My version of the s10 swap

[BlueJeep]

And pictures of how I modified the transmission crossmember:







And here you can kinda see how well everything is tucked up. The oil pan hangs down just a touch, but not enough to worry about:

[BlueJeep]

And since the motor is in for good, I was able to start mocking up a few other pieces. It's obvious to me now that I need to do some major modifications to the passenger side inner fender. I'm using Kwik performance brackets for a Sandin compressor for A/C, and they hang way off to the passenger side. Might have to figure out something for the support rod on that side...



Here you can see that I'm going to have to get a straight water neck, the factory one won't work:




I originally thought I could put a swell in the rod to clear the coil pack. A/C compressor is going to pose a much bigger problem though...

[BlueJeep]

And that brings me to tonight. Tonight's project has been getting the rear axle ready to go. I decided that I wanted the pinion offset 5/8" to the passenger side, same as the engine.

Hope I measured correctly:




A little dry fitting:


And now it's ready to be welded. My wife usually spins axles for me when I cut them down so I can weld them in one pass, and she was asleep so that'll have to wait until tomorrow. Measurements were spot on, now I can order the shafts and put it back together.

[Chevette]

Nice work, BlueJeep. Looks good.

[Wheelie]

I like that narrowing fixture you got there. I always cringe when I see someone try to narrow a housing without one. Your project is coming along real nice!

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Wheelie

I like that narrowing fixture you got there. I always cringe when I see someone try to narrow a housing without one. Your project is coming along real nice!

I've been using the jig for many years, and have built countless axles with it (mostly semi-float dana 60's). It's the only way you can ensure the housing ends are aligned with the carrier bearings. Last week I got some new pieces to make it easier than using a "dummy" 3rd member.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by bk2life

what is a clean and strip disc?

Sorry for not responding sooner, this is a clean and strip disc:



http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Non-Woven-Depressed-C...

[_Ogre]

fender brace clearance: remember your motor will rock back and forth under acceleration
you should have at least an inch clearance to anything fixed to the body

i used to work for dana heavy axle division, the machine that swedges the axle tube down is a pretty amazing machine
the ford superduty axle tubes had a 9/16 wall tube that got swedged down 1/2 inch

[Chevette]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Sorry for not responding sooner, this is a clean and strip disc:



http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Non-Wov...and+strip+disc

How are those wheels lasting for you? I bought three "Gator" brand wheels and they wear out way too fast for me. To make matters worse, I paid $19.49 per each for them. Would like to find one that gets a bit of stripping done before it's ready for the garbage pail. Maybe the ones you're using will last better?

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

fender brace clearance: remember your motor will rock back and forth under acceleration
you should have at least an inch clearance to anything fixed to the body

i used to work for dana heavy axle division, the machine that swedges the axle tube down is a pretty amazing machine
the ford superduty axle tubes had a 9/16 wall tube that got swedged down 1/2 inch

Yes, when it's done there will be adequate clearance around all things that vibrate. I'd like to see how they do that swedging, can't quite picture in my head how it's done. Can you tell me what the advantage of doing that is over a consistent diameter?

Originally Posted by Chevette

How are those wheels lasting for you? I bought three "Gator" brand wheels and they wear out way too fast for me. To make matters worse, I paid $19.49 per each for them. Would like to find one that gets a bit of stripping done before it's ready for the garbage pail. Maybe the ones you're using will last better?

Cleaning up the axle was pretty much 2/3 of one of those discs. But, I wasn't very careful around the sharp edges and I've used it for a few other things to so I'm pretty happy with the life of it. If I were just doing rusty sheetmetal panels I think it'd last a long time.

[BlueJeep]

I had a little bit of time this afternoon, so I started the transmission tunnel. I began with some paper patterns and a sheet of 20 gauge. To bring it up to floor level, I rolled a flange around the edge (Shannon I'm learning from your builds). I'll be welding it in when finished, but for now it'll be easy to take in and out to make adjustments.



Looking good from the side:


Then I had to try out a new toy:


And here's the rough idea. A lot of trimming and fitting to go, but feeling pretty good about where I'm headed with this.

[BlueJeep]

These also arrived today:


Now I've got plenty to do when I have "spare time" around the holidays!

[cleanshaven84]

Looking good Blue!

[oldman3]

Nice job....Jim

[Chevette]

Great job on the sheet metal! Nice looking slip roll. How big is the throat? Your truck is coming along very nicely.

[panelrodder81]

@BlueJeep - interested in your motor mounts. I'm doing 5.3 swap on my '53 from the 5.7 that was in there before. The position of your motor looks great, not to deep or tall like some get.

Any info or pics?

-Panelrodder

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Chevette

Great job on the sheet metal! Nice looking slip roll. How big is the throat? Your truck is coming along very nicely.

It's the 24" (beginners) model.

Originally Posted by panelrodder81

@BlueJeep - interested in your motor mounts. I'm doing 5.3 swap on my '53 from the 5.7 that was in there before. The position of your motor looks great, not to deep or tall like some get.

Any info or pics?

-Panelrodder

Let me know what you need/want. It's really easy to get anything at this point.

[panelrodder81]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Let me know what you need/want. It's really easy to get anything at this point.

Well a couple pics would be the most basic request I guess. Are you using the stock ls mounts or something custom or something you purchased somewhere?

My motor came with some stock mounts and my first thought was to lower the motor in place and just see if they would even work. I've looked at aftermarket mounts and they are crazy expensive for just some metal plates so I'd like to see if I can use what I've got or modify them before dropping coin on new ones.

-Panelrodder

PS: Your build is inspirational man and I'm gonna jack your batter mount in the fender well idea I think.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by panelrodder81

Well a couple pics would be the most basic request I guess. Are you using the stock ls mounts or something custom or something you purchased somewhere?

My motor came with some stock mounts and my first thought was to lower the motor in place and just see if they would even work. I've looked at aftermarket mounts and they are crazy expensive for just some metal plates so I'd like to see if I can use what I've got or modify them before dropping coin on new ones.

-Panelrodder

PS: Your build is inspirational man and I'm gonna jack your batter mount in the fender well idea I think.

Thanks! I used motor mounts from Carshop.com. I'd likely build my own if I did it again, mainly because since they came all welded up I had to cut them apart to start fitting then to my frame, which was more work than I wanted. If you go back in the build thread a page or two you'll see lots of great pictures of the motor mounts and how it sits in the frame. I have a couple sets of stock ones too, but I think it would take too much to be able to re-use them as they're bulky and not flat.

Here's a good picture showing how low the motor sits in the frame:

[BlueJeep]

Today was spent working on the transmission tunnel. I did some shrinking around the rear edge of the tunnel to get it the shape I wanted and then spent a lot of time trimming. I went a little at a time so as not to cut to much off, and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'll have a little finish work when I flip the cab back over, but for now it's looking good!

[BlueJeep]

And now that I don't have to be in and out of the cab so much, it's time to finish some other things up. I waited on installing the cowl panel until I had the door hinges rebuilt. I'm trying to get the gaps as good as I can get them, without spending too much time on them. I'm just building a driver, and periodically I have to remind myself of that.

So, I hung the door to get started and then proceeded to adjust, and adjust, and adjust the cowl panel. It really doesn't follow the profile of the door very well, so that will be modified more tomorrow.


I also didn't like the crater that was formed when the panel was overlapped like original, so I cut it out and will butt-weld a piece in there.

[oldman3]

Trans hump looks great, I agree those repop panels can be a bear to make work...Jim

[BlueJeep]

Tonight I spent a few more hours working on the cab. I have the cowl panel on for good and the driver's side cab corner. Just a few more things to wrap up before I call that side done.



Here's how much I had to spread the cowl to get it to somewhat line up with the door.


I'll have to do the same thing with the bottom of the cowl too, but I don't have good access to it right now so that might wait until I pull the cab back off.

The cab corner turned out pretty nice, some finish grinding still required.


And here's where I'm at with the profile of the door and the profile of the back of the cab. I'm not looking for perfection here, but I am going to get it better than this:

[oldman3]

Going to spread back of cab to match door, like the front???Jim

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Going to spread back of cab to match door, like the front???Jim

Yes, that's exactly what I'll be doing.