48 GMC to s10 fram swap

[48find]

OK so i know theres plenty of people who have done it but im wanting to get a parts brake down. i have a 1948 GMC long bed and im wanitng to put it on a s-10 frame while maintaining the s-10 brakes axle and steering and fuel tank. whats involved in this process and what am i looking at as far as price goes? im not an expert welder but i have a couple years of stick welding under my belt and im a very do it yourself kinda guy. this truck isnt gonna be a show stopper just a neat little muscle truck that i can drive on the weekends and to work occasionally. im also wanting to drop a 350 SBC and a trans not sure what one yet into it as well. thanks.

[av8tr33337]

Welcome to the site. I’m a first time builder as well doing the S10 chassis swap.

You can pick up an S10 for as little as 100.00 which is what I paid for basically a complete chassis with gas tank. Replacement parts are fairly abundant and relatively cheep. If you aren't going to bag it you will really just need to make cab and bed mounts, possibly find a different length drive shaft because you are going to have to move the engine back 3 to 5 inches. You will probably want to replace the radiator with a 19X22, due to the steering box invading the space that the original radiator takes up. Some guys actually kick the bottom of the radiator out and keep the stock setup.

I'm going to use an 87 Camaro drive train that I picked up for practically nothing. Had 10k on a long block engine.

Some guys use everything they possibly can from the S10 including drive train, steering column, break pedal assembly, wiring harness, etc. You will probably want to use and S10 4WD rear end because the 2WD rear ends are 2 inches narrower than the front wheel track width, but I would use a 2WD chassis.

I know I'm being a little vague but bottom line is you kinda have to know specifically what your goals are, how much of the S10 you are going to use, and how custom you want your ride to be before you can really start putting a parts list together.

I'm not sure what the wheel base is on your 48, but an extended cab S10 is 122 inches if my memory serves me correctly. I think you will either have to lengthen your S10 chassis or shorten your bed a few inches. The S10 has a nice factory seam or splice that's not that difficult to cut apart and add or subtract inches.

My best advice is to study every build thread here that you can, also on the H.a.m.b. (a guy called Chevy II has a good economical build thread there) determine how carried away you want to get and then make some definite plans before nailing down a parts list.

I'm not that far into mine but I think I can do it for between $2000.00 and $4000.00, just to make a dependable daily driver.

Don't know if this helped, but the key word is research, research, research.

[48find]

That actually helps a lot. Thanks again, I am definitely gonna do some studying and this weekend gonna do some research in the junk yard and get some prices. Anyone else here in the Utah area that is doing a build willing to point me in some directions?
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