My version of the s10 swap

[Atommik]

It's always a challenge to get everything fitting how you want it. I spent alot of time on the door/cab gaps too.

Looking great!!

[BlueJeep]

Chipping away at it a little more. An inside task I could do was to figure out what the hole needed to look like for my suburban gas filler grommet. I had previously used the truck one, but didn't like the mis-match of angles of the filler neck and the grommet. My solution was to order a suburban one. Since I don't have a suburban, I had to figure out the hole for it. Paper pattern to the rescue:



Then again on some scrap to check the fit:


Yep, that'll work:

[BlueJeep]

Since I had help here this weekend, I did some work on the bed. First I had to fix one of the captured nuts on the bottom that had broken loose. Then, I was able to set the bed back on the frame and build new mounts for the front of it. Last time it was together, I just kept the front box mounts...but never liked how big and bulky they were with the integrated cab mount. I cut those off when I blasted the frame and was now able to build new ones. I also needed to support the front of the bed floor, which had been spliced on from another s10 bed. I came up with a simple solution using 1x2 rectangle tubing that would meet the need and be clean.

Bed back on the frame:




New mounts:


Checking the fit with some spare parts:


And lastly, my helpers seeing if the tailgate works....it did.

[BlueJeep]

And I've realized I didn't post pictures of the rear axle swap.

Out with the old (circa 1995):


And in with the older (circa 1977ish):


Put my 2" blocks in while I was at it. I'll probably add 2" drop springs to the front too.

Here's the new stance:


I built the rear axle wider than the s10 rear so I could get rid of the wheel spacers I had been running. I moved the spacers to the front to push the track width a little wider.

[oldman3]

Looking good...Jim

[Indian113]

You sure have some quality helpers working on your truck with you. Your not only building a old truck but making memories for a lifetime! Keep up the good work.

[48ChevBagged]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

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

Have you ever ordered your radiator yet. Wasnt sure what you ended up going with. Most of the ones I have seen have an angled lower snout. I would like to find one that comes off straight.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, Looking good. It is alway good having little helpers. Mine has not been able to come out lately because of too much welding and grinding. I love the s10 bed floor. Keep up the great work.

Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Looking good...Jim

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Indian113

You sure have some quality helpers working on your truck with you. Your not only building a old truck but making memories for a lifetime! Keep up the good work.

Yep, and I'm pretty sure they're the only ones in their preschool class who know what clecos are and how to use them.

Originally Posted by 48ChevBagged

Have you ever ordered your radiator yet. Wasnt sure what you ended up going with. Most of the ones I have seen have an angled lower snout. I would like to find one that comes off straight.

Haven't figured out a radiator yet. I keep looking for one with the proper 1 1/4" upper and 1 1/2" lower fittings with a steam port. No luck yet.

Originally Posted by xpickup

BlueJeep, Looking good. It is alway good having little helpers. Mine has not been able to come out lately because of too much welding and grinding. I love the s10 bed floor. Keep up the great work.

Shannon

Mine have safety goggles and earmuffs, but have to go inside when I get to major grinding or welding too.

[48ChevBagged]

Well I bit the bullet and ordered a radiator from a supplier of mine yesterday. Its a griffin. It has the upper 1 1/4'' and lower 1 1/2'' ports. I am not sure about the stem vent but would it be possible to tie it in to the overflow spout on this one below the top water neck. I am new to LS engines so I am still learning some of the smaller things like that about them.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by 48ChevBagged

Well I bit the bullet and ordered a radiator from a supplier of mine yesterday. Its a griffin. It has the upper 1 1/4'' and lower 1 1/2'' ports. I am not sure about the stem vent but would it be possible to tie it in to the overflow spout on this one below the top water neck. I am new to LS engines so I am still learning some of the smaller things like that about them.


Attachment 1047867

Attachment 1047868

Nice! How much was it and what is the part #? I believe you can't tie the steam port into the overflow because that would be on the wrong side of the seal on the radiator cap (and therefore wouldn't return coolant until there was negative pressure). Should be able to find someone who can TIG a fitting in one of the tanks for you though. Looks like the lower neck is angled, can you share how much it is angled?

What is the fitting toward the bottom? I only see one so I assume it's a drain, but it's quite a ways up on the tank.

[48ChevBagged]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Nice! How much was it and what is the part #? I believe you can't tie the steam port into the overflow because that would be on the wrong side of the seal on the radiator cap (and therefore wouldn't return coolant until there was negative pressure). Should be able to find someone who can TIG a fitting in one of the tanks for you though. Looks like the lower neck is angled, can you share how much it is angled?

What is the fitting toward the bottom? I only see one so I assume it's a drain, but it's quite a ways up on the tank.

Yes the price was $155. The lower neck is slightly angled but not enough that its gonna hurt I hope. I hope I can get a closer look at it this weekend. I will post pictures to my thread if I do. I also ordered a straight water neck for my engine too. The part number for the radiator is 1-25182-X assuming that is not the supplier part no. and its Griffins part no.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by 48ChevBagged

Yes the price was $155. The lower neck is slightly angled but not enough that its gonna hurt I hope. I hope I can get a closer look at it this weekend. I will post pictures to my thread if I do. I also ordered a straight water neck for my engine too. The part number for the radiator is 1-25182-X assuming that is not the supplier part no. and its Griffins part no.

That's about what I was hoping to spend, good to hear!

Which water neck did you get? The one you have to modify to fit or the one that uses the LS thermostat?

[48ChevBagged]

I got the one that said it fits the LS Thermostat. I hope it works out. Should be a short piece of hose on the lower radiator neck for sure. If you want one of those radiators I can get you one through my supplier for the $155 plus shipping. I could just take a paypal payment from you and just dropship it to you. If you are interested or want to wait and see how mine works out just let me know.

[BlueJeep]

I might just take you up on that. Let me know how it looks when you get it. I think you may have been misinformed on the inlet/outlet size though:

http://www.griffinrad.com/buy_online...7e8c2a322b064f

[BlueJeep]

Today I spent some time trying to improve upon my door gaps on my driver's door. The profile of the cab didn't match the profile of the door very well, and the cab seemed easier to modify. I started out by just making a slice inside the back of the cab....but that evolved into just cutting out a large section and making a new one with my stretcher/shrinker.









Just a little more to do at the top and the bottom, and I'll be happy with the profile. Next up will be to add some TIG wire to the outside edges of the door in certain spots to fill in some gaps...

[BlueJeep]

Here's where I started:



And here's where I ended up:

[oldman3]

Super nice work. These body and doors have to be reworked to get a nice fit...Jim

[BlueJeep]

I did a little more work on the door gaps, then grew tired of it so I switched to something else.

[BlueJeep]

So I pulled off my passenger door and decided to fix some rust on it. Actually, I needed to trim some metal around the upper hinge so I can get it adjusted to where I can work on door gaps some more...but since I had the door off...

I evaluated what needed to be done:


Yep, need to make a patch. So I did.


Checking the fit, it fits pretty good:


I ground the edge and peeled away some rotted metal:


And cut out the bad:


And here's where I ended up tonight. Some more fine tuning, then some POR inside the door, and I can weld it back up. Not too bad of a job, so far I'm about 2 hours into this door:

[oldman3]

Looks like a nice repair....Jim

[BlueJeep]

Saturday I started with painting the inside of the door with POR-15, and then welding my patch in. I still need to pour a little more POR in it, to seal up the freshly welded patch on the back side. It turned out pretty well.





And then I went to work on the bed. I did some shrinking on the bedsides, and then was able to weld the front stake pockets on for good. I also cleaned up the hole for the filler neck and finished up the rest of what was needed prior to spraying epoxy on the bed.





And...

[BlueJeep]

My dad got me started, and I took over from there. 2nd time ever of spraying finish from a gun, first time at home. I did find out that the smell does permeate into the house pretty well on an attached garage. :-) I didn't think it was too bad, but my wife disagreed....





Wet black primer makes me realize how rough these bedsides were/are. If I had it to do over again, no way I'd use these....I'd build new ones from scratch.

[trucktech]

Like the work you've done. I'm starting my project with much the same equipment any advice you can give on putting the 3400 on the S10 chassis would be appreciated. Also feel free to take a look at what I've done so far I'm using your project as my base line.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by trucktech

Like the work you've done. I'm starting my project with much the same equipment any advice you can give on putting the 3400 on the S10 chassis would be appreciated. Also feel free to take a look at what I've done so far I'm using your project as my base line.

Thanks, and I've checked yours out and will continue to watch.

Well, I'm very close to being back at it with my truck. I had to take a break to work on another project, and now that that is wrapped up I have the truck back home!



Today I scored some LS1 exhaust parts off a 99 Camaro. Now I can buy some bends and build my exhaust. I had previously bought a near new OEM muffler off a 2012 Silverado that I'll be using. Yes, I'm looking for quiet. I'm happy to learn these manifolds are steel, so rather than messing around with blockoff plates for the EGR, I'll weld 'em shut.



The Camaro manifolds will allow me to get them in here, where the truck manifolds did not.