S10 Swap how to

[Black93GT]

Maybe i'm a sucker for punishment or a control freak.... but i can never start where anyone left off. especially when it comes to wiring.

Not sure what year speedo you have... but here's a good start.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=313815

[skymangs]

Beanyard; frame should sit just like it does on the truck swap. should look fine.

User Error; Sorry, no pics of the plug. It's a Blue rectangle plug with 18 pins. Should be the only one like it in the dash board area.

[Garyhenrich]

Sorry if I missed this answer, can the s10 front coils be used for the conversion using a V8?

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by Garyhenrich

Sorry if I missed this answer, can the s10 front coils be used for the conversion using a V8?

I had a V-8 S-10 with lowering springs, no issues at all.

[skymangs]

Garyhenrich; Yes, I've never changed front coils. They work nicely. What I would recommend is new ball joints (Moog or equivalent), and replacing any worn suspension components while you swap in the drop spindles. Less headaches later that way!

[Garyhenrich]

Thanks, I will upgrade the worn parts when I install the drop spindles. Great thread. I took all this info, plus info from other threads on s10 conversions and put them all into a 40 page document that I am now following on my conversion. I have a 48 3800 that has a restored body that I'm dropping on a 84 s10. My 48 had a 54 235 installed and they moved the radiator ahead a couple of inches for fan clearance, Not sure if I'll need to change out the radiator to clear the steering box. Again, thanks for all the help, should be dropping the body on the frame in a couple weeks.

[skymangs]

If it's a 1 ton, are you stretching that S10 frame, or are you converting it to a short bed?

[Garyhenrich]

Moving to a short bed. Bought another 48 3100, pulled the bed and running boards off of that and will set the new rig up as a short bed 48. My cab is fulling restored with a wooden flat bed but needs an updated chassis.

[skymangs]

Gotcha... should be a pretty straight forward swap then.

Update on the 54 long bed swap. The long bed is about 2.5" too long for the wheelbase. The solution I came up with is to remove 1.25" from each of the bed splash guards (to tuck the bed closer to the back of the cab) and to re-locate the rear end rearwards 1.25". Other than that, the swap has all been exactly the same.

[lowroder]

Skymangs... I Have A 1/2 Ton Longbed Im Looking To Swap Soon.
I Talked To The Guys At EZ Swap Chassis An They Told Me That For Longbed /LWB Trucks Using S10 Ext Cab Frames 87-92 All You Have To Do Is Flip The Rear Springs Around Front To Back.. This Will Give You The 125" Wheel Base Fitment ...
Yes or No? You Seem To Have Mastered These Swaps..

[Atmsrus1]

Thank you so much for this write up. I have been searching the web for any info I could find and this is great. Me and a buddy of mine are trying to do a 1950 ( at least that is what he said it was) for another friend of ours. he wants it for his dad that has cancer and has less than 6 months to live. We are hoping to get this done in less than 60 days but niether of us have done anything like this. I have cut and pasted almost 50 pages from this thread to have at our finger tips.. Great write up, thanks again.

[N123DY]

In brand new here. Just bought a second series 55 with a 58 fleetside bed. Any reason this swap won't work for me? Looks like my wheelbase is a little longer but I'm sure there's room to massage things a bit. There's a 118" wheelbase s-10 chassis on CL for $350. Thinking I'm gonna snatch it up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Code504.com]

Edit by Forum Staff

[Ed ke6bnl]

I have gone through much of the write up and it is very detailed, I have the 53 chevy the S10 explorer rear end, and just purchased a cummins 4bt and will use a nv4500 for the the engine and trans choice. Will be putting a lot of your ideas into mine, thanks for the write up done well

[wibas]

Anybody out there used longer upper and lower a-arms instead of spacers on the front end? I would like to use tubular a-arms and not use the wheel spacers. Thanks

[CaliforniaDaddy]

What headers can be used with the S10 chassis swap on a SBC350?
Im looking at these.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/301252473208...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT



http://www.ebay.com/itm/330844813420...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT



http://www.ebay.com/itm/150910783321...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[skymangs]

Sorry folks, I've been extremely busy finishing up this '54, and haven't been online much. I'll answer questions and post pics of the finished 54 when I can get my kids off the laptop!

[skymangs]

Here are the promised pics of the 54. This is a long bed truck on a extended cab S10 chassis.

Lots of bells and whistles! 5.3 LS efi motor (drive by wire), 4L60E, Hooker cast headers, custom interior, 2 tone dash/fully painted interior, new steering column, 21 Circuit EZ wiring harness, Vintage Gen II Compaq AC, 23" Lokar Nostalgia shifter, Redline Gaugeworks VSS converted stock speedo, Custom Autosound stereo and kick panels, Power locks, electric wiper conversion, bear claw latches, Coker wide whites, artillery's, and LED taillights.

[skymangs]

Here's some exterior shots.

My next truck project is Cecil from Oklahoma, but it has it's own thread already.

[chuckmc8]

Thanks for the quality info and write up
on this swap

[skymangs]

Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately. Thank you all for the kind comments. I had never even thought of flipping the springs to move the rear end forward... I'd have to look at it, and see what effect it would have on the pinion angle.

I've never used longer A-frames. Most of my customers are on a pretty tight budget, and items like that tend to add up quickly. I will look into it though.

The '54 LS1 truck just ran for the first time today! I'll get a thread going on it when I have a few hours to spare.

[mr incredible]

Originally Posted by skymangs

Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately. Thank you all for the kind comments. I had never even thought of flipping the springs to move the rear end forward... I'd have to look at it, and see what effect it would have on the pinion angle.

I've never used longer A-frames. Most of my customers are on a pretty tight budget, and items like that tend to add up quickly. I will look into it though.

The '54 LS1 truck just ran for the first time today! I'll get a thread going on it when I have a few hours to spare.

i wanna see this

[skymangs]

Here's a few pics of the '54 in progress. and a link if you'd like to see all the work.

https://www.facebook.com/OSGcustoms

[CaliforniaDaddy]

Oh thats so sweet!!

[skymangs]

here's a link to the run video. fuel injected, electronic throttle, vintage air, artillery's and Coker wide whites... the whole shebang!
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...type=2&theater