S10 Swap frame conversion kit

[CoachH]

We are looking for a S10 swap/conversion kit to use for our 1954 short box pickup. Does anyone have any recommendations on which one you prefer?

Thanks,
Russ

[NeoJuice]

Preference I'm not sure but code 504 makes a kit. Haven't heard anything bad about it.

http://www.code504.com/

[mr48chev]

Unless you just flat don't have a good stock frame you have to figure in the total cost of swapping frames and it isn't cheap if you use the kit.

!500 + for he kit by the time you get the extras you figure you need plus shipping.
500 to ??? for the S-10 donor most of the time as the days free dead S-10 long beds out of someone's back yard is long gone.

100 + for an S=10 4x4 rear axle as the two wheel drive axle is usually too narrow unless you want wide wheels and wheel tubs.

Add in the challenge of getting everything lined up on a chassis it wasn't designed to go on.
Simply meaning that if you are looking at a frame swap as a cost saving over buying a front cross member (kit) an swapping rear axle an suspension you might not see any saving.

On the other hand the swap is viable if:
Your stock frame is junk for one reason or another,
The truck you started with wasn't a 1/2 ton short box to begin with. Bought a 1-1/2 ton for the cab and need a frame thing..
You didn't have any cab to start with. We have guys who buy the cab here, the nose there and the bed over there and combine.

Just something to ponder as for the reasoning for swapping frames to begin with.

[lynx5653]

try EZ Chassis swap http://www.e-zchassisswaps.com

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by CoachH

We are looking for a S10 swap/conversion kit to use for our 1954 short box pickup. Does anyone have any recommendations on which one you prefer?

Thanks,
Russ

whats your goal for the truck?

the s10 swap can be a bolt on for the BODY but you still have everything else to do, and the everything else is where the real time and money is spent.

if your goal is low cost, you would do just as well to build your own mounts. check out the s10 swap sticky on the main page.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=632686


I have done 5 s10 swaps and I stick to a pretty specific formula, reuse the s10 drivetrain and most of the systems. I am working on a 6th. the way to succeed is to have your goal in mind and put a pin in it. dont add any "while I am in there" tasks, dont change your mind on powertrain or suspension halfway through, and DONT bite off more than you can chew. a lot of guys equate buying parts with building. then they have a huge pile of parts with nothing left to buy and all the work to do, get discouraged, and the project just sits.

if you end up swapping to an s10, do you have space to have two vehicles completely taken apart? do you have a plan to get rid of the parts you dont need? do you have the tools and the skill to use them?

if you end up doing a suspension upgrade, do you have the money to buy the everything else that doesnt come in a kit? for example, buying a MII crossmember is the way most people will go, but you will still need a brake booster and master cylinder and all the lines, and a rear end and driveshaft, and motor mounts both frame side and motor side. even the inexpensive bolt on kits balloon in price quick. do you have the tools and skills to install a front and rear suspension?

truth be told even if your truck has some enormous emotional attachment you could usually save a lot of money and significant amounts of time just buying a done truck and swapping your cab and sheetmetal over.

[Rabid Anti-Dentite]

So on the last truck I built, I used the Code504 kit. I bought it when it was on sale for around $1200. Everything showed up labeled and ready to go with very nice instructions. Bolting everything on and getting it lined up was easy. Taking everything back apart, cleaning, painting, wiring, plumbing, tweaking is what takes a lot of time. I did this in a 2 car garage, and I am doing another S10 swap in a 2 car garage. Like Joedoh said, make a plan, build the truck in your head, and starting working towards that goal. I had better luck selling S10 parts that I didn't use in Chicago than I do now in Texas because of the rust. So I bought just a frame here for $150. I just use the 2 inch spacers on the wheels until I can find a great deal on a rear end. I use the 5.3 Vortec truck engines with a 4l60e because the stand alone harnesses are pretty straight forward. But just be prepared to find a lot of items you weren't expecting to deal with when you take the old truck apart. There are tons of build threads on here with the S10 swap, it can be done, it just depends really on how right you want to do it, and how much time you have to get it done.

[CoachH]

These responses are extremely helpful! Thank you.

I found a longbox S10 for $50 so that's how this started. I have plenty of room in my shop and two friends that are mechanics and welders that are 100% in on helping me with this.

I have heard many people saying keeping the old frame and swapping out the suspension is a good way to go. One advantage I think to the swap is that I am putting a new engine in the truck so when Im done with the swap I'll have a running frame and engine that I can put another body on to flip and sell.

Anyone else have ideas or input! Thanks again!!

[joedoh]

sounds like a plan, $50 donor is nothing to sneeze at.

keep things you dont think you will use, like the brake booster and master, pedal assemblies, even the wiring harness. the only thing I have ever had to change or extend on an s10 wiring harness is the right headlight/parking light wires, and it plugs right into the column. dont cut, take time to understand what goes where, take pictures and label everything.

even if you end up doing a suspension swap, that s10 can donate its pedals and brake booster/master, rear end and driveshaft and even the leaf springs (use the perches and rear shackle mounts from the s10), steering column and pedal mounts.

[b-mac]

Originally Posted by CoachH

I have plenty of room in my shop and two friends that are mechanics and welders that are 100% in on helping me with this.

If you have this, you should just skip buying the kit and do those parts yourself. That's the easy part really. The material cost will be minimal.
Follow Skymangs how-to on the front page. Lots of other good builds on here as well.

[mr48chev]

First thing I would do before spending any money is strip the S=10 down to the rolling chassis and see what I have. Save all the pieces that can be used on your truck and haul off the body parts. Last thing you want is to have a bunch of money invested in a kit or time invested in building the pieces and find out that that 50 buck donor is in too bad of shape to use.