Wife's 48

[NorCalGal]

Looks good Robert.

[Matt_50]

I hadn't really looked at what some of you guys do for radiator mounting. I like the homemade cushions.

[8man]

Thanks Jan.

Next up is to put the fenders on the truck and see where it will mount on the frame. Once I figure out the where, I'll decide on the how, but I'm leaning toward bolting it like you did.

[NorCalGal]

Be sure to leave some room for rubber bushing under the leg before you run the bolt thru.

[8man]

Thanks Jan.

I had a good day in the shop, I think. If I did the following correctly.

I have the new angles for the bed sides, as the old ones were rusted too badly to patch. So the old angles were drilled and removed.
IMG_0116 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I test fit the new angle, using marks from the original angles to see where to put them.

I cleaned everything up and primed with weld through primer.
IMG_0117 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spot welded the new angle on the sides. I think I got good penetration, as shown by this picture.
IMG_0114 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
While I was at it, I was working on some dents and "rounding" out the rollover on the top of the bed. Who knew that a 1 1/8" impact socket would fit so well and could be used as back up to knock out some dents.
IMG_0115 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

I hadn't really looked at what some of you guys do for radiator mounting. I like the homemade cushions.

Check my first build thread for a way to mount the rad. I was happy with mine cause I could adjust it to get the hood fitment correct. Ditto for what Jan said, make sure your measurements include space for the bumpers under the radiator.

[8man]

I know I'm supposed to be doing this in order, but I got tired of welding and grinding on body panels. So I fabbed the brake pedal from the S10 brake pedal assembly, from a truck with a clutch. It had the small pad and was not where I wanted it. So I cut it off, cut off the pad from a 69 Camaro brake pedal, bent it to have the "same" bends as the original and mounted it up.
IMG_0133 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
That's it sitting above the gas pedal assembly. I built a stand to get it where I want it. I still need to drill the holes and put it in, but it fits nicely and has full throttle.

As you may notice, I also put the seats in. They fill the cab pretty full. I have about one inch between the seats and the doors on each side, and they may rub in the corner a little. I think they are from an 80's truck, 60/40 bench. The wife likes it, "they are comfortable", but they have to be recovered.

[mongocanfly]

I feel ya about getting tired of welding.....looks good...

[OutlawDrifter]

Recovering those seats is a bit difficult. The fabric is glued to the foam, most upholsterers just go over the old fabric if they've worked on one before.

[8man]

Thanks. They are so crusty they need a full recover.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 8man

Thanks. They are so crusty they need a full recover.

ha! my 88-92 seat in the 65 looked like a casting couch compared to yours.


keep going!

[8man]

I got a full 8 hours on the truck today. Man I wish I knew what I was doing so I could get more done.

I started off getting the motor off the stand, mounting the tranny to it and setting the whole thing in the truck.
IMG_0135 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spent the next 2 hours figuring out if it was centered, level and far enough back. I raised it and blocked under it and used a bottle jack on the tranny to get my angle correct (I think). At the tranny output shaft I'm at 4.4 degrees down and at the diff I'm at 4.6 up. Both are within the magic 5 I've been told to be ware of.

The purpose of this exercise, other than it HAD to be done was to check my radiator bracket. So next I put the inner and outer fenders on. The riders side fit like it knew what it was doing. However, the drivers side looks like I got an inner fender from something else. I posted a question on that already.

IMG_0136 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

The riders inner was cut up for a Camaro clip on the old frame, but I did cut a little more to make it fit. I guess I'll be patching some of it too. I cut the drivers, and didn't cut it enough, so it'll come back off and I get to do some more cutting.

While doing this, I broke out my notes and saw that from center of the stock S10 front bed mounts to the back of the cab is supposed to be 21 7/8". I'm at 20 1/8", so I am second guessing if I should move the cab forward.

I looked at the radiator bracket between the two inner fenders and where it falls on the frame, and I need some more room. The bracket comes down almost on top of the power steering box.

The motor is set 3" in front of the cab at the distributor, so I can go back a little more there, or I can move the cab forward the 1 5/8".

What to do? Man I wish I had more experience at this!

[Matt_50]

Hopefully joedoh can help out on moving the cab or engine.

I almost want to do another truck on a s10 frame just because of reading his builds lol. I knew of a gmc without a frame awhile back... wonder if it's still there....

Awesome day of work!

When I put my drivetrain in it was an all day thing. Started as sun came up, ended after dark so I feel for ya. And it looks pretty good coming together don't it?

[NorCalGal]

You want to look at it from the side with the fenders mocked up,center your front wheels in the front fender and remember the wheel move slightly to the rear as the front end drops.

[NorCalGal]

You look pretty close here’s a shot of mine from the top of rad support.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by 8man

I got a full 8 hours on the truck today. Man I wish I knew what I was doing so I could get more done.

I started off getting the motor off the stand, mounting the tranny to it and setting the whole thing in the truck.
IMG_0135 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I spent the next 2 hours figuring out if it was centered, level and far enough back. I raised it and blocked under it and used a bottle jack on the tranny to get my angle correct (I think). At the tranny output shaft I'm at 4.4 degrees down and at the diff I'm at 4.6 up. Both are within the magic 5 I've been told to be ware of.

The purpose of this exercise, other than it HAD to be done was to check my radiator bracket. So next I put the inner and outer fenders on. The riders side fit like it knew what it was doing. However, the drivers side looks like I got an inner fender from something else. I posted a question on that already.

IMG_0136 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

The riders inner was cut up for a Camaro clip on the old frame, but I did cut a little more to make it fit. I guess I'll be patching some of it too. I cut the drivers, and didn't cut it enough, so it'll come back off and I get to do some more cutting.

While doing this, I broke out my notes and saw that from center of the stock S10 front bed mounts to the back of the cab is supposed to be 21 7/8". I'm at 20 1/8", so I am second guessing if I should move the cab forward.

I looked at the radiator bracket between the two inner fenders and where it falls on the frame, and I need some more room. The bracket comes down almost on top of the power steering box.

The motor is set 3" in front of the cab at the distributor, so I can go back a little more there, or I can move the cab forward the 1 5/8".

What to do? Man I wish I had more experience at this!

As NorCalGal mentioned, its all about where the front wheels sit in the fender. That determines where everything else on the whole truck fits pretty much. I spent a whole evening staring at mine, moving it, second guessing myself, staring at it some more. It should look something like this...



Keeping in mind that if your engine isn't in, the weight of the engine will bring the wheel back slightly. I did mine with the engine mocked up and in to put weight on the front wheels.

[8man]

Thanks. The pictures really help.

I plan on the serpentine belt set up and seeing the space gives me a visual. Also, it looks like I left the frame horns too long. I guess I need to keep bolting stuff on to find out.

I need to support the tranny from the frame so I can see where the tires set in the fenders.

[8man]

I took a picture of the front wheel sitting in the opening with the engine and tranny loaded in the truck and supported by wood blocks up front and some angle iron under the tranny. This did make a difference in how it sat.

IMG_0140 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I think this is close enough, but I'm not sure.

I started on motor mounts and realized I need to do some more research on them, so I called it a day so I can to just that.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by 8man

I took a picture of the front wheel sitting in the opening with the engine and tranny loaded in the truck and supported by wood blocks up front and some angle iron under the tranny. This did make a difference in how it sat.


I think this is close enough, but I'm not sure.

I started on motor mounts and realized I need to do some more research on them, so I called it a day so I can to just that.

If you're not sure, then you're doing something right haha. I think I spent 3 days back and forth looking at mine before I was happy.

There are a few ways to do cab mounts. I was a fan of mine because they were fairly easy to build. I used 4x4 box steel and cut it to suit. Some people build it in 4 sections instead to make it a little cleaner.

[8man]

Ok, I'm stuck. I was planning on using the 283 with carb and mechanical fuel pump. I'm stuck because I can't figure out the location of the motor.

I moved it back until I have a little less than 2" between the back of the distributor and the firewall.
IMG_0142 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
I also have about 1" between the rider's side valve cover and the firewall.
IMG_0143 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Then I made sure the motor was centered between the frame rails and lowered it as much as I thought I could and the mechanical fuel pump is just off the cross member, about 1/2".
IMG_0144 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I made sure the tail on the tranny was centered. Then I put the radiator in its place and to the front of the water pump I have about 2".
IMG_0141 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I want to go with the serpentine belt set up and I think that should give me a little more room, but 2" seems tight for the electric fan.

Where am I going wrong? The cab is 6" off the frame.

[paintman]

Excuse me for asking a dumb question but. What do you do if you need to change the fuel pump? Is there enough room to get it out of the block?

[8man]

The engine is not mounted yet. I'm asking what am I doing wrong?

I don't think I'm setting it right. I've seen others use mechanical fuel pumps and I'm asking "where did you put the motor?"

But to answer your question, I did bolt the fuel pump back on after the engine was sitting there. I think it is too close to the crossmember to be useful.

[nvrdone]

when I put the 327 in my truck, the only problem area was the fuel pump. so I used a block off plate & an electric pump mounted back near the tank. problem solved.

[Matt_50]

I can't help with the s10 crossmember part but maybe my fan pictures can help.

I was pretty worried about getting a fan to fit. My mechanical one was out of the question but I got this 16 inch fan and it fit no problem. This is a cheaper one and I know you can get even slimmer ones if needed.

The ruler in the picture is exactly one inch wide.

[Matt_50]

I'm not sure on the differences in our engines but my hand barely squeezes behind distributor. About an inch of clearance. And if our valve covers are sane height, I think mine is a tad lower. This was as high as I could go with the stock frame, because I have maybe a 1/4 inch of room between trans and bottom edge of cab.