all you s10 swappers please read!

[andrewt2]

ok so im starting my own 48 gmc s10 swap and i just sat the cab on the s10 frame today and i got to looking at it and had an idea so i want to know if its at all possible you guys that have already done this swap tell me, ive read the post about using the rear s10 cab mounts up front and all but i was wondering could i just cut the original 1948 cab mounts off that frame and bolt them or weld them to my s10 frame? and do the same with the rear crossmember that mounts the rear of the cab cut it out shorten it a bit and weld it to the s10 frame.. just an idea has anyone ever done it that way or is it even possible?

[68chevy68]

I just cut the old s-10 mounts and relocated them to where I needed them to be and put a 2" solid round stock piece of metal from that mount to the cab. They are an inch and 3/4 long with a 9/16 hole cut in the center for the bolt. My truck is bagged and very low though and I will have to cut the back of the cab for my drive shaft.

[68chevy68]

Here are some pictures of what I did if this will help....









I need to get some better pictures of the cab mounts.....

[Thadious]

I thought about it... but in the end I went with the foldup 1/8" steel plans in Jeffs51chevy build and worked with them... The frame I had was almost toast and I figured it would be better to just start with new, uncorroded, steel, than to work with 60 yr old stuff.

One thing I found to watch for when laying out the cab and fenders is the amount of forward tilt of the cab (some like a little bit of it (about 3/4" over the entire cab length)). If you don't set it up just right, when the hood closes, the lower edge of the rear (rounded section) won't sit back far enough...

Just something to keep and eye on.

Either way... mock up your entire sheet metal first with spacers, then decide how and where to weld up your mounts... will save you some headache in the end.

Good luck,
Ted.

[andrewt2]

im going to take some more precise measurements this weekend and line the front clip up. i really like the look of it sitting right down on the frame rails and not having to raise it two to three inches off the frame. i think the biggest deal would be having to cut the floor pan and build a tunnel for the driveshaft but that wont be an issue. i just want the body to sit as low as possible on the frame to start with. so when i do a static drop to the truck it will look very low.

[68chevy68]

If you look back at mine, you will see that is exactly how I started mine. I liked the look of it sitting down low. I even cut 2 inches from the bottom of the rear section of the front fenders to clear the ground when its laid out. Mine sits just above the frame and not much of a tunnel will have to be made. I am running a 235 straight six instead of the 305 in the pictures above. I am also using a 2 speed powerglide and its pretty small and does not come into the cab very much. I am also using an s-10 bench seat I had and its smaller than the original and gives me more room. This thing is going to have mad amounts of room in the cab. I can't wait to drive it! I will try and get you some more pictures when I can.

[BlueJeep]

Before I pulled the cab off my S10 this weekend, I measured how far the S10 cab was off the frame. The S10 floor isn't nearly as flat as the AD's, but it was 2" off the frame at the front and more under the seat area.

The other thing you might take a look at is whether or not you plan on using the S10 gas tank, as that might limit how low you can go with the cab. Mine's an extended cab frame and I'm planning on having a little longer box so that won't limit me, but if it were a 118" wb frame it would.

[andrewt2]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

The other thing you might take a look at is whether or not you plan on using the S10 gas tank, as that might limit how low you can go with the cab. .

i dont plan to use the s10 tank, it had a hole in it so ill probably rig something up for in the bed. im using a short bed regular cab s10 frame and im planning to shorten up my bed to get the right wheel base.

[68chevy68]

Here are a couple of more pictures...











Its just all tacked together right now