51 Chev on a S10 frame, named Dale

[twinshadows]

Thank you , Tempest67, for your time, postings, idea's, and great pictures.

I'm looking & learning as you guys build these trucks. Plus, a lot of the same issues , with different ways & fixes . . . . too make things work.

I'm "in & following along" - - - - - jim

[Tempest67]

After looking at the motor mounts that are used for a SBC, it bothered me that the engine rested over the unsupported portion of the mount.

So I thought I would make a few brackets and weld them in for support.

I cut some angled metal to fit in the pocket behind the engine cross member, drilled a hole in it, then drilled a slot in the mount (to match the other 3 slots) , welded it, and ground down the weld.

It still needs to be painted, but here is what I did.

[8man]

Good solution.

[olcarguy]

Looks like you know what your doing...will be following along. What part of Ontario are you from? Been snowing here for last 3 days.

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by joedoh

yep, know that process well, my wife sees a truck all put together and the next day all blown apart again and says "I thought it was done!"

looks like a solid front mounting!

My wife says that about once a week or once a month on our projects (depending on how fast we are working). It would be nice to only put each part together once, but that is not how it works.

[joedoh]

good thinking, and nice execution!

[Tempest67]

Thanks Guys, just trying to keep the project moving forward, as Johnny Cash would say, " 1 piece at a time"

Olcarguy, I am in Oakville, just west of Toronto. I have seen your metal working skills and am very impressed, keep the updates coming

[olcarguy]

Thanks Tempest…I know where Oakville is use to live in Mississauga and worked at Molson brewery on fleet
street......unfortunately there won't be an update till sometime after spring. I moved from a 24x30 shop near Peterborough to a 20 x22 space all 90% of my equipment is in a sea can in the drive. panel is sitting in the snow.



big shadow is the sea can

[Tempest67]

Maynooth, had to Google that, and now I see where you are. I used to snowmobile up around there.

The panel is sitting in a lot of snow, No snow down here now, and none in the forecast.

Hopefully you will get back at it in the Spring, as I enjoyed the pics of your metal work.

[Tempest67]

Well, the project just became more expensive, and it's my own fault.

I purchased a SBC with vortec heads from a guy last year, he said the motor ran well, but he is getting a Big Block for his El Camino. I went to his place, saw his car, and his Dad's El Camino parked beside his, and I agreed to buy the motor.

So, now, a year later, my friend tells me to open up the motor, and we will have a look inside and reseal it.........guess what???? bad news.

I know, I know, I should have taken a head off before I bought it, but I wanted to believe this guy and I really wanted this motor,

So, now I am in the process of disassembling the lower end, to see if it is any good, and I will be looking for some heads......or maybe a complete motor if the block is cracked too........

Please don't beat me up too bad, I have been kicking myself since Saturday and I am not over it yet...........

Ahhhhh.......... "Serenity Now"

[8man]

I read up on the Vortec heads before doing mine. They do have a problem with cracks. However, they are plentiful so you should be able to find some that aren't cracked. While you look inside, try to find some better heads.

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

Well, the project just became more expensive, and it's my own fault.

I purchased a SBC with vortec heads from a guy last year, he said the motor ran well, but he is getting a Big Block for his El Camino. I went to his place, saw his car, and his Dad's El Camino parked beside his, and I agreed to buy the motor.

So, now, a year later, my friend tells me to open up the motor, and we will have a look inside and reseal it.........guess what???? bad news.

I know, I know, I should have taken a head off before I bought it, but I wanted to believe this guy and I really wanted this motor,

So, now I am in the process of disassembling the lower end, to see if it is any good, and I will be looking for some heads......or maybe a complete motor if the block is cracked too........

Please don't beat me up too bad, I have been kicking myself since Saturday and I am not over it yet...........

Ahhhhh.......... "Serenity Now"

I pulled my SBC engine apart a few months ago and found that water had laid in the two rear cylinders at some point in time. Hopefully boring out by 30 thou will take care of the rust. Vortec heads looked good though.

Lots of surprises on these projects (and most of them don't result in cash savings LOL)

[olcarguy]

Thanks for the kind words on my metal work. Have to build a garage extention in spring, then hope to be back to work on it....

[joedoh]

at least you pulled it apart beforehand, saved you some troubleshooting

[Tempest67]

Ya, I guess that is the silver lining to this one

[joedoh]

no worries, the ball is an anti-siphon feature, so that fuel will flow past but a garden hose wont.


nice to hear you are still at it!

[Tempest67]

Thanks Russ,

I am still at it, working on the firewall, messing around with wipers, installing Altman latches, bending brake lines, preparing the sheet metal for final assembly...... lots of little things that I am trying to get done, as once that motor is done, it will be full speed ahead.

thanks again for the good news about the anti-siphon assembly.

[Northern 52]

I'm just a little north of you in Sudbury. Nice to see another Ontario build. Mine is a 52, 3 window Saskatchewan truck on a 2000 S10 extended cab, short box. I had to shorten the frame a bit. I have a 5.7 Vortec installed but not running yet.

Just wondering where you sourced the cab corners. One of mine is rusted through but the other side is fine.

It will be interesting going through the safety and insurance steps so I will be watching closely. You are a bit ahead of me but if I get in gear, I could have it on the road this coming summer.

Brendan

[Tempest67]

Brendan,

Glad to hear that you are working on a S10 swap, I am enjoying the process. Your winters are longer up there so you will have more time to finish ...ha ha

My 51 came from Manitoba, still required alot of rust repair to the cab, but it is amazing how solid the doors, fenders, hood and box are.

I am hoping to have it on the road this summer...... but when you put deadlines on a project, it becomes work, not fun....so I am trying to be patient.


I picked the cab corners up last year in Carlisle PA at the swap meet, but I found a good place in Courtice ON (near Pickering/Oshawa) named Bill's Truck Shop. They seem to have everything you need for an old truck resto. , and seem to be reasonable to deal with. (not any S10 stuff, but all the original stuff is available)...they also have a lot of used parts.

Good Luck with your project, and I will look for your Build thread, if you don't have one, let us see what you are working on.

[Tempest67]

I really like the look of the original hub caps on these AD trucks. The baby moon with the red 'CHEVROLET' letters.

BUT, our truck is on a S10 frame, and I am using GM wheels with 5 lugs, so the original hub caps will not fit, unless you add the clips., but I did not want to mess around with that.

So, I purchased 4 new baby moon hub caps from Summit, https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrg-4580

and went to my local Vinyl Graphics guy, and he made me up some stickers.

I now have baby moons with the CHEVROLET letters. I am going to add 1 inch trim rings, and I think I will have the look I am after.

[joedoh]

looks great!

[Tempest67]

also did a little welding with an old Chev valve cover on the firewall

[8man]

Nice custom touch.

[Northern 52]

Those caps look great. What size rims and offset are you planning on using. The reason I ask is that I used BellTech lowering spindles on my S10 chassis and now the balancing weights had to be removed from the inner 16 inch rim lips as they hit the steering arms. I need offset rims as well due to the narrower frame. I would like to avoid spacers if I can as they may not be legal for inspection. The 4.75 bolt spacing also seems to limit the rim choices.

[Tempest67]

The rims I am using are just 15 x 7 inch GM wheels that were on my Tempest with Dog Dish hub caps. I think the factory wheels have a 4.5 inch back space.

I am also using 2 inch drop spindles with 2 inch spacers on the front, and 1.25 inch spacers on the rear, with a Blazer 4x4 diff. I thought the Blazer rear would have allowed me not to use rear spacers, but I do not want wheel wells in the bed, so I extended them another 1.25.

Here is a recent pic, with the cab off for the last time (I hope) and you can see the clearance between the front tire and the tie rod end....with the 2 inch spacer.

What is the Back Spacing on your 16 inch rims? if it is greater than 5 inches, I would think you will need other rims, or spacers, cause if you need to remove wheel weights to gain clearance, you are too close.