My version of the s10 swap

[ghettoluxury]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Haven't decided if I'll do them green like the body will be or black.

Go black like they were from the factory, just looks better in my opinion.

[BlueJeep]

This weekends update was building the brackets to hold the rear bumper where I wanted it....here it is. I still have some trimming and beautification to do on the brackets but that is easy now that the brackets are basically there. I went with 3/8 x 2 for the brackets so they look a little substantial when viewed from the rear. I don't plan to do any sort of a pan between the bumper and the bed, so the look was important here to me.









Since I had help today, I took the bed off so I can work on brake lines, fuel lines, and finishing up the rear axle.

[99 to Life]

nice brackets

[BlueJeep]

I got my little welder back this week, so back to work on the inner fenders. I started by doing a little more fitting on the filler panels and then tacked them in.









When I pulled it out I cut some pieces so I could duplicate it for the other side and tacked it together.

[BlueJeep]

Now since the single fender wasn't wide enough, I cut the lip off the inside one and added another to it. Once I figure out how wide I want it, I'll scribe one, trim, and weld them together.







Next up I want to figure out some solid mounts for the inner fenders and finish them up. My goal with these was to free up some engine compartment room and looks like that goal will definitely be accomplished! These will also keep all the road grit from winding up on the cowl fillers and inside of the fenders, so they should last longer than 60 years this time!

[oldman3]

Very nice work...Jim

[Cape Codder]

Just want to say I am impressed with the fab work and the imagination to solve the problems with this swap to your advantage. Nice work.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, that should keep the dirt contained. Nice job.


Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Just a little more work this week. I came up with a different solution than most for supporting the front clip. I made some outriggers to capture both ends of the grille, this ties in the strongest section of the front end securely to the radiator support. By doing this I don't feel that I need to reinstall the fender braces, and I'll re-purpose those holes for mounting the inner fenders.

Driver's side:


More to come....

[BlueJeep]

Now that my radiator support has more to it, I can use it to mount the front of the inner fenders.



And some bracing for the rear of the inner fenders:


My newly widened wheel tubs:


And welding more up:




A little more finish work on this one and it'll be about done, then just carbon copy it for the other side and on to the next task.

[99 to Life]

looking good

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, I can not wait to see them in the wheel well. I will look good.


Shannon

[Mater/10]

This Build is Awesome bud Keeper Rollin!

[skymangs]

Awesome work man...

[BlueJeep]

Finished welding up the first inner fender, and bolted it back in. Since I still have the coil spring removed I was able to cycle the upper control arm and trim as needed to get it to full stuff.

All the way down:


And all the way up:


Here's a shot looking up and back:


Here's up and forward:


And this is what I had hoped for the entire time. No longer should this truck get road grit spraying up on the cowl, fender mounting flanges, etc. I think I'll hang a little mud flap off this too, just to keep the bottom of the running boards clean as well. With all this prep, I'd better put some miles on this to make it all worthwhile....

[99 to Life]

looks good, whats your plan to access the headlight buckets/wiring?

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

looks good, whats your plan to access the headlight buckets/wiring?

It'll be much easier than stock my friend! I now have access to it from the engine compartment. I have new lights for it that have the replaceable bulbs that pull out of the back, so I'll cut the backs out of the original buckets and I'll be able to reach in from the engine compartment and change them, just like on newer cars.

View from engine compartment:


Plenty of room right here for the wires to run. On the passenger side I'll route my heater and AC hoses up and over the inner fender:


And lots of room at the back to run them wherever I need/want to:

[ghettoluxury]

Very nice way to fix the only real problem with this body style.

[99 to Life]

aiight, yeah those pics help me out. should be a nice set up then. good work.

[oldman3]

Really like what you did, nice job...Jim

[BlueJeep]

Here's the plan for the ECM. This will go between the new inner fender and the firewall on the driver's side. Just need to pull out the wiring harness and make sure it's long enough before I mount it solid.

s10 ECM bracket part 15995679

[STOCKISH]

Very nice work, love the tubs.

[BlueJeep]

2nd side is far easier and quicker than the first. I hope to finish it up tomorrow so that I can move on to other things.

[99 to Life]

nice work, 2nd time around yeah always nicer aint it!!

[BlueJeep]

Now that I'm over my cold, I was able to get something done. Inner fender is now in. Now there is plenty of room for the A/C compressor.





Now I have to find room for the battery here: