47-59 S10 Swap Questions

[Daks85]

Hello, I have some quesitons. I have a 1950 3100 body and short box, and i have a complete v8 swapped 1982 s10 long box. I am wondering about tips on the easiest solution or solutions.
Do i need to move motor or transmission mounts since it is already V8 swapped (brand new 350/350 combo), can i use the aluminum rad and electric fans in the s10 V8 build that are already there and just modify my body a little if needed?
I have heard of some people saying they use the stock s10 mounts , but have not seen any photos or designs if they have. I would like the truck to sit fairly low.
I already had the 1950, i bought the s10 because i did not have a frame, and this truck was just completed with the brand new (not rebuilt) motor, tranny, rear end, new brakes and lines, new everything basically and was thinking i can save/use like 90% of that

[dsraven]

check the skymangs s10 swap thread or pm joedoh, he has built quite a few AD trucks on the s10. I kinda doubt if the s10 rad is going to work, most I have seen use a rad mounted to the front of the stock rad support. check joedoh's builds. he also makes a mount kit to swap the AD onto an s10. I'm sure he could hook you up or point you in the right direction at least.
you gotta post some pics if you want SERIOUS attention, lol.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Daks85

Hello, I have some quesitons. I have a 1950 3100 body and short box, and i have a complete v8 swapped 1982 s10 long box. I am wondering about tips on the easiest solution or solutions.
Do i need to move motor or transmission mounts since it is already V8 swapped (brand new 350/350 combo), can i use the aluminum rad and electric fans in the s10 V8 build that are already there and just modify my body a little if needed?
I have heard of some people saying they use the stock s10 mounts , but have not seen any photos or designs if they have. I would like the truck to sit fairly low.
I already had the 1950, i bought the s10 because i did not have a frame, and this truck was just completed with the brand new (not rebuilt) motor, tranny, rear end, new brakes and lines, new everything basically and was thinking i can save/use like 90% of that

you need to move the motor back.

when you swap a v8 into an s10 the motor mounts move FORWARD because on a v8 they are on the front of the block but on an s10 V6 (4.3 or 2.8) they are in the middle of the block. swap mounts move JUST THE MOUNTS forward, the parting line between the engine and trans stays at the firewall.

when you put an s10 under an AD you move the MOTOR BACK. about 8 inches. you could potentially leave the motor where it is and put the radiator in the bed, I say that because if I said unequivocally that you HAVE to move the motor someone who hasnt done it will disagree and I will be forced to admit some weird combination of modifications would be possible, such is the nature of an internet message board haha.

the way most some people move it back is to take the s10 v8 swap mounts off the motor and move them to the frame side, moving the mount backwards not forwards, and redrilling them to mount on the frame or sometimes welding them to the frame. this moves the whole shebang back about 7.5" which is enough to get a rad in there.


on body mounting heights, it is just a balancing act between how low you want it and how many suspension/floor/radiator mods you want to do. surely you could mount the cab straight to the s10 frame with thin bushings, but it will be dragging the ground even with stock suspension and you will have a rebuilt floor for the trans and driveshaft, and your radiator will stick up through the core support because the steering box will be in the middle of the grille. a better compromise is to mount the body about 4-4.5" off the frame, you will only need the tiniest trans bump, a good size radiator will fit, and best of all the running boards will be even with the bottom of the frame. if you lower it with spindles and blocks it will be LOW, but still have full suspension travel and wont ride like a brick wagon. the picture below is what it looks like with that setup.

I have never seen anyone use the stock s10 mounts. they are in the wrong places to mount the cab number one, and they are the wrong heights number two.

edit: here is the s10 swap thread dsraven mentioned. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=632686

[Rickysnickers]

Also listen to what Joe says. I would consider him our expert on the S-10 frame swap.

[Daks85]

Thank you guys so much. i will get some photos of what i have and upload today or tomorrow. Honostly i wish i would have gotten the original frame for this truck, but alot of scouring on here made me think the s10 is doable

[JayB22]

I’m in the same boat you are, I’m just getting started on my s10 swap. I’ve read through the S10 swap how to tread and Joedohs truck build threads and have learned a lot through these. There’s some amazing members that have been very helpful. Good luck with the truck build.

[Rickysnickers]

Something you two might want to look at, https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=832482

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by Daks85

Thank you guys so much. i will get some photos of what i have and upload today or tomorrow. Honostly i wish i would have gotten the original frame for this truck, but alot of scouring on here made me think the s10 is doable

Best of luck to you! The S10 is absolutely doable and there are some good resources on here. I was real happy with mine after it was done. In hindsight, the hardest hurdle was accepting that there would be a lot of unknowns and that can be scary for some. Looking back, I wouldn't nearly be as afraid to tear a 3100 apart and dig in.