S10 Frame Swap w/ AD and LS motor

[aknovaman]

Cut the flanges off and Tig on some stainless v bands. Those old 3 bolt flanges leak badly even when new. I did that on my engine run stand and they seal up perfectly. Total cost is less that $50 and I never have to buy gaskets, ever. Plus you can rotate and angle the flanges for added frame clearance.

[tlorber]

I'm still a ways off from having to deal with the exhaust, but it doesn't look like there will be an interference-especially since the flanges rotate as stated above.

Novaman, do you have pics? I don't have a tig-only a mig, and I don't know what Vbands are.

[aknovaman]

I can take some tonight and post to my photo bucket. I would never use regular gasket flanges after once using v bands.

[tlorber]

Finally some decent progress to report. I was able to go to the shop until around 1:30 last night.









Its amazing what you can get done with a big chunk of time, a few beers and no interruptions.

I will be removing cab at some point to work on the underside, but for now I can start mocking up the core support, steering, brakes etc.

By the way, if any of you purists are out there (not sure they'd be reading this thread) I have a great rolling '54 150 chassis that you'd be welcome to.

[918733]

looking good I need to find some time to work on mine, oh and I have an extra frame as well

[Advanced Design]

Great progress last night! Looking really good.

[99 to Life]

moving right along, can't wait to get a lift. also wish I were closer, I'd nab that frame right up.

[tlorber]

I got some work done this weekend on mocking up the front sheet metal. I can tell it will need to come on and off a few times to get it right. Mainly because the inner fenders make it difficult to work around.





This core support (AD Engineering) is designed to allow you to use the original radiator.

[99 to Life]

looking good, I was just telling another guy on here. the radiator is the most annoying part of these builds. With that kit, is it adjustable height wise as with their cab mounts?

It looks like a nice set up. inner fender deal sux too, most all the s10 builds I see gotta cut them. I personally love the look of the inners so fabbing up some custom ones on these trucks just isn't my deal. Lining up the front end is alot more work than people think.

[tlorber]

99, he does have it to be adjustable by the same 3" as the cab mounts. Dropping would involve much more cutting of the tranny tunnel and other areas of the firewall that would conflict with the tranny (as well as raising the bed height) , but I know that many people opt for this. The kit is designed to be plug and play but I'm not sure my truck will align exactly with the parts, so I will be augmenting the system a bit.

Yeah the inner fenders are a drag, but there may be a way to make vertical cuts in them and them bend the bottom portions out (away from the motor) and reweld. I think I will try to find some spares (they don't necessarily need to be from an AD) just to practice on.

[99 to Life]

cool, whats the lowest frame off height they offer? everything I'v seen seems a little high to me. But like you said, the lower you go the more you have to modify. That design seem different then their old one, I'v caught glimpses of. It enclosed the whole front of frame and had bumper brackets on it. I thought that looked pretty professional looking.

[tlorber]

I got my core support tacked in. I made a hybrid with the old support and the new piece that I received from AD Engineering. It still needs to be plug and perimeter welded, but at least it is back to one solid unit. This will not quite fit a stock radiator. I am going to see if I can get about 1.5" taken off the bottom and reuse.


Then I need to shim to get the exact height, and then pull the whole thing apart to start working on the steering and brakes.

[99 to Life]

well that kinda sux you can't use the stock rad, for all that work you did. but now days there are sooo many different aluminum rads out there you'll find something I'm sure. If you go that route.

[55chevy1st]

Just joined the thread. Bout to start the same build with my 55 1st. Looks awesome up to this point!!!

[CaliforniaDaddy]

Originally Posted by tlorber

Made a bit of progress last week. Got my motor mounts and installed them.

Attachment 1235409

Attachment 1235410

Attachment 1235411

Then I had to drill and cut the frame to get a wrench on the back. Eventually I will burn these mounts in, when everything is finalized.
Attachment 1235407

Attachment 1235408

So, at least for the time being, the eagle has landed.

Attachment 1235412



I now need to set the motor and tranny at the correct angle and fabricate a tranny crossmember.

Do you have the info on these mounts? I take it this will allow me to bolt my 1st gen SBC350 right in using the S10 V6 4.3L mounting holes?

[tlorber]

Yeah, for some reason, those pictures originally posted, and then somehow got lost. The mounts are from AD Engineering. Here is another try:









You can see the different mounting holes for the SBC and the LS motors.

[steve aleve]

Wow,

It is incredible how far back the LS motor has to sit. Does this require a larger cut into the firewall? How much room does this setup provide between the radiator and drive accessories?

[tlorber]

You do not HAVE to set the motor back this far, and in some applications you may not be able to (i.e. if the body is sitting very low on the frame) without modifying the firewall, which I did not need to do. However I think the real estate is more valuable in front of the engine than behind it in order to provide as much clearance for the fan/radiator and other accessories. Setting it back also distributes more weight to the rear, as these trucks tend to be front heavy. What I have been seeing here is that there is really no "right" or "wrong" way, just ways that you can see that others have tried successfully.

[CaliforniaDaddy]

Originally Posted by tlorber

You do not HAVE to set the motor back this far, and in some applications you may not be able to (i.e. if the body is sitting very low on the frame) without modifying the firewall, which I did not need to do. However I think the real estate is more valuable in front of the engine than behind it in order to provide as much clearance for the fan/radiator and other accessories. Setting it back also distributes more weight to the rear, as these trucks tend to be front heavy. What I have been seeing here is that there is really no "right" or "wrong" way, just ways that you can see that others have tried successfully.

Nice what did those mounts run you?

[tlorber]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDaddy

Nice what did those mounts run you?

http://ad-engineering.com/PRODUCTS.html

These are the mounts I used.

[CaliforniaDaddy]

Originally Posted by tlorber

http://ad-engineering.com/PRODUCTS.html

These are the mounts I used.

great Ill contact them in the morning!

[bauto52]

HI Tlorber, I'm starting my on build of a 1952 5 window with LS,,thanks and I'll be reading and watching you..Looking good so far

[tlorber]

Bauto, welcome aboard. I look forward to seeing your progress.

Borrowing liberally from Old Sarge, I got some progress done on my brake and steering column reinforcement plates. I got the brake plate plug welded to the firewall and got the steering one ready for mockup with the column.





I had to do things slightly differently from his, since my GMC Dash is shaped a bit different. I will be using the original mounting holes and steering bracket to hold the steering column, but using the S10 brake bracket and holes to connect it to the dash. I will relocate the interior truss rods that go from the firewall the dash so that they connect to the same bolts that will hold the brake bracket.
These plates would have been really difficult to make without a die grinder.

[CaliforniaDaddy]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDaddy

great Ill contact them in the morning!

Looks good!, I need to do the same for mine.

Side note: I called AD and they are out of stock on the S10 swap engine mounts.....uggggggg

[99 to Life]

nice work, HF actually has a decent hole saw set. but.....their burr/rasp bits are terrible