S10 Swap how to

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 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?

the HVAC system does not fit, the blower motor would be outside the hood and if you tried to move it inboard the AC evaporator would hit the engine.

even if you wanted to use more, you have to keep in mind what gigamanx says, that the position of the pedals and steering column is not the same between the two trucks, the s10 firewall will be about 8 inches too far forward, the steering and brakes about 4 inches too far inboard and 10 inches too low. it would be a lot of work sectioning things around just to use that one piece of sheetmetal (the s10 firewall).

I have done what you are asking about on a 65, I cut the firewall and floor out of a 65 C10 and cut everything off an s10 except the firewall and the floor. on that truck I had to move the firewall and floor back about 4 inches, and raise the pedals and steering and move the steering outboard to line up with the dash. I was able to keep the whole S10 HVAC on that truck so it was a positive thing to do overall, but moving the steering was a lot of work. since you cant possibly use the HVAC, its better to just cut out the parts you can use.

[KRFitz]

Thanks. That's all good to know heading into this project. Is there anyway at all of utilizing the AC from the S10? I was hoping to fit it in somehow and not have to buy a Vintage Air set up.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by KRFitz

Thanks. That's all good to know heading into this project. Is there anyway at all of utilizing the AC from the S10? I was hoping to fit it in somehow and not have to buy a Vintage Air set up.

nope, not that I have found, and I use every part of the buffalo like the native americans. on the last 49 I used a 03 S10 donor and used a 00 tahoe inside box with the air director removed (no vent/floor/defrost switching). the blend door plugged into the s10 wiring and so did the blower, so I put the factory s10 controls in the glovebox. doing it again, I probably wouldnt. I use the vintage air mini systems now.

[steve aleve]

Anyone know if the 2" spacers that are used for a s10 swap from 5 lug to 6 lug are useful to any other type of swaps or conversions? I just upgraded to a set of 5 lug Ridlers and am trying to find the best place to try to sell them. I may try ebay or something. Just wondering if the lug combo is in high demand elsewhere or if it is a very specific combo.

[skymangs]

depends if they are 5-4.75 or 5-5. 5-4.75 is the bp on all mid sized GM, `and is the most widely used bp on the market. 5-5 is what the big GM's used. that's your fullsize cars. a little more difficult to move, but still very saleable.

[steve aleve]

Originally Posted by skymangs

depends if they are 5-4.75 or 5-5. 5-4.75 is the bp on all mid sized GM, `and is the most widely used bp on the market. 5-5 is what the big GM's used. that's your fullsize cars. a little more difficult to move, but still very saleable.

They are the 5x4.75.

Great info thanks! That will help me when I list them.

[8man]

I'm collecting parts for my build. I was wondering if this was a correct rear axle for the S10 conversion for an AD truck?

Description:
Rear Axle Assembly
4.3, AUTO, 4X4 3.73 RATIO (OPT GT4), LOCKER
Fits:
2000 Oldsmobile Bravada
(3.73 ratio, opt GT4)

Also, the S10 frame is a 85, do different years matter for the rear axle?

Thanks.

[joedoh]

the bravada axle will be 2 inches wider per side than a 2wd, so yes that will work.

year of s10 does not matter, there are only small differences over the run.

[KRFitz]

Need advice on lowering chassis. I have set my box down onto my 2001 S10 chassis. It looks like the box needs to drop down another 6"- 8". Other than a 2" -3" block to drop the leaf spring, what else can I do to make up the rest? Would be nice to keep from having to raise the bed floor up. What is the tallest (functionally acceptable) lowering block?

[joedoh]

your bed floor location depends on how tall your cab mounts are and what bushings you use on them. if you used skymangs "short" set and stock s10 bsuhings, the bed floor will only be about an inch higher than the angle strips currently on the bed sides, plus the thickness of whatever you use for a floor. its almost an invisible amount of raise. you will not be able to use the stock cross bars that are in your bed right now. with his "tall" set, the floor does not need to be raised at all. to find out where to set your bed, clamp or use jack stands to hold your running boards and the aprons in the right position for the cab, and the apron will tell you the correct position for the bed.


for lowering the rear I like having the s10 leafs dearched at the local spring shop, 4" works nicely for me. you can buy drop leafs, alternatively, or use a 4" block. keep in mind though, with the 4" block the lower spring perch and u bolts can potentially hang lower than the rim, which can be super exciting with a flat. 4" blocks cost almost as much as the local shop charges for dearching. you will need new u bolts, and teh spring shop can make you some of those too.

[KRFitz]

Originally Posted by joedoh

your bed floor location depends on how tall your cab mounts are and what bushings you use on them. if you used skymangs "short" set and stock s10 bsuhings, the bed floor will only be about an inch higher than the angle strips currently on the bed sides, plus the thickness of whatever you use for a floor. its almost an invisible amount of raise. you will not be able to use the stock cross bars that are in your bed right now. with his "tall" set, the floor does not need to be raised at all. to find out where to set your bed, clamp or use jack stands to hold your running boards and the aprons in the right position for the cab, and the apron will tell you the correct position for the bed.


for lowering the rear I like having the s10 leafs dearched at the local spring shop, 4" works nicely for me. you can buy drop leafs, alternatively, or use a 4" block. keep in mind though, with the 4" block the lower spring perch and u bolts can potentially hang lower than the rim, which can be super exciting with a flat. 4" blocks cost almost as much as the local shop charges for dearching. you will need new u bolts, and teh spring shop can make you some of those too.

Great. Thanks for that suggestion of dearching the leaf springs, I will check that out. I have also seen suggested salvaging different springs. I believe the Astro van is the same length and a lot flatter. Thanks

[skymangs]

what joedoe said, but I like to stay with 2" blocks. the lower you go the closer the bottom of the U-bolts get to the ground. speed bumps become an issue.

[tlorber]

I started out with 4" lowering blocks. The bump stop bracket would hit the axle when I hit bumps or deep swales at speed so I cut them down to around 3". Now they are fine. Another thing to consider is your wheel size. Those look like stock size wheels (15" I presume). Larger wheels/tires will fill up the bay and make the bed look closer to wheel since there will not be as much space in between.

[KRFitz]

Originally Posted by tlorber

I started out with 4" lowering blocks. The bump stop bracket would hit the axle when I hit bumps or deep swales at speed so I cut them down to around 3". Now they are fine. Another thing to consider is your wheel size. Those look like stock size wheels (15" I presume). Larger wheels/tires will fill up the bay and make the bed look closer to wheel since there will not be as much space in between.

Good point on the wheel size. I was more concerned of the gap distance to the ground. I thought if I used a smaller wheel size it would help keep things lower all around to start.

[tlorber]

I know these are not the best angles, but they show how my truck sits with appx 3" lowering blocks, stock s10 bed bottom sitting on its stock rails with respect to the frame (I grafted the '54 bed sides to the S10 metal bed bottom).
Rear Wheels are 17" and I believe the rear tires are 255 50's. You are correct that the smaller wheel will bring the truck closer to the ground, but the delta off the ground is only half as much as the total difference in diameter. Both the lowering blocks and the spring rearching will allow you to drop the CG.

[joedoh]

tlorber did you use the short or tall cab mounts.

this is my 49 truck with the short mounts and 235/75/15 rears, which are 2" taller than a 255/50/17. I usd 3" front springs and 4" dearched leafs. bed done the same as you, the stock s10 floor grafted to the 49 bed.

IMG_5254 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

[KRFitz]

Originally Posted by joedoh

tlorber did you use the short or tall cab mounts.

this is my 49 truck with the short mounts and 235/75/15 rears, which are 2" taller than a 255/50/17. I usd 3" front springs and 4" dearched leafs. bed done the same as you, the stock s10 floor grafted to the 49 bed.

IMG_5254 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

NICE. So on the front you chopped the spring 3", with no drop spindle? Who's white wall tire are you using here? Thanks,

[joedoh]

the front springs are 3" belltech springs. although I did have to cut a little off the passenger spring to combat the s10 lean.

tires are coker american classics 235/75/15 and 215/70/15 front

[99 to Life]

This is when I was running 3" blocks and 2" drop spindles. Leafs and rear were off a 4x4 s10. I mounted body about 3.5" off frame I think, running boards are about 5.5" off ground. Iv hit so many crazy pot holes and drive in PA weather/roads and I would say this is about the lowest I'd wanna go with a static drop. Bags, I go 4" off ground! I run 14" rims and a total of 26" tall tire.

P.S did you cut about 5" off back of frame? I weld angle on the outsides of frame and let the rear bed mounts set on those, super easy to make bed mounts. You want to set your cab height like stated, but that also will dictate the wheel centering. always mount cab first, then got to front clip, then to bed and never final weld till you get it spot on, squared and level. take a look at all angles cause sometimes the front will look funny at a certain angle, esp if mounted too high.

[Rockabilly1984]

Skymangs
What size of the square tubing was used to make the cab mounts?

[skymangs]

i don't use square tube. follow the instructions on the first page of two. they're much stronger than square tybe.

[8man]

Skymangs,

With the S10 brake set up, do the old dash to firewall support rods become trash or are they still used?

[skymangs]

still used. read the early posts very carefully.

[JC’s Vintage]

[QUOTE=skymangs;6723893]I've been asked lots of questions about how I get these S10 swaps done so quickly, and how to do "x" or "y"... I want to start this thread detailing as much as I can on the nuts and bolts of S10 frame swaps, parts lists, pics, and any other frequently asked questions out there. To start this off, there are basically three options I see as easily attainable for an S10 frame swap. Keep the stock 4.3L, go small block, or go LS1. I will start off with small block parts, as these are by far the most popular conversion.

What is the part number from speedway for the headers?

[skymangs]

I no longer use the conversion headers. I use early Camaro exhaust manifolds, or if you have to have headers, just get block huggers.