It's my turn, 47 S10 build

[Cautrell05]

The steering shaft fits pretty nice through there.

[Cautrell05]

Clearances came out pretty good. There's decent clearance between the control arm bushing and the exhaust manifold. I'll probably make a heat shield to go around the rear bushing to keep heat out of it. Lots of time to plan that out.
There's about 1 1/4" between the HEI distributor and the firewall. Should leave plenty of clearance for plug wires. I could have been back father with a smaller distributor but that extra 1 inch isn't worth being stuck on ignition choices.
There's only about 3/4" of power steering pump movement before the pump hits the frame. Belt length will be kinda critical but I can work with it.
I'm pretty sure with the short water pump I can run an engine driven fan. I'm not against electrics. Was just leaning to the classic look under the hood if I can find a shroud that looks good.
The stock S10 dipstick tube also fits really well in the factory firewall cutout.
Transmission tunnel will need a slight hump. Right now it clears with about 1/8". It's still going to be very flat which is what I wanted.
There's also cab mount measurements for those interested.

[Cautrell05]

More pictures

[Cautrell05]

I forgot the picture if the fan spacing.

The next step is the steering shaft but before that I need the column mounted. Before I get the column mounted I need the seat location figured out so I get the column in the right place. And before I can figure that out I need to get the drivers door mounted which will probably be a whole adventure by it self. I've got new hinges on the way so I'm kinda on hooks there for a little bit.
Only area with clearance issues is the alternator and left inner fender. That inner fender is a mess as it is so if I screw it up trying to make clearance it's not the end of the world.

Nick

[Nut Case]

Strong work. In my never to be humble opinion, "over built, is under rated"

KEEP ON KEEPIN ON

Nut /Case

[lower50's]

Over built means, never have to worry about it again. Nice job.

[Cautrell05]

The door hinges for my driver side showed up today. The passenger door is still on the original hinges and they work pretty good other than I think the detent spring is broken but that's not a big deal. The upper driver side hinge is rusted solid still mounted to the door and the lower hinge came in a box with the pin busted off and halfway drove through. I figured where the driver side is going to be getting more used Id just put new hinges in.
I noticed both the upper lower hinges have a passageway drilled that goes all the way to the pin. I'm assuming it's a place to spray oil. Can anybody see a reason not to put a grease fitting in there and then use a long needle fitting to grease the door hinges occasionally?

[99 to Life]

for how much the dang hood hinges cost, you'd think they would put a zerk fitting in there! that is a good idea. as long as you could get the fitting in there, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[whozawazzit]

I can't really see how the rest of its built but if any of the grease will be exposed it will collect dust and dirt. I would think that the clearances wouldn't allow for much grease to be utilized. Could you use a dry graphite?

[Cautrell05]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

for how much the dang hood hinges cost, you'd think they would put a zerk fitting in there!

No kidding there.

[Cautrell05]

Originally Posted by whozawazzit

I can't really see how the rest of its built but if any of the grease will be exposed it will collect dust and dirt. I would think that the clearances wouldn't allow for much grease to be utilized. Could you use a dry graphite?

I'll have to look and see if the hinge is open to the inside of the cab our outside. Even if it gets a little grease in there I would think its better than dry.

[Cautrell05]

I spent about 45 minutes on it tonight and put the drivers door on. With the drivers side kick panel buckled slightly and the cab corner pushed in I wasn't sure if it would fit. Are you supposed to mount the hinges to the door first or the cab? The door wasn't on the truck when I got it do I had no idea how well things lined up. Good news is it fits. The door gaps are definitely on the tight side and the whole door needs to go up a solid half inch but it's progress at least.

Nick

[Cautrell05]

Also scored a decent drivers inner fender for $10. The one on the truck has several buckles in it along with a bunch of stress cracks and missing pieces.

[99 to Life]

nice score on that inner fender. with doors you have three main variables. the door striker, hinge on door and hinge on pillar. I like to put them on the pillar first and keep em a tad loose. Then put door on and start adjusting. Sometimes I put a small jack under the door to help hold it. Its just a very time consuming process of playing with it. The striker usually doesn't need to move if it is the original door and no major dents occurred. But its not to say it won't need adjusted. Last note and I'll be crossing that bridge again in the next couple days is, the door will fit one way with no or old weather strip, once you put new stuff on, door fits way different.

[dsraven]

when it comes time to get weatherstripping try the softseal stuff. i helped a buddy do a 54 and the doors fit well with no rubber, he got new rubber and installed but then the door was too tight to close and fit properly. some say put a tie down on the door to keep it closed tight and park in the sun for a day, the rubber will soften. he tried the softseal and the door closed and fit like it should right away. there are other manufacturers like softseal as well.
fit the door to the opening minus the rubber, then install the rubber.

[Cautrell05]

Thanks for the tips guys. Was this the site you were referring to?

https://www.soffseal.com
I looked around but didn't any seal kits for the pickups.
Is there any side adjustment or do I have to bend the hinges? The top of the passenger door is sitting about 3/16" in on top. Gut feeling looking at it is the top hinge got sprung slightly.

[99 to Life]

is that the original hinge on the pass side? You could try loosening the top hinge on the pillar, not the door, just a bit, not too much. Jam some foam or weatherstrip in the top of door and shut it, press real hard it might force the door into position and your hinge would still be tight enough to keep in in place so when you open the door you can really tighten it up. Or honestly it might just fit like that and get better there with weather strip. Hard to say, these trucks didn't have the most dead on gaps or door adjustment from the factory. back then they prolly didn't mind your picture at all.

[Cautrell05]

I am almost certain that the passenger hinges are original. Judging by the lack of rust and the condition when I got it I am pretty sure it sat in a barn or shed for a long time.
Also, did all of them get the same crappy public swimming pool blue paint job? The whole inside had a coat. Over the trim, weather strip, handles and all. I have seen quite a few other trucks online with the same color paint

[Nut Case]

"05"

Having been around heavy equipment a goodly portion of my earthly existence, I have found that pins that are greased on a regular basis last lots long than no grease. As far as dirt and grit attracting dirt and such it does stick, but new grease keeps forcing the old grease and dirt out.

Growing up in the 60's and having my best friends dad own a body shop, I have personally watched his dad take a 2X4 and wedge it in the door and bend the door as needed. I saw him put the 2X in the door on top of the wing window and push the top of the back of the door in to get the door to be closer to the cab when closed. Just a way to work a door.

Keep on keepin on....

Nut Case

[JSavoie]

+1 on that method. When I majored in "bodyshop" (carrosserie, in french) I was shown that method by one of my teachers who insisted: "ALWAYS lower the door window before prying or you'll break it." Immediately followed by: "Make sure your clients don't see you do that, they won't like you."

[Cautrell05]

Originally Posted by Nut Case

"05"

Having been around heavy equipment a goodly portion of my earthly existence, I have found that pins that are greased on a regular basis last lots long than no grease. As far as dirt and grit attracting dirt and such it does stick, but new grease keeps forcing the old grease and dirt out.

I agree completely. Even a little bit would help.

[Cautrell05]

I made a little bit more progress this week. The steering column I am using came out of an 89 Chevy van. I've used this one before on previous projects and liked it because the ignition switch wiper switch dimmer switch are all built into the column like most GM's. But the van columns also have a shift indicator built on to them if you're using the column shift. That part is kind of nice. I picked this one up for 35 bucks At a you pull it yard. It was pretty dirty and the Tilt mechanism was floppy like most of the old GM's columns were. It was a little slow last week so I took it in to work and just use it for fill in work in between actual paying jobs. Other than my time, I have a grand total of $70 in the column with the cost of the column, a new ignition lock cylinder, and a new turn signal cam. I never knew it before this one but there's a small light bulb in behind the shift indicator that actually works. Nice little touch. I also took the time on this one to cut the flange loose on the bottom of the column. From the factory they just bolt up to the firewall in the van. I'm going to leave this one loose for now and either weld it on at a different angle or cut it off all together and start over. Just depends on how it fits in the pickup.

[Cautrell05]

This past week I worked on getting the transmission crossmember built. I could have just went with the regular style but I had a few different ideas I wanted to add. First off I needed a mounting place for the brake booster. I wanted plenty of room for exhaust and a way to run a 4L80 later without too much reworking. There is also what I consider a lot of chassis flex. With the cab sitting on the mounts but not bolted down a flat temp spare on the back will leave one of the mounts loose enough I can spin it by hand. Pushing down on the rear of the frame with my knee will visibly tighten it up.
One of the few benefits of extended breaks between work sessions is plenty of time to plan. What I had pictured was a six-point x-brace with the middle bars mounted on top of the frame supporting the transmission as well as my brake booster. The Next Step there was to take some time get some measurements and draw everything out. That way I knew exactly where things would fit rather than just start bending pipes and then finding out it won't clear. The left lower bar curves out and around the brake booster. A regular size booster won't fit under there so my options were either a hydroboost or a small diameter double diaphragm booster. I opted for the hydroboost cuz then I don't have to worry about cam issues and low engine vacuum.
I used 1 1/2" diameter 1/8" inch wall steel tubing. Should be heavy enough for what I need without adding too much weight. Getting it home was interesting. I have a flatbed trailer but getting it out what involved moving 40 feet of electric fence just to drive 6 miles and put one 20 foot piece of pipe on a trailer. It might have been redneck but I used my daughters S10 instead. It only hung out the back a little bit. Definite benefit of living in the country. Not much traffic on the way home.
Now that I had a plan and the materials I needed a bender. Sure not going to buy one for no more often then I would use it. Friend of mine owns an exhaust shop and let me use the one that he had. It is not a mandrel Bender but for what I'm doing it'll work just fine. Took just a little over an hour to cut and bend the pipes. The full-size drawings that I did definitely helped speed the process. It worked out really well to be able to bend the pipes and lay them on top of the picture and know that they'll fit without having to crawl under the vehicle 16 times with a long piece of pipe.

[lower50's]

Looking good! I love the safety sandals.

[Cautrell05]

Those are my OSHA approved drafting sandals lol