'Average Joe' can do it himself and come out with very good results. Seeing a show car that someone wrote a check for it nice, but to see a vehicle that you built yourself opens the eyes to those who thought that they could never do it themselves. You should be very proud. And I bet you will draw a lot of attention at cruise nights, where the Average Joe shares their ideas and hangs with their own kind.
Congrats, my man.

[msaintg]

thanks guys, that means a lot to me. I used to belong to a Suzuki Samurai club. I really miss getting together with guys with similar interests and discussing what mods we did or what worked or didn't work. We would occationally show up at the local car shows with our beater 'pieces of cr@p' and steel the show. I am always pushing to better my skills and you guys give me something to aspire to. I love the feeling of doing stuff myself.... especially if it can pass as 'professional'..... it gives me an extra charge.