49 3600, s10 swap, project boogie

[joedoh]

I stripped the firewall today and removed the s10 cab.




pulled what was left of the s10 firewall and floor


started prepping to pull the 49 cab. pulled the steering wheel and column and the pedals. used the grinder and cut off wheel to remove anything stubborn like the seat frame and the shifter and the gas tank That worked so well that I just buzzed everything on the firewall that would keep the cab from lifting. that went so fast I used it to disconnect all the radiator and heater hoses and everything else. what a satisfying medieval tool. just bzz bzz your troubles away.
need to clean out the cab, thinking compressed air will do it. I dont want to suck up all the raccoon turds with my shop vac.


tomorrow I will pull the 49 cab, clearance it a bit, and plop it on the s10 frame.

[T Hilde]

That mess is worse than mine was, and mine was packed under the seat.

[joedoh]

I got the firewall bits I want to use cut out



and the rest chopped up and thrown away


then I swept the "shop"


then I went cruising. today's weather was just staggeringly brilliant, so I went cruising for about 3 hours. downtown, west, east. helped my brother buy a stove, the guy had two shelbys a gt500kr and a 67 he was building as a clone. he gushed over my truck and I gushed about his cars but declined my request for a couple pictures. I did take a snap of mine in his driveway though.

[FamilyBowTie]

Are you going to graft the S10 firewall onto the 49?

I was looking for info on this if you have any links could you please share.

[joedoh]

sorry, I havent seen anyone do it before. I am definitely using the HVAC, because GM air conditioning is not air conditioning, its REFRIGERATION. and I will use the trans tunnel and gas pedal. the piece I cut out measures 57 inches wide, and the firewall between hood hinges only 51, so I have some cutting to do.

my 65 uses the s10 firewall and floor.

[FamilyBowTie]

I will keep an eye on your build as it seems to be the way I may be going.

Your 65 is kick a$$!

Thanks.

[joedoh]

made a deal on a longbed rolling frame not fiiiiiiiiiive minutes ago.


it was more than I wanted to pay, but I was looking for any frame, and this doesnt need shortened or lengthened. I figure 3 hours of my time is worth the difference.

working alone, using the rattle gun to take off the body bolts, neither the wrench nor the ratchet would stay put. this worked great


my powerful spidey senses tell me the front mount isnt quite ready to let go after 65 years.




this is my last update till after easter I think. lots of stuff to do in the house before the big family dinner.

[joedoh]

so I bought a longbed frame from a friend, but he lived two towns away. I called for a tow, but $150 to tow a $250 frame offended my sensibilities. I was thinking about a way just to flat tow it since it was a roller. There were tow bars on craplist, $100... but cardboard freight had one on sale for 70, and with a 25% off coupon it was 56 out the door. its made with some brackets that bolt to a flat bumper or to special brackets you install on the car, I didnt have either. so I drilled a 1/2" hole in the core support mounts and viola!



I safety strapped it and used a third to bind up the steering. once I had the wheels pointed straight it was golden time. the 53 mile trip on surface streets was uneventful.




called up family and friends and moved it over



time for chopping! I already cut off the rear frame for the bumper.

[joedoh]

6" slicer blade in my metabo grinder made short work of that old chassis. I got tired of hunting the right sockets to take things apart and just started slicing the bolts off, then slicing rivets off, then cutting the frame. saved the front bumper, rear bumper, running boards, and hardly anything else.

this thing weighed a ton, literally. $50 cherry picker and a giant strap I found in the road last year and a little shove and it went in the super pyooter.


got everything except the axles (you can see the front one in the distance) thrown away and cleaned the "shop".


my wife fainted. its been clogged up with that 49 for about a year now. I gave that chassis the best shot to get reused, I have been running a craigslist ad $100 OBO for weeks now without a single call. I might hold on to the axles for some truck bed trailers.

[HUSSEY]

Good looking build you go going on. If you run acrooss anymore KS beds let me know, I would like to find an original green one.

I see people trying to sell AD chassis on CL for $500+, thought you could at least gett $100 for yours. That does'nt give me much hope. My body is comming off a 1-ton chassis, I'd like to sell it or even sell it for scrap weight to anyone who could use it.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Good looking build you go going on. If you run acrooss anymore KS beds let me know, I would like to find an original green one.

I see people trying to sell AD chassis on CL for $500+, thought you could at least gett $100 for yours. That does'nt give me much hope. My body is comming off a 1-ton chassis, I'd like to sell it or even sell it for scrap weight to anyone who could use it.

it had the granny 1st 4 spd too, thought someone should have wanted that for sure. I have bought almost every bed I found in two years, which is three found and two bought. I bought this latest one because it was green, I wanted it to match the cab too. actually it looks like a better match to your green, my cab is green to the primer but yours looks like thin green over a blue base, which is what the bed is.

I'll keep an eye out for you though!

it was supposed to rain all day but it only rained a little in the morning and threatened it the rest of the day. had to pull the drivetrain and all the parts I needed off the 03
I think I am getting all my money out of the $50 cherry picker and free in road strap

look at them bent rails

rolled the rear end out, I think that was the easiest one ever

easiest way to pull springs/control arms with no weight in the front

where I quit today

all the saved parts in the corner of the shop


this is how I keep my "old man gold" s10 in line, I cut up another s10 right in front of it.



I listed the eaton rear end out of the 49 cheap because I didnt want to just throw it away. the guy showed up and offered $2 less, I acquiesced. haha
do you think those rivets will hold?

nope. but it lasted long enough to get it in the truck before popping.


oh! and the BEST THING about my "use every part" mantra...
my $50 cherry picker didnt come with a handle, so I was using pliers to release and a long 1/2" extension to jack. not anymore!
this is the spare tire rod from the 03 I chopped up. you wouldnt believe how perfect it works, like it was made for it.




I still need some random s10 parts for the 49, and I was looking for a disc brake 4x4 rear end for the 65, I cant use the 03 because the pinion is different. I am worried that the 84 rear is 3.08 or lower and the wrong series. so I have been keeping my eyes peeled for a parting blazer on craplist. saw one for sale today with "make offer" in the ad, a 98 with some body damage. I offered what I thought I would spend on the rear, and he said yes, come get it.





the battery was dead dead deadski so I left my slow charger there hooked up so I could pick it up tomorrow. I cant believe (my wife is chagrined, wryly upset) that I just cleared the last parts s10 out of the driveway and I have already replaced it.

4/17:
I left my charger on it there overnight, went back this morning and it cranked really well but no start. I got under it and banged on the plastic tank, sure enough I heard the float arm bouncing off the bottom. ran for a gas can and...



it started right up. I checked the trans, shifts ok, the 4x4, works ok, lights all work, AC froze me out in about 15 seconds. oil pressure good, came up to temp, seat moves back and forth and up and down. the tach was dead but I think that may be a fluke, it was bouncing all over the place when I was cranking it.
drove home like a newborn.


tried out 4lo on the dirt road,

here is the kink. I think if I strap it to a big tree and get about a 10mph yank, it will all come back into line.



and the hits keep on coming. GT4 G80, 3.73 limited slip.


now I have to decide whether to part it out for parts I need or fix and keep

[joedoh]

its on a non highway reg right now and would cost 4-500 to take off, and 4-500 to halfway fix the rear end damage, making dollars very small if selling as a blazer. it has the optional 3:73 ratio g80 rear and I could make more just pulling and selling that one piece.

my thoughts have turned from parting out to building another 47-55. do you think a 4x4 s10 swapped 47-55 has any value? I have seen guys use the blazer 4x4 chassis before but always convert to 2wd. this thing runs PERFECT and the 4x4 works flawless even in 4lo. I have the wherewithal to extend the wheelbase. good use for the chassis? build it as a slightly lifted on 31s? slightly lowered on late model camaro rims?

anyway, back on topic for the booger, had some house work to do. today finally cleaned out the 49.


I was lucky and scored new floor halves from rockauto on closeout for ridiculous money, got my blue wrench (plasma) back from kylie and have the space by the garage cleared out again. progress is imminent.

[MalibuSSwagon]

Very cool build

[HUSSEY]

Do you have a title to sell the Blazer? I'd fix, sell, and put that money towards your build. After you swap out the parts out on it that you want of course. Though I'm sure you already know, the front sway bar on those have a larger diamerter than the S-10. Don't know if the 4WD is any different than the 2WD though. I grabbed a fat sway bar off a 2WD Blazer at Pick N Pull.

[Big Daddy Bear]

Tagging along to follow your S-10 firewall/floor swap. My 50 three window does not need them, but the five window parts truck does, so since I have a complete S-10 and an five window cab, may have to consider that for a second project...

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Do you have a title to sell the Blazer? I'd fix, sell, and put that money towards your build. After you swap out the parts out on it that you want of course. Though I'm sure you already know, the front sway bar on those have a larger diamerter than the S-10. Don't know if the 4WD is any different than the 2WD though. I grabbed a fat sway bar off a 2WD Blazer at Pick N Pull.

it would cost more than I could sell it for to get it in sellable condition

I do have another idea, continue to hold...

[99 to Life]

joedoh, i enjoy your writing as much as your pics! (though I'd make a fence outta a frame bf I scrapped it) but yeah you atleast tried. can't wait to see this one layed out too (if thats your plan) amazing patina and damn you find all the parts you need. I'm on board with this.

[joedoh]

thanks 99, I would trade all my deals to live around the burgh again

speaking of finding parts....
I didnt think a 4x4 47-55 was a salable prospect either, the consensus is a 2wd is a lot better idea.

so I got a 2wd blazer with a bad motor.

this was another nice surprise. 3:42 posi rear in this one.

and this doesnt sound like a rod to me, more something upper end by the slower tempo. any thoughts?

yes I know the belt isnt turning, I took it loose to make sure it wasnt an accessory

I am going to pull valve covers tonight and see if its a rocker arm or something dumb.

[joedoh]

well a lot has happened.

the 2wd blazer was so nice, I mean really nice shape inside and out, that I decided that would be my new daily. so I started pulling the motor from the 4wd.


the 4x4 ac works perfect. the 2wd ac not at all. luckily with the way the system is set up, you can pull it complete and not lose the charge


and since that means I have a daily besides the gold s10 long bed, why not turn that into a cool truck too? bought a 47 gmc grain truck, came with a short bed.


all the cool early gmc touches are there, like the scooped front bumper, and the "big truck" chrome three bar grille. it was someones "driver-steration", story was that one of the rear tires went flat and the three piece rim came apart while airing it up, crushing his hand and ending his infatuation with the truck. we took it apart, sold most of the stuff like the pto and wheels, threw away a lot. the pinterest crowd went bananas over the tongue and groove cedar bed sides and floor.

got the gold truck taken apart. first step was to move the engine back 5". worked smarter not harder.

there will be a gusset on the back of this plate.


should be rolling aorund in a week. we are designing these parts to specifically help the guy who wants to use his stock s10 drivetrain and steering parts, especially 95-03 s10s with the 4.3. we already figured out a better way to do the trans mount and will do that to my 49.

[joedoh]

body on for the first time. tried a set of mounts based loosely on skymangs excellent how to but made a couple changes so not exact duplication. hey, my engineer ocd is matched only by kyles attention to detail!

[HUSSEY]

Looks good, front wheel position in the wheel wells looks on.

[joedoh]

thanks! we drew out the mounts and played around with the dimensions, it worked out well.

its just too damn high haha. starting with a stock height sonoma I didnt expect it to be an earthworm but we need some serious lowering.

[HUSSEY]

I'm setting up my mounts also. How did you locate your front mounts?

I used 4x4 tubing and mounted them 1.75 inches forward of the oval hole on the frame, just tacked for now. I based this on Bartmans YouTube tech and him noting he wished he mounted his to put his tire in the front wheel well just a tad further forward. I went the the 1.75 because I think it looks ok with the tires a little forward of center but goofy with the tires a little rear of center,

For my front mounts, from the frame to the top of the S10 bushing is 4 in. I wanted mine nice and low too but also didn't want to much of a tunnel and wanted to avoid a drive shaft tunnel. I have 2 in. dropped spindles on the front and 3 in. blocks on the back. I'll wait till I'm done to see if dropped spring or leaves are in order, or better yet, maybe bags.

[joedoh]

yes, thats about what we did too. it only needs a small bump in the floor for the trans.





trimmed the front frame, anyone need some frame ends for collision work?

[jholt]

pics no worky