49 3600, s10 swap, project boogie

[99 to Life]

nice progress. Soooo many things don't belong on these trucks and guys do it. Wish there was a law on what can be done to old iron, but then that would take the "artistic" freedum out of it.

[joedoh]

more final assembly, brakes are fluid tight and so are all the coolant hoses. coolant added no leaks!




fixed the oil sender, no more pegged gauge



fuel fliter replaced, I need a distributor hold down bolt and a gas cap to push it outside and start it.

and my theory on the blend door actuator working from the factory controls was 100% right. you cant see me turn the knob but you can sure see it move in response




I have a bunch errands in the morning, shipping some parts, tag office, getting the gas cap and some gas, picking up the carpet, but I hope to push it out, start it, bleed the brakes, and get the seat and seatbelt mounts done. we will see!

[joedoh]

well I bought that 4.3 and trans in a rolled s10 that didnt start (broken column). I took a chance because the odo said 79k miles and it looked clean. I hoped it would run ok but like everything else there always seems to be a curveball. I dont know what to say, it doesnt run ok.



it runs AMAZING. started right up. no key relearn or anything. no sputtering, coughing, grinding, wheezing, sparking, no baloney, NOTHING. hasnt run in the year I have had it and in who knows how long since it was wrecked. I had my camera in one hand and a fire extiguisher in the other, with the hose nearby. so quiet, I cant wait to drive it to the muffler shop for some duals and glasspacks. I am gobsmacked. I am over the moon.

60lbs oil pressure, nice idle, temp in range, alternator charging. wooooooot


believe it or not there is only 3/8" difference in height side to side. :/ I will fix it. I noticed the upper bushings on the shocks were cracked so I will replace them too. the only things left under the hood are the air cleaner, ac lines, and mounting the cruise module. then I move inside!

[lower50's]

That is awesome you should be soooooo happy. Nice the blend door idea worked.

[Advanced Design]

Congrat's on the first very smooth start! Sounds good...factory.

[joedoh]

yeah it has been a great week!

I put the driveshaft in, perfect amount of stickout (in the picture it is still on jacks, it goes in about an inch) it clears the center bearing crossmember too with plenty of room but I may trim it in case the truck goes on a lift.



the damn yoke on the rearend has a broken bolt :/. so no yard drives.

rolled outside it was enjoying the sun but I sure wasnt, it was abnormally hot and humid


I was actively looking for a table saw to make the bed wood kit and tripped across a parts 46 truck that I ended up cleaning the guy out on. he asked if I needed bed strips. he showed me the custom 1/2 ton flatbed that was on that truck and said he wanted the rest for bonfire wood. I flipped him 30 bucks and took the whole thing


xibit says "yo dawg I hear you like flatbeds heres a flatbed on your flatbed"

yes the ragweed stayed on for the whole trip.



you can see in the background I poached the core support and rad while I was there. waste not want not!

[99 to Life]

very cool, congrats.

[lower50's]

I wish I could find stuff like that up here.

[joedoh]

well I finally got to trying to drill out the pinion yoke, the drill bit went right through the "broken bolt", it was packed in dirt as hard as concrete. none of the other holes would let a bolt thread more than a couple turns, so the threads are still packed. I am going to pick up a tap tomorrow at the yard.

and I dont have any pictures of it because.


I went ironically to the att store to get my 18 yr old daughter a new phone, she has had the same one since she got a phone 3 years ago. I took my 3 year with me and she has been wanting to climb in the car on her own for a couple weeks, so I let her, but her foot got stuck. I set my phone on the roof to help her and immediately forgot about it. halfway home I remembered, turned around and it was doing its best impression of a road reflector in the middle of the intersection I turned left at. thuthump thuthump.

oh twell! haha I havent done anything stupid for a while. hubris! apple will "fix your old one" for a fixed rate. I looked into having it fixed local and almost did, till they told me the touch id fingerprint sensor would never work ever again. apple repair was within 20 dollars of the local shop, and it will be here tomorrow.

I did get the garage swept. there are at least 5 wolf spiders in there keeping me clear of crickets and stinkbugs and everything else. They bounced at me till they realized I wasnt going to roust them, then just hung out and watched me sweep.

[DeanTX]

Put the phone on Craigslist and say it needs a little buffing!

[joedoh]

haha well I sent it back to apple, they have a fixed price "repair" service.

got the seat in and the mounting done, painted up the seat riser to match. you can see what an exact color match the paint is now, and I have matching carpet for the floor too.



it may look like overspray on the floorpan and it is, but there is method to the madness, the paint through the holes showed exactly where to drill. tomorrow I will bond the trans tunnel in, I thought about keeping it a screw in but I cant forsee a need to remove it, and removing the carpet to get it out would be as much a pain in the butt as anything. after the carpet I will finish up some interior stuff and move on to the bed.

[99 to Life]

seat looks great. I like your mad methods on the holes!

[lower50's]

Nice seat. I was going to put access holes in my trans tunnel, glad I didn't, don't need them. Is the whole interior going to be same color?

[joedoh]

yes, I am going to cover the door panels and headliner in the same material as the seat.

[joedoh]

I bonded the trans cover in. my reasoning was the only thing I would be doing under there is nothing.


while I waited for that to tack, I also filled the 30/30 and .40 holes in the roof. I wanted to leave the impressions but not the holes


then I welded in the seat studs with big fender washers under the cab to keep them from pulling through.


I hate upholstery work but in the words of George Costanza "Why should I pay, when if I apply myself, maybe I could get it for free?". I started laying out the mass backing



then I transferred the pattern to the carpet, cut it and laid it


then seat on the studs, perfect fit, and thats that.


never be afraid of anything, that was what my dad said. if you try and fail you still did better than everyone who never tried and just talked about it.

got the driveshaft hooked too after tapping the yoke. there was some junk in there let me tell you.


then I bonded the inner felts on, the zipties are just to let it set. I got some stuff I like even more than the liquid nails, I forget the name but this stuff bonds like something I have never seen before.




more good news tomorrow!

[lower50's]

Looks great!! Did you buy the under mat and carpet in bulk?

[joedoh]

yes, 2 yards of jute, 2 yards of carpet. I think 72" wide.

[av8tr33337]

Curious, does that seat rub the doors? And does it fold forward??? Very nice looking install

[99 to Life]

that seat looks identical to the one I used last. out of a late 80's burb? 88-98 seats fit well. I somehow used a 73-87 seat on my 51' (I could swear it was) but I have two other 73-87 and they are def too wide by about 5" if i remember. the burb seat is really good fitting seat and the retractable part is nice to have too, oh and yes the folding is the main reason I personally only run aftermarket seats.

[iowaboynca]

Interior is gonna look fabulous.

[rusty76]

Awesome work

[joedoh]

thanks everyone

like henry says its a 88-98 ck bench. its not a 60/40. I had it recovered a couple months ago. the CK seats fit perfectly, dont rub the doors (unless you move it all the way up I guess) and fold forward easily. the 88-98 upholstery is bonded to the foam, its a reliable way to make a seat cover but a pain to recover. the guy just made a new foam cover and covered that. its super plush, very comfortable. I should have, now that I sit in it, cut it down about 2 inches, but hey learning for the next one.

I spent all day on the front end, replacing the shock bushings, leveling the springs, bleeding the brakes (they didnt bleed, master wasnt pumping fluid). no pictures, maybe when I get the brakes clapping.

edit: found out why the lines were dry



luckily a new one isnt a ton of money. new one is on, lines are full, and if I had a bleeding buddy I would have brakes.

[joedoh]

went to cardboard freight today for the bleeder hussey recommended. I always get the crappy cashier who wont honor coupons, so I paid full pop retail, oh well. I did pick up a couple moving blankets to cover the seat and carpet while I finish stuff. I was getting a lot of air bubbles, the rear lines didnt bleed at all for a while and then when they finally did (only way it pulled fluid was with the cap on) it was rust colored for a while.

pedal feels good, fixed the lean (cut a 1/8th coil off the passenger side, no judgements please, the s10 lean is a real thing) replaced the upper shock mounts, actually they werent bad just had a couple pieces flake off. I would drive it but the gallon I put in there has evaporated.



level finally

[99 to Life]

you're moving along. bleeding brakes is a home stretch job.

[av8tr33337]

Would love to see it in person. Im thinking I might go with that era seat instead of my astro van seat. Would be nice if I could sit in it and get an idea if I like the height or need to cut it down.