S10 Frame Swap w/ AD and LS motor

[tlorber]

I got the passenger's bedside sectioned over the weekend. Now its ready to weld together.



I've been working on one of the stake pockets to straighten it out since it was beat to he!!. I probably have 4 hours into this dumb thing, and I still have to do the other side.





By the way, here is how the shield (discussed above) ended up. People at the fair kept offering to buy it from my son, but he turned them down.

[99 to Life]

shield is awesome, I can relate to his happiness. as a kid I went through a meadevil stage and would love to have something like this!!! I feel you on the stake pocket. I just had to make one from scratch for 47-53 bed.

[tlorber]

I'm working on fusing a cross sill for a '54 with the S10 cross sill so that I can attach the rear stake pockets to. These will get welded together, which is why I drilled all the holes into the metal.





This bed has been taking a ton of time and work.

[tlorber]

I am getting close to finishing ONE of the bed sides. This has taken a long time due to the repairs and splicing I've had to do. Hopefully the other side will go faster.





I had to buy new rear stake pockets and then modify them for my application, but the one side seems to fit pretty nicely.

[99 to Life]

nice work, Funny how much longer stuff takes than you think. I had stake pocket troubles too, but mine were for prior years. crazy how much all the patches eat up time and money

[tlorber]

I'm getting close to being able to put the bedsides on. I still need to find some filler panels for the bed bottom, where the S10 wheel wells were.

They are here for a trial fit, but since they will ultimately be welded to the bottom angle iron, there will be no going back. It has taken me a while to beat the dents out of them, and everytime the lighting changes, I manage to find more dimples, creases,etc.





I really want to get back to working on the cab soon.

[84blaze]

I've been silently watching this build for a while now and have never posted. It looks awesome by the way!!

I really like the idea of keeping the S10 bed floor. Have you decided how you're going to fill the areas where the wheel tubs were?

I just recently posted my thread and plan to go with the AD kit when im at that point. You should go check it out.

[tlorber]

Thanks, Blaze. I will check out your thread. I plan on using pieces of another S10 bed to fill in the tub spaces. I thought I had one lined up but the guy just took a job in the mid west and won't be home for 2 months, so I have to find another.

I did actually see a company on ebay that sells patch panels for S10 beds but I'm going to see if in can find one at a boneyard and cut the middle out.

[tlorber]

So, while I am waiting to locate some filler panels for the bed, I figured I'd work on the suspension. I got the sway bar mounts welded on.





Now I need to order some urethane bushings to tighten things up.

[Clay54]

Originally Posted by tlorber

Thanks, Blaze. I will check out your thread. I plan on using pieces of another S10 bed to fill in the tub spaces. I thought I had one lined up but the guy just took a job in the mid west and won't be home for 2 months, so I have to find another.

I did actually see a company on ebay that sells patch panels for S10 beds but I'm going to see if in can find one at a boneyard and cut the middle out.

tlorber, I recently checked with one of those (not e-bay) companies to see what the freight would be to my zip code. Like $15.00 plus the price of the part. The size they had listed would be more than enough to cover the space where the wheel tubs were. Clay

[tlorber]

I finally cut the middle of a bed out of an S10 at the wrecking yard. Since I only need a couple narrow strips, I may have enough to do an extra bed, so if any of you need a patch panel, feel free to hit me up.

[tlorber]

I finally got the bottom of my S10 bed completed (at least enough for now) by welding in patch panels where the fenders had been. I flattened out the weld seams as much as possible and then added some body filler to smooth them out.



Then I got the bed sides welded on. This whole sub-project took me a long time due to all the dents and kinks in the bottom and bedsides-but now, with the bed together I have more space in the shop (and more storage space on the truck).

[99 to Life]

lookin good

[oldman3]

Nice job...Jim

[tlorber]

I've been working on mocking up my seat and accelerator location, and welding up holes in the cab. But since I don't have any pics, I'll post a couple of pics that I DO have. Taking a slight detour from the cab, I am shrinking the size of my steering wheel. I want to keep the original center, but since the wheel is so large (18" I think) I am hybridizing it with a 15" rim. I believe the 15" wheel came out of an early '70's ford.





I have the center of the smaller wheel cut out and I will be welding the original center to the "new rim". Per one of Old Sarge's old posts, I will use epoxy to fill in the gaps. I'll post more pics as I progress.

[aknovaman]

What size rear tires are you going to run? Why not keep the s10 inner fenderwells for more clearance?

[ptc]

Bed looks great! - kudos to the hard work

i know how all that is, i just got finished working all the "kinks" out of my old bed sides and got them tubbed and fitted to a custom frame....

[tlorber]

I got rid of the tubs because I wanted to be able to haul plywood or sheetrock (48" wide) when I need to. It doesn't happen often, but I'd hate to have to borrow a truck when the need arises. Interior clearance in the S10 bed is now about 49.5".

[aknovaman]

Ok, understood. Whats rear tire size?

[tlorber]

Rear tire size is 255/50/17. I don't remember the wheel offset, if any. They just barely clear the bedside (by like 1/4") so I will probably kick them out about 1" or so with spacers. I have to wait until I put the rear fenders back on to determine that.

Here are a couple more steering wheel pics.





I still have a bit of grinding on both parts before I can weld them together.

[99 to Life]

I like a big wheel, but that is looking real good.

[50ish]

tlorber: just found your thread while looking for info on AD trucks/ LS engine swaps. I am new to this forum. Your progress looks great! I have a 50 chevy 1/2 ton, S10 frame, 06 5.3ls/ 4l60e, and a couple of baskets and boxes of parts. I am gathering parts and info to start my build. Any immediate thoughts as to things you would do differently, or specific problems with a 5.3 in an s10 frame, or clearance issues with the firewall or front sheetmetal? Any advice is appreciated. I will follow along. Thanks

[Advanced Design]

The steering wheel modification is really cool...

[tlorber]

Thanks guys.
50ish, I haven't had any major issues yet. I bought some motor mounts that adapted the LM7 block to the existing mount holes. Most of the critical measuring is where you locate your cab. There are quite a few threads here that address that.

One thing to consider though--I started out with a 3/4 ton truck, which was had very stiff springs, 9 lug wheels and was long (3/4 tons have a longer box). If I had started with a 1/2 ton , I might have tried to just work with the existing frame. I've heard from a couple people now that you can take front and rear Crown Victoria Suspensions and drop 1/2 ton frames straight onto them. That gives you the same front disk ifs/rear drum setup as an S body. It means you would need Ford wheels, but that's not a huge deal. Again, I have not verified this for myself, but I've heard it on more than one occasion. If true, it would be a lot less work than a frame swap.

[05snopro440]

Originally Posted by tlorber

Thanks guys.
50ish, I haven't had any major issues yet. I bought some motor mounts that adapted the LM7 block to the existing mount holes. Most of the critical measuring is where you locate your cab. There are quite a few threads here that address that.

One thing to consider though--I started out with a 3/4 ton truck, which was had very stiff springs, 9 lug wheels and was long (3/4 tons have a longer box). If I had started with a 1/2 ton , I might have tried to just work with the existing frame. I've heard from a couple people now that you can take front and rear Crown Victoria Suspensions and drop 1/2 ton frames straight onto them. That gives you the same front disk ifs/rear drum setup as an S body. It means you would need Ford wheels, but that's not a huge deal. Again, I have not verified this for myself, but I've heard it on more than one occasion. If true, it would be a lot less work than a frame swap.

I wouldn't say it would be less work, but rather different work. Instead of making cab mounts you would need to run fuel lines, brake lines, etc. I really like the S-10 swap myself, I've put over 14,000 km's on my S-10 framed truck and couldn't be happier.