54 GMC, S10 swap, OM617 diesel

[DieselRat]

Originally Posted by Diesel46

Your truck looks great! I have been collecting parts to do a very similar project. The biggest difference is mine is a 1946. I bought a complete running 1984 300d and a basket case pickup. I have an S10 frame and I also have a frame clip from a 78 Malibu. The 46 on an S10 does not fit as good as the AD trucks. Not sure what is best yet. I got an ax15 from a 2wd Cherokee and an adapter from Koch enterprizes. Is that where You got your adapter? I have been gathering parts for 4 years waiting to finish some other projects. I am glad to see you have been getting 25MPG. I was wandering if you tried lowering the Idler arm and the steering box on the frame to lower the drag link to help clear the oil pan? Does the motor sitting so high in the frame effect the way it drives or handles? It is very encouraging to see your truck. Thanks for posting all your pics!

Thanks for the comment, I will try and answer some of your questions.

I did use an AX-15 from a 2wd jeep, I have lots of friends into jeeps (thats sort of what spawned the idea for the OM617 in the first place) and after many 2wd to 4wd trans swaps, 2wd trans are a junkyard item in the 4x4 world of jeeps so that was a no brainer! I did get the koch enterprises adapter, which was inexpensive and spot on as far as hooking it all up.

As far as changing the steering setup, I didnt even try. The way the steering is in the first place is goofy IMO, I didnt want to mess with any of it and try to change angles and pieces. It was easy enough to notch the pan that the headache of changing steering arms etc just wasnt something I wanted to get into. Besides all that, pelican parts has lower oil pans for around $20 if I failed and needed to buy a replacement pan. I really enjoy welding, and it was just fun to notch it and make it work that way. Also as far as it being set up so high, I actually like it and it really worked out well. It looks like it belongs there, not all sunken in like a 350 looks. My driveline is still low to the ground, but I did do a trans tunnel inside (again I like welding so it was fun to construct) Other than the clanking and rattling of old tin, it drives amazing. It steers easy, even with a manual steering box, and has no body roll or feeling of unbalance. For being my first 'complete build' it all fell into place nicely, shifter position, pedals, etc. Feel free to ask any other questions or I would be glad to show pics. I had to sort of figure all this out on my own without much to look at since I still haven't seen any others done in an AD truck!