S10 Swap how to

[hoppin5478]

Originally Posted by joedoh

to add to that, all 2wd s10 trucks and blazers use the same front frame half and different rear frame halves that are longer or shorter (or a different shape in the case of the blazer) to make the different wheelbases. there is a factory weld joint where the rear section is slipped inside the front section, its roughly under where the door was, and you can grind the factory welds and slip it apart, cut off the extra, and slip it back together and weld it. a slip joint is a little easier to keep square and weld strongly than a butt joint.

This is an awesome site and especially thread! I'm just finishing another project and starting my 51 short bed. I've been doing my homework, taking inventory and trying to locate a S10 for a reasonable price. Unfortunately the single cab long beds don't seem to be nearly as common as they use to but being able to look out for the longer chassis will give me more options. That slip joint will make life a lot easier if I go that route. Thank you for the info.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by dettmer13

Also, another question to those have done the Blazer big brakes conversion. I have a 1992 S10 as the frame for my 51. I've seen forums here where some have used the Belltech 2102 (2" drop spindles) for a 98-03 Chevy Blazer on an older S10 upper and lower control arms. Have any of you heard of this? I was checking HUSSEY's build for "Albert" and it looked like he did this. Can anyone foresee any issues with geometry and alignment? Thanks in advance!!

just as a follow up, I found pictures of my blazer brake swap on the 47. working on the old desktop (lappy is in for service) means I have access to all the archival pictures. might put some more on flickr if I think about it.

IMG_0950 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_0951 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_0953 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


the belltech blazer spindles bolt right to the s10 truck arms. change the bearings as a 'while you are in there', use timkin bearings if you can, and use new rotors and pads. my rotor shows dust because I had a rock in the pad and these pictures were taken when changing the bad rotor/pads.

[my80schild]

I found some bad pictures of the firewall pass thru for that big grommet-ed hole, look in the upper right of this picture above and beside the booster
Joedoh
IMG_5243 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

and this is the distribution block that mounts underhood.

IMG_4153 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr[/QUOTE]

Thanks for those pictures and insight joedoh. It all looked pretty daunting at first but now after looking at your pics and revisiting all my wires on the ground it seems relatively straight forward. Just mount the wiring bracket on the firewall and hide everything up in the dash

[joedoh]

yeah depending on what model s10 it came from there can be a lot to hide but the only really extra thing is the HVAC and radio wiring, everything else gets used.

[motorhead153]

I took every ones advice and managed to successfully shorten my extended cab short bed frame! It went smoothly and I plan on starting my own build thread soon, but for now here are some pictures.

[ThadandDad48]

Doing this swap on an S10 short wheel base which I moved the rear end back 8" on. Everything has been going as planned but just ran into a snag and hope someone else may have already solved this. The gas tank will not fit under the cab and front of the bed because the cross-member it mounts to is about 8" farther forward than it should be. Has anyone else run into this problem and is there an easy solution? Really don't want to spend $400 on a gas tank and then lose the ability to have a spare carried under the back of the bed. Thanks for any insight you guys may have.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by ThadandDad48

Doing this swap on an S10 short wheel base which I moved the rear end back 8" on. Everything has been going as planned but just ran into a snag and hope someone else may have already solved this. The gas tank will not fit under the cab and front of the bed because the cross-member it mounts to is about 8" farther forward than it should be. Has anyone else run into this problem and is there an easy solution? Really don't want to spend $400 on a gas tank and then lose the ability to have a spare carried under the back of the bed. Thanks for any insight you guys may have.

the gas tank crossmember is held in with rivets, and the front strap is bolted in. you can drill the rivets in the crossmember and slide it back in the frame, and redrill new holes for the front strap bolts. you shouldnt need 8 inches, only a couple inches to clear the top of the tank where the stepdown is. keep in mind, the further you move it back the higher it will get. I did this on my 65 which was a std cab stretched the same as yours, because the gas tank hit the floor (it was the stock s10 floor) when I moved the cab back. in the original position the floor did not hit the tank.

this is also pretty common to do on bagged s10s because the gas tank hangs ever so slightly below the frame.

I would double check the height of your body mounts, if you are mounting the body super low for a slammed stance, you will have this problem even with a longbed truck.

[ThadandDad48]

Originally Posted by joedoh

the gas tank crossmember is held in with rivets, and the front strap is bolted in. you can drill the rivets in the crossmember and slide it back in the frame, and redrill new holes for the front strap bolts. you shouldnt need 8 inches, only a couple inches to clear the top of the tank where the stepdown is. keep in mind, the further you move it back the higher it will get. I did this on my 65 which was a std cab stretched the same as yours, because the gas tank hit the floor (it was the stock s10 floor) when I moved the cab back. in the original position the floor did not hit the tank.

this is also pretty common to do on bagged s10s because the gas tank hangs ever so slightly below the frame.

I would double check the height of your body mounts, if you are mounting the body super low for a slammed stance, you will have this problem even with a longbed truck.

I am not going really low so that should not be a problem. I will go look at how far back I need to go. I measured when I found the problem and the frame flattens out before you can get 8" back so cannot move the cross member back 8" but like you said may be able to go back less. Thanks

[ThadandDad48]

Think I have the tank location problem solved. Followed the advice to move the cross member back but ran into issues with not being able to move it back far enough sooooo. Since I Already had the cross member out I ended up replacing it with some 1.5 square tubing clamped to the underside of the top frame rail. I will eventually weld this in place all around and probably add a gusset to the bottom of the frame rail but for the moment this looks like it will work great sets the tank about 3/4" below the bed floor (already raised 3" to allow clearance to frame and get running boards and bed to align properly.) I need to take pictures so I can share but user beware the short frame extension does come with other issues although the 3" drop in the rear has made everything sit level and giving me the stance I was looking for without having to lower anything yet. Current stance is 9" from the bottom of the running boards to the ground which I think looks great and should be very drive able for a 16 year old.

[joedoh]

sounds like a good solution! I didnt have this problem on the 65, I moved it back less than 3" and it cleared the floor.

how tall are your body mounts? if you needed a 3" raised bed floor that sounds higher than I usually raise the floor, and that would mean the body is lower on the frame. did you use stock s10 body mounts?

[ThadandDad48]

I used the rev 2 old sarg. (skymangs) body mounts. Which I thought would give a level bed with no bed depth loss, but I am using a 2001 frame so may be a little different in rear frame height. I need to take some pictures and upload so others can learn from my suffering.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by ThadandDad48

I used the rev 2 old sarg. (skymangs) body mounts. Which I thought would give a level bed with no bed depth loss, but I am using a 2001 frame so may be a little different in rear frame height. I need to take some pictures and upload so others can learn from my suffering.

Its a good idea to tack weld and test the height with everything together before final welding. I took my cab and front fenders apart maybe four times before finally welding the four cab mounts and the radiator mount. Only takes a couple of screws to attach the front fenders, core support, and cab enough to test adjust. Also keep in mind you'll be putting some rubber supports under the cab. Mine added 3/4" to the height measurement.

[ThadandDad48]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

Its a good idea to tack weld and test the height with everything together before final welding. I took my cab and front fenders apart maybe four times before finally welding the four cab mounts and the radiator mount. Only takes a couple of screws to attach the front fenders, core support, and cab enough to test adjust. Also keep in mind you'll be putting some rubber supports under the cab. Mine added 3/4" to the height measurement.

Thanks for the advice. I am using the s10 cab mount bushings and have like you had it together and apart multiple times already. Here are pictures of how I mounted the tank in case anyone is interested.
[IMG][/IMG]



Note the new cross member is still held in place by c-clamps.

[skymangs]

my mounts are meant to have s10 body mounts on them

[kirsch11]

skymangs,

Can you provide details on how to fit the original Steering wheel with the gearhead enterprises steering column you discussed.

[ThadandDad48]

Originally Posted by skymangs

my mounts are meant to have s10 body mounts on them

I am using s10 body mount bushings with your mount design thanks for the dimensions as it sure made getting things right much easier.

[joedoh]

I think it just looks like you might have the bed floor higher than you actually need it, I usually set it up so the floor sits on that high point of the frame over (what was) the center of the axle. its a good place for a floor if you are bagging the truck though, where you have it, because you need just the tiniest of a notch to lay out and the pumpkin will actually hit the floor where I set it up.

[skymangs]

I've done that on several of my builds. check out sean s -53 Chevy, cecil. basically you gotta buy a new horn retainer, drill 2 5/16th holes in it. be sure to align one hole with the factory feed wire, put the other hole about opposite the first. then you'll need to cut a small tab of 18ga. bend it in a 90deg angle, then weld it to the lower plate in such a way as that 1 piece sticks through the second hole not touching the upper plate. when you put it on, plug the ground into your welded tab. you see on the new column is energized on the top plate and grounded through the bottom. The original column energized the lower and grounded the top. we just need to find a way to reverse it. you will have to take about a 1/2" off the back of the wheel, you can use a grinder, it's just bakelite. I've tried used retainers 3 or 4 times, they never work. clear as mud, huh
for the wheel just shave it flat. I don't have a picture... then I go to the plumbing section of my local hardware store and buy a black rubber 4" pipe cap, to cover the guts of the column. here's some pictures.

[skymangs]

this is what I do with the steam tubes. I just hook a hose straight from the tubes to the back of the wp. I use a 1/8" tap and a 1/8" 90 degree brass elbow with 1/8 NPT threads, never cap the steam tubes, they pull condensation from the heads. they are especially important in the winter!

[skymangs]

Originally Posted by reaper71

To answer that question, I believe the stock opening is 4 5/8" and the Speedhut are a true 4 1/2 (mounting is 4 1/4) so you would not have a ton of space around the bezel and the dash opening.
For a reference you could cut out 2 4 1/2 circles from cardboard or poster board and set in the hole to get a visual.
If you did like the way it looks make a plate that is attached from the backside of dash I.E welded or bolted and drop your gauges through the hole (i used 3 3/8" gauges do to a custom built dash) Thank's for the compliments BTW!

The other way you could make up the space is weld a ring to the inside of opening and drop the gauge through (use round bar) just spit balling
That being said they are a super nice gauge and can be fully customized to fit your taste and again can be programmed to suite your needs..(NO I dont work for them )
I hate to burst your bubble. The actual holes are 51/4. I know because 5" guages don't quite fill them.
hope this helps..
Mark...

I hate to burst your bubble, but the actual measurement is 51/4. I've put 5" gauges in and they don't quite fill the space.

[KRFitz]

Hi Guys, I'm exploring my options to do an S10 swap and was wondering if many have left part of the S10 cab floor, firewall, brake assembly and blended the old cab to that? I'm using the stock 4.3 motor and know its recommended to move it back, but if you could use a push fan in front and leave the motor and firewall, it would sure make for a quick swap. Thanks,

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by KRFitz

Hi Guys, I'm exploring my options to do an S10 swap and was wondering if many have left part of the S10 cab floor, firewall, brake assembly and blended the old cab to that? I'm using the stock 4.3 motor and know its recommended to move it back, but if you could use a push fan in front and leave the motor and firewall, it would sure make for a quick swap. Thanks,

Welcome to the forum KRFitz.

The S10 swap dimensions and mounting points revolve around the center hub of the front wheels. The front fenders need to be centered over the wheels. That then dictates where the radiator and cab are situated in relation to the fenders. Unfortunately, those requirements also mean the engine can't stay where it is. I tried, I failed. Oddly, the moving back of the engine and getting a different drive shaft isn't even the hard part of the swap.

You'll find a few build threads on here, including mine, where parts of the firewall are used from the S10. The brake booster and pedal are also used to make the swap much easier. Definitely read some build threads on S10 swaps. I learned almost everything just from reading the builds here and I now have a running driving truck.

Best of luck with the build!

[KRFitz]

Thanks for your reply Gigamanx! I totally understand. Is it possible, or advantageous to use all the fire wall with brake/booster,electrical parts, etc, from the S10 and fit onto old cab?

[joedoh]

i have done it, saves a lot of time. this is the result on the latest 41

IMG_7071 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_7798 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_7808 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_7810 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_7831 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

53903435651__00F3FF95-B2F2-4A50-83B6-5E7D8B59F402 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_8262 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

IMG_8360 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

[KRFitz]

Great. Thanks for the photos. So really the only portion of the fire wall worth using is where the brake booster and pedal mount?