My version of the s10 swap

[tlorber]

So, BlueJeep, do I understand correctly that you used exhaust mani's from 2 different vehicles in order to clear?

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by skymangs

Looks great Bluejeep. Always a little bit jealous of the ability to really nail the curves. I wish I was better at it.

Gonna be a REAL nice ride when you're done!

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to when it's DONE! I have a fresh stack of split firewood I need to load in the back and go camping with the kids.

Originally Posted by tlorber

So, BlueJeep, do I understand correctly that you used exhaust mani's from 2 different vehicles in order to clear?

Yep, driver's side is a 2002-ish Camaro one and passenger side is 2003 Suburban. That's the package that fit the frame, my engine placement, and allowed the most room around the starter for me. I could have used both Camaro manifolds, but chose to run a manifold that left me more clearance for the starter and kept the pipe farther away from the transmission.

Originally Posted by oldman3

Very nice job on the exhaust, repair work looks great, nice job...Jim

Thanks!

[BlueJeep]

More rust repair on Sunday. After I got the fender itself patched up it was time to finish the mounting flange. At one point I was online seeing if these were something that was available commercially...but didn't find any. I haven't worked with 16 gauge much, and don't really want to now. It was more than my bead roller wanted to do, so I switched gears and decided to make it in several pieces. I ended up "tipping" the edge in the vice with a hammer, then stretching the edge to give it the appropriate curve, then welding it all together. 18 gauge is soooo much easier to work with!



The important part, making sure it'll fit with what I expect to bolt it to:


And fits the fender too:


Added a few plug welds so I could take the clamps off:


And validated that all this work was worth it, a rust-free fender that's installed:

[99 to Life]

looks great, luv seeing rust repair actually. I'll have a ton to post on my 52' when I get around to that thread. keep up the good work

[STOCKISH]

Great job on the rust repair. That turned out awesome.

[oldman3]

Excellent job on the repair...Jim

[BlueJeep]

More work on the other fender today. Made very good progress, almost finished. I won't bother with the pics because they are very similar to the other side. Just as I was about to finish my welder decided to have only one wire speed, "super-fast". I'll have to get that figured out tomorrow.

Also, these showed up the other day about 9pm. Gotta love Christmas season delivery service!
Luigi: No, no, no! You don't know what you want! Luigi know what you want. Black-wall tires, they blend into the pavement, but these white-wall tires, they say look at me, here I am, love me.



Hurst Racing 3" whitewalls. 235/75R15 for the back and 225/70R15 for the front.

Window shopping. Had this on my Christmas list....but I guess Santa thought it was too heavy for his sleigh or something, so that'll have to wait. :-)


Once the fenders are done I have to set my pinion angle and get the angles dialed in on the 2 piece driveshaft. Then it's on to building a new, completely different radiator support and seeing about fitting a 25" wide radiator under the hood.

[72-c20]

Nice!

[BlueJeep]

Well my poor Millermatic 140 is in the shop, bad transistor in the wire speed board. Good news is it's still under warranty, bad news is that it'll be 2 weeks before they can get to it. :-(

In the mean time, I bolted my other fender back on and removed the old radiator support. I'm beginning to put the new one together. In order to do this and fit the size radiator I'd like, I needed a radiator to mock up. Here's my mock-up radiator...it may not work and I might have to shave an inch of width out of it, we'll see when I talk to the radiator folks next week.


I'm going to notch the upper corners to a 45* angle and see how much room that gains me. Right now with the "radiator" in place the top corners just touch the hood, but that's not giving me any wiggle room.

When I'm done I hope to have it something like this, ideally tipped back the same amount as the engine is for aesthetics...with plenty of room for the e-fan.

[99 to Life]

sux about your welder. I got a little craftsman and just got an eastwood 175. I'm also gonna be on the lookout for a used lincoln, hobart or miller 140 ish for a back up. Sometimes being out a week or two with no welder could really damper the mood. Digging the rad moch up.

[tlorber]

Does anyone know if it is possible to mount the radiator on the FRONT of the core support, as opposed to inside the channel, when doing the S10 swap? I seem to remember that when I first bought my '54, it had a non stock radiator on the front of the support, and I ultimately replaced it with a stock one in the stock location. Of course, I am not able to find any pictures taken of it at that time.

[av8tr33337]

I think I have seen it done that way also but not sure where. I have also see the radiator kicked out at the bottom to clear the S10 steering box. I'll look around and see what I can find and post a link here is I find something.


This pic is by Dan Bowles If you search you should find his build thread

[bnoon]

BlueJeep, awesome looking build. I'm going to have to stop by and check it out sometime. I'll bring over one of my squares and learn your rust elimination methods!

[tlorber]

Bart,
Thanks for the picture-very helpful. It will be a while until I am there, but I will get there.

[BlueJeep]

While I'm waiting for my little welder to be fixed, I moved on to some other things. Since I swapped in the 9" rear, I had to build some new shock mounts. The s10 shocks were built into the u-bolt plates, that seemed to work fine so I decided to do the same.





Still need to trim the bolt, but it did turn out like I wanted clean and simple. I used a long bolt so that the load of the shock could be carried on the un-threaded part of the bolt.


After I got the shock mounts, it was on to setting up the 2-piece driveshaft and adjusting the pinion angle. They're now tacked in place and ready for the axle to be pulled out and finished up. When I do that I'll also set up the brakes and run brake lines.

[grinch]

I am really interested in your front inner fender substitution. I'm ready to go get me some trailer fenders now! Actually, I've moved on to another part of the project in hopes that I can steal some of your ideas once you're finished. I believe that everyone on the forum could benefit from a simple scratch built inner fender for these trucks, especially those using LS or LT engines. Any other pics you could share as you work through this would be great. Thanks, and please keep us updated.

[BlueJeep]

Thanks for the interest in the inner fenders! I've made a little progress on them, but my little welder is still in the shop. Of late it seems like everything I've wanted to do I'd need that for...

I made paper patterns which I then transferred to 20 gauge sheetmetal. You can see part of the paper patterns here:


Traced onto sheetmetal:


And here I am trying to put a little shape into them. This isn't absolutely necessary, but I'm trying to learn to use a wheel. It's harder than it looks on TV is what I've discovered.


I've also been welding up my running board seams that had only been tacked before:

[BlueJeep]

I've also been mocking up the rear bumper, trying to see where I like it. I think I'm narrowing down where I want to see it.







Next up to find some steel and start to work on brackets.

[99 to Life]

nice man, coming along great. atleast you got a nice dry garage!! sorry to hear about your welder. Its a wonder what we do without the things we need. But your def making due for sure.

[tlorber]

BlueJeep, I am going to need to section my running boards (and bed bottom and sides) as well. Do you know what you are going to use to grind down the welds in between the ribs of the running boards?

[Cape Codder]

I just noticed this build as I usually hang out in the 88-89 area. As a guy doing body repair for 40 years I just want to say very impressive work.


Bob

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

nice man, coming along great. atleast you got a nice dry garage!! sorry to hear about your welder. Its a wonder what we do without the things we need. But your def making due for sure.

Thanks man! A well-lit, warm garage is definitely a plus.

Originally Posted by tlorber

BlueJeep, I am going to need to section my running boards (and bed bottom and sides) as well. Do you know what you are going to use to grind down the welds in between the ribs of the running boards?

I had to section my running boards because the truck was a 1-ton and I put it on an extended cab s10 frame. If you put a shortbed on a longbed s10 frame things work out fine with no cutting. The TIG welds don't leave a whole lot to grind, but I'll use the edge of a cutoff wheel at first and then roloc sanding discs to smooth them out...and maybe a file for the edges.

Originally Posted by Cape Codder

I just noticed this build as I usually hang out in the 88-89 area. As a guy doing body repair for 40 years I just want to say very impressive work.
Bob

Thank you! It's my first attempt at sheetmetal work and I read a lot on this site and others to pick up tips. I keep trying to do it "right".

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, looks great. I can not wait to see your inners. To bad about your welder, mine died right after Christmas. It last 20 years and got used really hard. So I had to buy a new one. Keep up the great work.


Shannon

[tlorber]

Thanks for the info. Mine is a 3/4 ton going onto a standard cab long bed, so I will need to shorten it. I also have the same pitting that you have on the running board (probably caused by a step plate that was screwed on top). Any ideas how to fill those?

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by xpickup

BlueJeep, looks great. I can not wait to see your inners. To bad about your welder, mine died right after Christmas. It last 20 years and got used really hard. So I had to buy a new one. Keep up the great work.

Thanks! Sorry to keep you waiting, if you were doing this it would have been done already! This welder is a 2 year old Millermatic 140. Fortunately, it's still under Miller's 3 year warranty and I wont hold this against them....yet. My Millermatic 251 is going strong after 10 years of hard use, so I'm optimistic it was a fluke and not a quality problem.

Originally Posted by tlorber

Thanks for the info. Mine is a 3/4 ton going onto a standard cab long bed, so I will need to shorten it. I also have the same pitting that you have on the running board (probably caused by a step plate that was screwed on top). Any ideas how to fill those?

When I sectioned the running boards, I looked for the worst area of them and cut as much of that out as I could. That's why the cut is in a different spot on both sides! The pitting although looks bad, is just cosmetic. I sandblasted them so there are no surprises and I'm planning on filling the pits with Evercoat filler and then spraying bedliner over them. Haven't decided if I'll do them green like the body will be or black.