"Albert" -- 1949 AD, S10 Chassis

[oldman3]

Nice job...Jim

[iowaboynca]

looking really good!

[DeanTX]

Hussey,

I will be using the same type engine and accessory/belt set up as you, so the radiator info is perfect.

Question - How far off the ground is it at the rear of the front fender? This will help me gauge how it will sit based on your cab mount height. It is hard to tell in the pic because the truck is on ramps.

JRD

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by DeanTX

Hussey,

I will be using the same type engine and accessory/belt set up as you, so the radiator info is perfect.

Question - How far off the ground is it at the rear of the front fender? This will help me gauge how it will sit based on your cab mount height. It is hard to tell in the pic because the truck is on ramps.

JRD

I set my cab 4 in. from the top of the frame to the bottom of the front floor board support (in one of my previous posts). If I were to do it over again, I'd go with 4.25 in. Just from dumb luck, the radiator fit like a glove at that height but a little more to play with would be better.

I haven't had it off the ramps yet so I don't know on height from the fender to the ground. I'll take a tape measure to it and subtract out the height of the ramps when I'm out in the garage later today. But, for setting the height of the cab, I'd use the 4.25 in. as the reference.

One thing I do know is that I'd like to get it a little lower. I'll probably go with some 2 in. drop coil springs.

Good luck with your build!

[joedoh]

looks amazing! we used a similar mount on the core support of my 47, it is very strong mounted that way.

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

I set my cab 4 in. from the top of the frame to the bottom of the front floor board support (in one of my previous posts). If I were to do it over again, I'd go with 4.25 in. Just from dumb luck, the radiator fit like a glove at that height but a little more to play with would be better.

I haven't had it off the ramps yet so I don't know on height from the fender to the ground. I'll take a tape measure to it and subtract out the height of the ramps when I'm out in the garage later today. But, for setting the height of the cab, I'd use the 4.25 in. as the reference.

One thing I do know is that I'd like to get it a little lower. I'll probably go with some 2 in. drop coil springs.

Good luck with your build!

Ok, I snapped a couple pics. Looks like its somewhere between 6 and 7 inches. I didn't think it would be that low. I need to get it off the ramps to see what it's like but I'm trying to get my running boards mounted up.

*****EDIT*****
After getting most of the swap fabrication done and the truck sitting on the ground with the wheel/tire combination I'm using (245-45R18), the front bumper is riding at 5-1/2 in. off the ground. Having driven it around a bit, I don't think I would want to go any lower on a static stance.
**************

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by joedoh

looks amazing! we used a similar mount on the core support of my 47, it is very strong mounted that way.

Thanks! I had seen several other guys do it this way and it turned out to be a fairly easy way to go about it. Right now I'm taking a guess at were the height of the front should be. I built it with a little room to shim it up or down and once I get the hood on I'll get it set.

[Tikal48]

Looks like you've been busy. The truck is looking great!

[918733]

Just wondering if you got around to doing your front brake lines on the brake caliper conversion and if so what did you do to make it work

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by 918733

Just wondering if you got around to doing your front brake lines on the brake caliper conversion and if so what did you do to make it work

No, I have not. Plumbing my brakes is on my to do list. I did save the lines from my donor S10 and also have a set a lines off a 2000 Blazer. I'm hoping one of the two will work out. Otherwise, I'll probably get some generic flex lines from Summit or Jegs.

[HUSSEY]

I got the radiator all plumed up, upper and lower hoses, and the transmission cooler lines. My first attempt at the radiator hoses was bending a coat hanger to the shape I wanted then picking out a handful of hoses at the parts store, I finally gave up on that approach not being able to find one that would fit and went with a flexible hose. The upper house is a Gates Vulco-Flex II, 20 in. long. The lower is a 19 in. Gates green strip Vulco-Flex, 19 in. long. I like the Vulco-Flex II better, it has a coil spring inside it and is easier to bend, but some reason, Gates doesn’t make them with 1-3/4 in. outlets on each end of the hose. I also installed a thermostat housing that has a swivel head to provide a better fit of the upper radiator hose.

The transmission cooler lines were plumbed with 90 degree brass fittings I found at the hardware store. I pulled hard transmission cooler lines off a 90s Chevy 1/2-ton which are plumbed to the transmission. I cut and bubble flared the hard lines just below the radiator. Rubber transmission lines link up the radiator to the hard lines.

[HUSSEY]

The low pressure line is no big deal but I couldn’t get the high pressure line I had off my donor S10 to work out to my liking. I ended up assembling the high pressure line from AN fittings. This was the first time I used AN fitting and was impressed how well everything went together. This is what I needed:

-- Earls Power Steering Hose -6AN Fitting 90 Degrees, EAR134606ERL
-- Earls Power Steering Hose -6AN Fitting 45 Degrees, EAR139106ERL
-- Earls Power Steering Hose O-Ring 16 mm to -6AN Adapter, EAR961955ERL
-- Earls Power Steering Hose O-Ring 18 mm to -6AN Adapter, EAR961956ERL
-- XRP Power Steering Hose -6AN, Marked as Aeroquip Air Brake Hose (only black hose I could find)
-- Lower Pressure Hose 16 mm O-Ring Fitting 45 Degree

[Advanced Design]

That worked well. Very clean!

[Clay54]

Hussey, got your PM. Thanks for your comment. Your build depicts valuable information to me and I am sure others. Thanks, Clay

[HUSSEY]

Man, I’ve been dragging lately, about the only thing I’ve accomplished in the past month is get the hood mounted and front somewhat aligned. Oh, I also installed a new passenger side lower door hinge and got my doors aligned to where they open and close like they should, guess that’s something too.

Hope to get to the metal store over lunch sometime this week so I can get the front bumper and running boards mounted up.






 

[THEE OG]

Beautiful truck. Awesome build.

[big_moss]

doing some really clean work man. its turning out great. im about to start my 51 swap to an s10 frame with air ride and ls swap. keep the updates coming and thanks for sharing this info

[Advanced Design]

Progress is progress. Looking good!

[Cuttin up]

Looks great! Totally ripping off your cab mount ideas. Awesome job.

[joedoh]

go man, go!

[ptc]

Very nice build, great attention to details!

[HUSSEY]

Just a couple pics of the front mounting and fitting in case anyone wanted to see how the pan below the grill was trimmed.

[918733]

Any pictures of your bumper mounts

[HUSSEY]

Coming up....

[HUSSEY]

I finally got around to getting the front bumper brackets made up. I used some 1/4 in. 2 in. flat stock with a 90 degree bend in them for the bracket to the bumper. This bracket then bolts to a bracket that I welded to the frame. Not sure why I needed a separate bracket that bolted in-between the frame and bumper but that’s what I came up with.