49 3600, s10 swap, project boogie

[joedoh]

got my extra set of leafs dearched today, and had the driveshaft shortened


got my molex plugs in the mail I got 50 4 pin male and female plugs with 200 male and 200 female pins for 25 bucks shipped. also got the exhaust nuts I had misplaced (they are probably still exactly where I placed them, but my patience in searching was wearing dangerously thin)


missed this by a day. still miffed about it. he had the year typed wrong so it didnt turn up in my search, my brother actually spotted it after 4 days


new leafs in, this frame was really well cared for I can tell, all the bolts just fall out of it. the shackle bolt is almost always stuck but these came right out, not bad for 32 years.


sits almost exactly right. it will go down another inch with the bed, and another 1/2" with the new tires.


bolted up my new belltech nitros on all 4 corners. one word. TAUT.


I had the driveshaft in and thought better of it, there just wasnt enough slack in the trans side and I was worried the rear suspension cycling would jelly it (whats the difference between jam and jelly? old joke, google it) in the trans, so I will bite my pride, embrace my hubris, and have it shortened again. cant wait to hear the big truck guys joke about it.

[99 to Life]

hate missing out on deals like a complete truck, waiting for a new home. hope it went to a good home. If it got scrapped, dare not mention that. good deal on those wire ends. question on the shocks, have you used them bf? I'm looking to put some on my current build and was thinking of making this style of shock work.

[joedoh]

I have had more bagged and lowered rides than I can even count, and belltech nitro drop shocks are better than most. there are the original nitros, nitro 2s, and now belltech has their street performance line which I havent personally used but a brother in law has them on his fullsize and they ride so nice.

they are all still twin tube, so they dont have the same performance as a mono tube, but they are some of the best twin tubes I have used.

[Advanced Design]

Before you take the driveshaft back, take the sticker off and dirty it up some so they think it is a different one...

Too bad you missed that one. Holy cats, how much old truck iron is out there in your area? I still spot AD stuff here but never pre-47.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Before you take the driveshaft back, take the sticker off and dirty it up some so they think it is a different one...

Too bad you missed that one. Holy cats, how much old truck iron is out there in your area? I still spot AD stuff here but never pre-47.

well I would rather do it right than be right. it will fit, but any more than a cooler in the bed and it will be rubbing. rather have the extra inch of stickout.


how much old iron that is for sale is probably based on how much someone looks, I know casual guys who look at craigslist on saturdays and miss 99% of the trucks that are listed, looked at, and bought inside of 8 hours. cant see the deleted ads! besides, kansas is mostly farmland, and cleanouts are more and more frequent as the last farmer in the family sells to retire.

[Palf70Step]

I would imagine that you measured for the driveshaft before you re-arched the springs and that is what cause it to be a hair too long. I have done that twice in my life. Since it was 25 years between the 2 incidences, I am not claiming stupidity or being a slow learner, just I fergot

Everything is looking really good on your truck. Maybe it will be mobile and I'll see it cruising about when I get up to Wichita during Thanksgiving.

[99 to Life]

I'm ordering up some of these, seems like yours have polly bushings though. I was looking at Belltech Nitro Drop 2 Shocks 8530 from summit. That where you got yours or you go direct?

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

I would imagine that you measured for the driveshaft before you re-arched the springs and that is what cause it to be a hair too long. I have done that twice in my life. Since it was 25 years between the 2 incidences, I am not claiming stupidity or being a slow learner, just I fergot

Everything is looking really good on your truck. Maybe it will be mobile and I'll see it cruising about when I get up to Wichita during Thanksgiving.

yeah I bet you are right. my wife thinks I am worried about nothing, but she doesnt fix other peoples screwups. I have. Thanks for commiserating

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

I'm ordering up some of these, seems like yours have polly bushings though. I was looking at Belltech Nitro Drop 2 Shocks 8530 from summit. That where you got yours or you go direct?

haha my direct source is craigslist. I have a couple searches saved for belltech and shocks. these are the original Nitros, so they have the red bushings. I have a second set, also NIB I got back around christmas. And there is a THIRD set, the guy had springs blocks and shocks, all new, and we couldnt mutually agree on value. while I was negotiating, another set of springs blocks and shocks popped up for half price on an oklahoma craigslist, so those are these. I may still get the third set, he still has them.

I wanted to get some stuff done this weekend, the goal being to button up as much as I could, so I started by tying all the wiring and plumbing in the back, its ready for tail and tag lights now.


dash wiring is at 99%, column wired, BCM installed. just little niggly stuff like 12v power ports (cigarette lighter plugs) and mounting the dome lights, finding a home for the fuse box, and installing the HVAC box is left


I also passed the shifter cable through the floor using the stock grommet. waste not want not!


here is how dumb I am. I finally hooked up the column shifter, the trans has been in neutral for half a year now, so I put it in park and pushed the truck to make sure it was in park. I would be lying if I said I didnt fiddle with it a minute to see why the truck still rolled

tomorrow I will button up the windshield and interior trim, install the drivers door, and move forward to the headlight and turn signal wiring, and probably install the bumper.

[Valarius_Starchaser]

Originally Posted by joedoh

here is how dumb I am. I finally hooked up the column shifter, the trans has been in neutral for half a year now, so I put it in park and pushed the truck to make sure it was in park. I would be lying if I said I didnt fiddle with it a minute to see why the truck still rolled

bahaha yeah the tube doohickey wasn't connected to the power to the grounder huh?

I've done that twice now so your not alone

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Valarius_Starchaser

bahaha yeah the tube doohickey wasn't connected to the power to the grounder huh?

I've done that twice now so your not alone

oh it gets worse. the trans has been in neutral for 6 months. let that sink in.

[lower50's]

Glad the ride height is good now. At least you didn't shorten it twice and it's still to short.

[joedoh]

picked up my driveshaft today, head held low. :/

after a brief trip circumventing bridges that were out inexplicably, I picked up another 46 bed. the fender is what I was after, but it was solidly attached and he wanted rid of the whole thing. I know the fender doesnt look like much but I want a patch for that one with the watermelon hole.



now that I have two complete 41-46 beds I can sell that 37-38 gmc bed I have. I didnt want to hot rod rare old parts like that so WHEW.


worked on the headlight wiring, cut some pass through holes and got it all routed


picked up some LED tails and front turns from bowtie bits


neat tag light


this was a bit unexpected


so I checked the front turns and sure enough, white ground. glad I noticed because I dont have a double socket on the existing lights and I absolutely would have wired them wrong. they dont look to have polarity reversing circuitry either.

mocked up my extra bumper and cut the mounts but needed a break


ride height is perfect, bumper is 5.5 inches off the ground.

[lower50's]

Nice score on the bed and fender. I have those tail lights you will like them, but ya funky wiring. I guess they make it like the 4 pin trailer plug where the white is ground for some reason. 5.5" sounds like a good static height.

[99 to Life]

you keep scoring all the right parts! The hunt is so fun isn't it. (most times) looking good man, you'll be driving before we know it.

[joedoh]

thanks guys. all I really need is a battery to drive, I dont know why I havent put it in yet.

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

you keep scoring all the right parts! The hunt is so fun isn't it. (most times) looking good man, you'll be driving before we know it.

man all these beds have nice 14ga or 12ga sheet in them, so its like free stock. this bed had a heavy tube bumper must weigh 250 lbs, I cut it off before unloading, took two of us to carry it.

[joedoh]

messing with headlight mounting, what a colossal heiny pain. I originally wanted to trim the buckets so the larger headlight guts (it has an H4 headlight and H1 foglight and 5w light all in one) would fit. these lights came with their own adjusters but I didnt like how far they stuck out. well trimming the buckets didnt make the rear water and stone protection any better and worst of all they stuck out just as far.

so I rear mounted them. worked perfect


also got the park/turns wired up and installed. cheapo me bought just the LED lens instead of the entire assembly, and they fit super loose because I didnt buy a new gasket (dont need it, the LED is a sealed unit) so I VHB'd a piece of rubber to the back and they fit great now.


you can see how nice the headlights sit in there now, I only need the ring from the old bucket to mount the chrome trim. the fogginess is just offgassing from the styrofoam they came packed in, it wipes off and is crystal clear.

[rusty76]

Looks good.

[BlueJeep]

Nice! On the front turn signals, did you use the adapter socket too, or just hard wire them? I cut the 1157 adapter thing off mine and used weather pack fittings to go right to the tun signal harness. Figured I might save some future pain that way with fewer contact points.

[joedoh]

I wired them to the s10 connector, my socket was the original 6v single wire so rather than paying 80 dollars for the whole thing, socket, LED, gasket, and chrome trim, I banged out the $44 for just the LED. someday I will stop thinking of my labor and figuring things out as "free".

I looked at weatherpack connectors but instead I ordered 50 male and female molex plugs and figured to use them but I need either the special molex pin crimpers or to solder each one. It was nice to do a dry run with the molex before doing the gauges though, know what I need to do now.

[joedoh]

I cut the bucket rings today, easy peasy with the grinder with a cutoff wheel.



a couple self tappers through the headlight mount


popped on factory tight



rinse and repeat for the drivers side



I got a lot of cleanup done under the hood, the latch panel is mounted, the bussed electrical distribution panel is wired and mounted, the brake lines are tight and the master is mounted to the booster. I need a battery mounted and the radiator mounted and hooked up and I will try starting.

[BlueJeep]

Getting close!

How long does the aluminum s10 driveshaft start off as, before you cut it? Is there any difference between that and a fullsize aluminum shaft (not thinking length since you're cutting it anyways), other than you commonly use a new enough s10 that you have it sitting there?

I've got a 2 piece now and I'm not super thrilled with it.

[joedoh]

its about 63 1/2" yoke center to center.

I am TOLD that the 2500 HD driveshaft is the same diameter aluminum shaft with stronger u-joints and the same trans yoke, but that is only what I have been told, never had the cause to look it up.

I didnt have a driveshaft for this one, or my 65. the 65 was a shortbed chassis we used russ' 62ChevyII on here trick to lengthen the wheelbase, so a longbed shaft bolted in. on the 47 GMC it already had the aluminum shaft being a longbed, but this one was a 2002 ext cab that had a bent frame, I bought an 84 longbed frame and switched all the mechanical over (never again) and picked up the longbed shaft for it.

[joedoh]

I was mocking up the battery location and decided I needed to know where the HVAC system would line out (literally)



so I picked up some stuff today, ordered the carpet to match the seat (the jute pad was in stock) and picked up a 98 fullsize HVAC setup.




on the last truck I had to use an ebay underdash unit, which worked well but was a fiddly mess to install with pass through hoses and I never did get the right fittings for the dryer. I would have liked to use the factory S10 system but most of it (the blower and the AC evaporator) reside outside the firewall and it was just 5 inches too wide, it would have occupied the space of the hood hinge and still needed a hood bulge on the side. I needed something that would be all inside. I thought about ordering a VA MKV system for the interior, but that is pretty big dollars and I would still need to adapt all the fittings to my compressor.
I have researched this a bit, the reason s10 trucks AC systems cool down so well is that the condenser and evaporator are the same capacity as the fullsize trucks. the 98 system is 100% inside the firewall, and being a design engineer in the past who made these decisions, I figured most of the connections would be simliar.

this is the firewall side, right away its too wide, the vents occupy the gas pedal space.


this is the seat facing side, I took the distribution vents off, they are modular and just unbolted. now the width is right and I can use duct valves with bowden tubes to send defrost/vent/floor. the big connector on top pins out exactly the same as the s10 resistor, and the blower uses the same plug as the s10 too.


it almost fits right up in there. the glovebox will be shallow, but I only need to make a timed output for the blend hot/cold actuator (or a manual lever, or make the factory s10 vacuum actuator adapt!) and another for the fresh/recirc. The big square hole on the right is the fresh air intake and I will plug the top and open the side, it will be ducted right to the existing fresh air hole on the side of the truck. I need to trim the dash ever so slightly to get it up in, then cut the firewall holes from a pattern I will make. easy peasy rice and cheesy.

[lower50's]

Very ingenious. Well done

[Advanced Design]

Very resourceful! Good thinking and adapting.