Wife's 48

[8man]

Got a little more done yesterday. I have a HF elcheapo stud gun so I tried it out on the riders door. This is the damage from an old mirror.
IMG_0069 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Used 8 studs, 2 to 4 at a time.
IMG_0070 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Here is the result.
IMG_0071 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
It's better, but not great. I found Martinsr's how to use a stud gun after I did this. I have a lot to learn on using the stud gun.

Then I moved on to that door nut that was ripped out. I used Dsraven's nut on a washer idea, sort of....
IMG_0075 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Welded the nut to the washer, and then welded it to washer to the door with the nut to the inside.
IMG_0076 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
It is pretty centered and is ground down to be about as flat as the old nut.
Then I did some touch upon the cowl vent to get rid of some rust spots.
IMG_0073 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
While there, I went ahead and welded the windshield bar back in.
IMG_0072 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
That is the old bar. I have the new one that I didn't use. If no one else needs one, it'll go in the scrap pile to use for some other type of bracket.
IMG_0074 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Then I have the Ebrake pedal from a late model Infinity that I want to use, but it didn't even come close to fitting the flat firewall in this old truck. So after some cutting and welding,
IMG_0078 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

It was then that I realized that the 48 cab firewall is SMOOTH. No stiffeners bent into it to support things. I'll have to think about reinforcing the firewall for the Vintage Air and the brake pedal and Ebrake pedal.

[8man]

Slow weekend, too much other stuff going on. I did find the home for the E-brake pedal. It fit up pretty well once I rebuilt the mounting tabs to fit the firewall.
IMG_0089 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Now I will need a grommet for that cable running through the firewall. Anyone have any ideas?

I'll have to figure out the mounting for the under cab portion another day.

[mongocanfly]

Looks good...can you grab the grommet from the Infiniti?....I would think about any e-brake cable grommet would work though

[Matt_50]

I was using seam sealer on other spots and used some for my e brake cable. Since it doesn't need to move, I thought why not. Used my finger to clean it up and it looks.

[8man]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[8man]

I have been working, trying to figure out the correct way to mount the radiator. I think this is close to being right. Since I have some extra doors to get parts from, I had plenty of these laying around.
IMG_0103 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
And they looked like the right size to make a bracket for the radiator cushion.
IMG_0104 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I had to figure out how to mount them. Two had to go at the bottom to support the radiator and I decided to mount two on the sides at the top.
IMG_0109 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
IMG_0105 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
They look a little like this.
IMG_0108 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
And from the front.
IMG_0107 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
As others have done, I split some rubber hose and used it to press down on the radiator with the top radiator support. No picture of that as others have posted it already.

[NorCalGal]

Looks good Robert.

[Matt_50]

I hadn't really looked at what some of you guys do for radiator mounting. I like the homemade cushions.

[8man]

Thanks Jan.

Next up is to put the fenders on the truck and see where it will mount on the frame. Once I figure out the where, I'll decide on the how, but I'm leaning toward bolting it like you did.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

I hadn't really looked at what some of you guys do for radiator mounting. I like the homemade cushions.

Check my first build thread for a way to mount the rad. I was happy with mine cause I could adjust it to get the hood fitment correct. Ditto for what Jan said, make sure your measurements include space for the bumpers under the radiator.

[8man]

I know I'm supposed to be doing this in order, but I got tired of welding and grinding on body panels. So I fabbed the brake pedal from the S10 brake pedal assembly, from a truck with a clutch. It had the small pad and was not where I wanted it. So I cut it off, cut off the pad from a 69 Camaro brake pedal, bent it to have the "same" bends as the original and mounted it up.
IMG_0133 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
That's it sitting above the gas pedal assembly. I built a stand to get it where I want it. I still need to drill the holes and put it in, but it fits nicely and has full throttle.

As you may notice, I also put the seats in. They fill the cab pretty full. I have about one inch between the seats and the doors on each side, and they may rub in the corner a little. I think they are from an 80's truck, 60/40 bench. The wife likes it, "they are comfortable", but they have to be recovered.

[NorCalGal]

Be sure to leave some room for rubber bushing under the leg before you run the bolt thru.

[8man]

Thanks Jan.

I had a good day in the shop, I think. If I did the following correctly.

I have the new angles for the bed sides, as the old ones were rusted too badly to patch. So the old angles were drilled and removed.
IMG_0116 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I test fit the new angle, using marks from the original angles to see where to put them.

I cleaned everything up and primed with weld through primer.
IMG_0117 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spot welded the new angle on the sides. I think I got good penetration, as shown by this picture.
IMG_0114 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
While I was at it, I was working on some dents and "rounding" out the rollover on the top of the bed. Who knew that a 1 1/8" impact socket would fit so well and could be used as back up to knock out some dents.
IMG_0115 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

[mongocanfly]

I feel ya about getting tired of welding.....looks good...

[OutlawDrifter]

Recovering those seats is a bit difficult. The fabric is glued to the foam, most upholsterers just go over the old fabric if they've worked on one before.

[8man]

Thanks. They are so crusty they need a full recover.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 8man

Thanks. They are so crusty they need a full recover.

ha! my 88-92 seat in the 65 looked like a casting couch compared to yours.


keep going!

[8man]

I got a full 8 hours on the truck today. Man I wish I knew what I was doing so I could get more done.

I started off getting the motor off the stand, mounting the tranny to it and setting the whole thing in the truck.
IMG_0135 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spent the next 2 hours figuring out if it was centered, level and far enough back. I raised it and blocked under it and used a bottle jack on the tranny to get my angle correct (I think). At the tranny output shaft I'm at 4.4 degrees down and at the diff I'm at 4.6 up. Both are within the magic 5 I've been told to be ware of.

The purpose of this exercise, other than it HAD to be done was to check my radiator bracket. So next I put the inner and outer fenders on. The riders side fit like it knew what it was doing. However, the drivers side looks like I got an inner fender from something else. I posted a question on that already.

IMG_0136 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

The riders inner was cut up for a Camaro clip on the old frame, but I did cut a little more to make it fit. I guess I'll be patching some of it too. I cut the drivers, and didn't cut it enough, so it'll come back off and I get to do some more cutting.

While doing this, I broke out my notes and saw that from center of the stock S10 front bed mounts to the back of the cab is supposed to be 21 7/8". I'm at 20 1/8", so I am second guessing if I should move the cab forward.

I looked at the radiator bracket between the two inner fenders and where it falls on the frame, and I need some more room. The bracket comes down almost on top of the power steering box.

The motor is set 3" in front of the cab at the distributor, so I can go back a little more there, or I can move the cab forward the 1 5/8".

What to do? Man I wish I had more experience at this!

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by 8man

I got a full 8 hours on the truck today. Man I wish I knew what I was doing so I could get more done.

I started off getting the motor off the stand, mounting the tranny to it and setting the whole thing in the truck.
IMG_0135 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spent the next 2 hours figuring out if it was centered, level and far enough back. I raised it and blocked under it and used a bottle jack on the tranny to get my angle correct (I think). At the tranny output shaft I'm at 4.4 degrees down and at the diff I'm at 4.6 up. Both are within the magic 5 I've been told to be ware of.

The purpose of this exercise, other than it HAD to be done was to check my radiator bracket. So next I put the inner and outer fenders on. The riders side fit like it knew what it was doing. However, the drivers side looks like I got an inner fender from something else. I posted a question on that already.

IMG_0136 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

The riders inner was cut up for a Camaro clip on the old frame, but I did cut a little more to make it fit. I guess I'll be patching some of it too. I cut the drivers, and didn't cut it enough, so it'll come back off and I get to do some more cutting.

While doing this, I broke out my notes and saw that from center of the stock S10 front bed mounts to the back of the cab is supposed to be 21 7/8". I'm at 20 1/8", so I am second guessing if I should move the cab forward.

I looked at the radiator bracket between the two inner fenders and where it falls on the frame, and I need some more room. The bracket comes down almost on top of the power steering box.

The motor is set 3" in front of the cab at the distributor, so I can go back a little more there, or I can move the cab forward the 1 5/8".

What to do? Man I wish I had more experience at this!

As NorCalGal mentioned, its all about where the front wheels sit in the fender. That determines where everything else on the whole truck fits pretty much. I spent a whole evening staring at mine, moving it, second guessing myself, staring at it some more. It should look something like this...



Keeping in mind that if your engine isn't in, the weight of the engine will bring the wheel back slightly. I did mine with the engine mocked up and in to put weight on the front wheels.

[Matt_50]

Hopefully joedoh can help out on moving the cab or engine.

I almost want to do another truck on a s10 frame just because of reading his builds lol. I knew of a gmc without a frame awhile back... wonder if it's still there....

Awesome day of work!

When I put my drivetrain in it was an all day thing. Started as sun came up, ended after dark so I feel for ya. And it looks pretty good coming together don't it?

[NorCalGal]

You want to look at it from the side with the fenders mocked up,center your front wheels in the front fender and remember the wheel move slightly to the rear as the front end drops.

[NorCalGal]

You look pretty close here’s a shot of mine from the top of rad support.

[paintman]

Excuse me for asking a dumb question but. What do you do if you need to change the fuel pump? Is there enough room to get it out of the block?

[8man]

The engine is not mounted yet. I'm asking what am I doing wrong?

I don't think I'm setting it right. I've seen others use mechanical fuel pumps and I'm asking "where did you put the motor?"

But to answer your question, I did bolt the fuel pump back on after the engine was sitting there. I think it is too close to the crossmember to be useful.

[nvrdone]

when I put the 327 in my truck, the only problem area was the fuel pump. so I used a block off plate & an electric pump mounted back near the tank. problem solved.