my 48 s10 swap

[55dude]

YEAH DUDE! glad too see those pic's, are those running board "bars" in the pic's bolted to the running boards off the frame or from one of the new mounts from the AD eng.kit? your truck looks pretty solid to start with and i like the one piece windows of the early AD trucks. have you attached all the new mounts to your frame yet or is that how your supposed to use the mount kit. keep those pic's coming along with technical anything. well happy holidays.

[chip46wis]

Thank for the informative pics and script-I have a 50 chev I have been wondering what to do for the chassis----GREAT thread!

[Lrall]

So far the kit as been amazing, ill let you know after xmas break probably how it goes with installation.

[entourageguy]

We like pictures

Brian ...

[Lrall]

nobody loves me.....anyway the body n stuff is back from being media blasted. My autos teacher just went and got it...props for that. We found some cab rust(not much though). I havent personally looked at it yet and have only had these pics for an hour.









and the last one is of the seats obviously, both heated, driver side power.

[entourageguy]

Body looks good. Nice seats. What are they out of?
Thanks for the pic updates.

Brian ...

[Lrall]

Originally Posted by entourageguy

Body looks good. Nice seats. What are they out of?
Thanks for the pic updates.

Brian ...

They are out of an 05 Chevy Equinox, pretty dang comfy if i say so myself.

[entourageguy]

My buddy had a nice set of leather seats from an f**d expedition and was testing the wires for the power seats and heater. Well he also put power to the side air bags and 3 days later when his hearing returned he was still pissed.

Brian ...

[Lrall]

the running board 'bars' actually slide into the slots on the original running boards. Instead of a nut on the back (since you break them all off getting it apart anyway) you have a bar with threads in it. Ill post up the new running board mounts later. With the kit you get completely new supports and mounts for the running boards. You use the mount(the black shiny deals w/ the rubber) to mount the cab onto the frame. The order is: bolt, washer,(i think were going to put a larger piece of steel or washer in here for extra support/safety) cab floor, delrin spaacer(provided) stock s10 'cap', ADengineering mount, rubber boot, bottom 'cap' washer, nut. Along with the kit they give you a detailed list of what you need. Im done for the week as we have a 5 day break off of school, so monday will bring pulling out the glass.

[55dude]

need some updates pretty soon. where ya been, i'm jonesing for some more on your build.

[Lrall]

Im uploading pics right now, sorry ive been hella busy lately...PS the body is off for media blasting(yay)

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

[Lrall]

Ok, i decided to post up pics then comments now, soo pic 1 is the 305 that i will be puttin new rings/bearings in this week. 5 and 8...well 5 is the cart we used to push it around on(thank god for the plywood to save the cab bottom) and PB Blaster...need i say more? pic 9 is of the E-brake linkage, does anyone know how to disconnect it? i tried a little bit but i think itd be easier if i had it laying on the back. If anyone could help that would be swell. the body pics are pretty much what went off to get media blasted(more next post) 11..buick radio, i want to see if my gpa will let me do something with it, i wanna put a new radio in it and use it for my room haha. #12 is the 'cleaned' firewall, removed everything, the wet spot is PB Blaster(stubborn bolts...i win) I have more recent pics but i left my camera at the 'shop cuz i thought i had them all on the comp...me=dummy

[Lrall]

About the media blasting. We took the Cab, fenders(with supports and such), hood, and box to Central NE Dry Stripping. I removed all the emblems and such, so its all sheetmetal. The guy has a reputation for being an amazing 'blaster. Really quality, they just expanded and their new facility is ginormous. Ill take pics when i go there next time to pick it up(along w/ the LS1 50's chevy pickup he has). Props to my shop teacher who took me down in his 07 dodge with 2300 on the clock. Its the first bad weather shes seen. That should be all for a week or so, its SNOWING here....yay

[Lrall]

oh...and from what i read, people rag on the s10 swap because its the 'poor mans' way of restomodding....i think this is a BETTER way to do it, new age suspension/steering etc thats me...you old farts keep your non-powersteering, non A/C, non disc brakes and such just kidding haha

[55dude]

dude! i'm old fart and having driven my fair share of AD and TF trucks the upgrade is a welcome imho! and as for anyone thinking that by using a s-10 chassis is building a poor mans truck must have never really built a real hot rod in their life. i wish my 54' burb and 52' panel both had different chassis under them. its one way of keeping the hobby alive for everyone.

[Lrall]

Alrighty update time, the cab and stuff are mostly done getting media blasted, were gonna go down and take the running boards down too. The 305 i was gonna rebuild it shot, so we thought about rebuilding the 350 in the 'burb but its going to be more cost effective to put a brand spank me new 350 in. The dealer here in town has one ready to go, 1700 ish dollars for a brand new motor. Which takes a huge time load off me and so does the cab gettin media blasted. I also emailed the AD engineering guy and he will be putting up my build on his website. I use the stock front cab mounts and we take out the middle mount, weld a plate in then weld in a piece of angle iron and drill up through the cab and bam were done. Were also going to look at seats on saturday(pics hopefully). that should be all for today, anyone taken apart/fixed/put back in window regulators, im gonna need help, i took em out but i couldnt see how they were arranged inside

[Lrall]

Wow, i keep forgetting to update. Well plans have changed slightly. The 305 we were gonna use it toast, so we were gonna use the 350 out of the suburban.....well its not cost effective really, so were buying a GM longblock from the dealer in town. 1700 + our intake(suburban) + manifolds + dizzy and were running. Also, the entire truck is being media blasted. We had early xmas with my bro and his wife and a present to my gpa was his own website. www.jims48.com Props to my brother for doing the whole site by himself, he knows web design a bit haha. Notice all the fancy stuff like the drop shadows and AWESOME donate button(it even works!!). I am now on xmas break so i wont work on it till jan 7 again, but i will have pics of the body all media blasted. My gpa also bought seats out of a 2005 chevy equinox(driver heated seat FTW) with the center console. Its gonna look baaad with the center console out of the equinox too. It has the ebrake handle integrated into the console and its in the middle. Itll take a bit of ingenuity but i think we can get her to work, i think its gonna look tight. Ill try and remember to post pics up tonight. sorry for the delay fellas

[entourageguy]

Neat site ...

Brian ...

[55dude]

the young pup is teasing us! must be distracted it's easy to do when your young. well i guess i'll settle into my rocker and wait patiently. that site will be cooler when some pic's show up.

[Lrall]

haha i know, my bro just developed it, at the end of january i should have MAJOR updates along with the website being fully functioning. My bro just got promoted so he will be busier also.

[chevyrestoguy]

Don't get discouraged when people say that the S-10 swap is a "poor man's" way to restomod. I think it's a brilliant idea, and I would seriously consider it if I was building a 48-54. I come from a background where money was always tight, and you did the best you could with what you had laying around. I am ALWAYS impressed when I see someone's vehicle built with hard work and ingenuity, not with a smoking credit card. Plus, I love going to the bone yard and using my brain and seeing what could be retrofitted to any of my ongoing projects. You're doing a great job, keep it up. And when it's finished (well, they're never really finished...) you'll have a sense of accomplishment that's priceless. Keep posting those pictures!

[monzadood]

you will enjoy the ride of your new chassis much better then the original. i recieved alot of greif when i decided to use a s10 chassis under my 51. i made my own mounts though.

[55dude]

dude! it looks good. keep up the progress and you could be cruizing soon.