1947 S10 4x4 Blazer swap

[msaintg]

Thanks guys.

Week 45 - I decided to do a little more body work on the rear fender. It needs more work, but I put it back on temporarily to see how the wheels look with the 2" spacers on them. They look a lot better, but I still wish I could have gotten them pushed out another inch. Oh well. I also started in on the tailgate again. I still need to install some hidden latches and then finish the body work.

[Daze57]

looks really good !

[bjcaldwe]

Nice work.

[87Jimmy4JP]

I think that looks a LOT better....


JP

[gregw98]

I can't get over how nice that bed floor looks. I regret now, throwing my S10 bed to the scrapper. I could have just cut the walls off. Learning as I go.

[msaintg]

thanks for compliments guys. Good to know my mistakes don't show up in the pics.

thanks Greg, ya I am glad I went with the S10 bed. A wood bed would be waaaay prettier, but I just could not afford to go that route... and I could always make a wood floor to set on top of the S10 floor. My philosophy is this... If I have to replace a damaged or worn out part... why replace it with the same stock piece, when a custom part would be cooler or more useful and maybe even cheaper. Wow, "learning as I go", what an understatement. If I had it to do over again, I would have held out of a 2X4 S10 pickup, longbed. Seams the only advantage of the 4x4 is the adjustability of the torsion suspension in the front for ride height. Not much of an advantage compared to all of the disadvantages of the 4X4 drivetrain. I don't regret going with the S10 drivetrain though, with all of the modern comforts, over reworking every part of that worn out '47. Using all pieces from one donor vehicle was a pain up front, but I think it will help me greatly with compatability issues in the home stretch.

[msaintg]

I didn't have working hood hinges (so I did not set the hood on) when I set up the cab and front fenders. Well, now I have a problem.... It appears I set the fenders up a little high in the front, so now the hood sticks out half an inch over the grill. Rather than try to reposition the cab at this point, I trimmed half an inch off of the hood. But it still won't fit unless I move the hinge back another half inch (and the hinges are pushed back as far as they will go allready). So now I am thinking I need to redrill the holes in the hinges where they mount to the hood. AND I have a large gap between the hood and the fenders.

Whats that about "learn as I go?"

[jed971959]

on my truck the hood was sticking out at the grill and fenders by about 1/2" and had a gap at the hood and cowling,fenders.
try jacking the front of the cab up this closed the gap on the sides and moved the hood back to line the fenders and hood up at the front
merry christmas and happy new years
jim

[87Jimmy4JP]

Originally Posted by jed971959

on my truck the hood was sticking out at the grill and fenders by about 1/2" and had a gap at the hood and cowling,fenders.
try jacking the front of the cab up this closed the gap on the sides and moved the hood back to line the fenders and hood up at the front
merry christmas and happy new years
jim

its gonna sound weird...but as a model maker working in 1/16, 1/24, 1/32, ect...I actually come across this all the time...if the cab a little low on the front mounts, it is possible for the alignment issues to be in the "vertical plane"...Is the cab plumb when the frame is level, in other words?

I would be concerned with cutting the hood and having alignment issues along the bottom edge of the hood where the curvature matches the top of the fender.

Maybe a cardboard template first?

Is moving the cab back a little, more work than reshaping that hood?....

If the hood has a slight rake where the nose is a little lower, then I think the mod will look okay...but if the nose is a little high, and the cab is not quite plumb.....I think it may look a little less than ideal.

Are the fenders level?

You're doing an amazing job on this truck!


sorry for my long winded 2 cents!

JP

[msaintg]

I think it would be a lot more work at this point to, A - lower the front of the fenders, B - raise the front of the cab, or C - trying to shift everything around. So, that is why I decided to trim the hood. Everything sits good now (when the hinges are not attached), I just have to figure out how to modify the hinges. I have a new set of hinges coming in the mail on Friday, if I screw these up.

[87Jimmy4JP]

let us know how you make out....

I know what you mean about finding the best overall solution....

JP

[jed971959]

truck is looking good
I have not tryed this but did some reading on the ext oil filter
the adaper that the ext oil filter screws on to can be unscrewed
and just screw it into the engine block so the filter goes on the engine
without buying anything
just thought I would share this with you
I read blazer have problems with the oil lines leaking
I've had 4 blazers and no problems with oil leaks but just in case
maybe try this when I move my engine back
jim

[msaintg]

week 46 - I have been lazy this week... only did a little work on the tailgate to close in the ends. I also spent waaaaay to much time trying to get a title for my project truck. The 47 did not have a title or VIN plate, so a bonded title would be necessary IF it was still stock. The Blazer only had a 'non-repairable' title (AZ MVD translation.... "you can't use ANY parts from this vehicle to build your 1947") What? Holy crap! You mean, "I have to replace the frame that I spent so much time on?" Plan B, buy a cab with a title. I found a 1960 cab. Not as old as I would have liked, but who really cares what is on the title as long as I can register it without having to emission it.

[Root2812]

Originally Posted by msaintg

week 46 - I have been lazy this week... only did a little work on the tailgate to close in the ends. I also spent waaaaay to much time trying to get a title for my project truck. The 47 did not have a title or VIN plate, so a bonded title would be necessary IF it was still stock. The Blazer only had a 'non-repairable' title (AZ MVD translation.... "you can't use ANY parts from this vehicle to build your 1947") What? Holy crap! You mean, "I have to replace the frame that I spent so much time on?" Plan B, buy a cab with a title. I found a 1960 cab. Not as old as I would have liked, but who really cares what is on the title as long as I can register it without having to emission it.

I'd be careful with that. If you ever get pulled over and have a title and registration that says 1960 and your truck is clearly not a 1960 you could get your truck confiscated or atleast impounded. It is illegal to switch a vin/id tag from one cab to another. You can get away with it if they are like years because no one can tell. ie and AD tag to another AD cab. You may want to keep looking. Atleast thats how it is here in Minnesota and most other places I am familiar with. I know this because my father and I asked a state trooper with the vehicle inspection team (custom cars and repairables get inspected) about it since my dad is building a custom wrecker for his buisness.

Good luck and good work.

[msaintg]

I know exactly what you mean, but I am screwed either way if I get stopped and they start checking.... I was sold the Blazer as repairable or for parts use. The DMV guy said 'No', I can't use any parts off of the Blazer because of how the insurance company closed out the title. Since 90% of the truck is actually a 1996 Blazer, I could never get it through inspection. That is the only reason I went this route... it is really my only choice. I found a guy on CL selling a 1949 cab for $700 (with title), but when I got there, he decided he didn't want to sell it.... but suddently had just a title and VIN plate for 'another' cab that he wanted $500 for. What an A$$ hat! Needless to say, I left empty handed. That guy is still posting that same cab on CL too. I flag him every chance I get. It sucks when you are trying to do the right thing and the 'system' screws you for it. I am not worried about getting pulled over and inspected anyway. This is only a weekend cruisor I am building.

[daverod]

That sucks. People get all excited about building a truck and they forget about the most important thing. Hope it works out. I've heared stories of people losing there projects because they used a hot s10 frame.

[gregw98]

Give Broadway titles a look-see. http://www.broadwaytitle.com/
Check with this guy. http://cosprings.craigslist.org/pts/3449871862.html

[msaintg]

week 48 - Sorry guys, nothing much to report. Since I work nights, I have not been able to work on the project truck because it has been too cold to paint anything. All I have managed to get done is get the hidden latches installed on the tailgate. I picked up some insulation for the cab and finally got a title. Oh well, maybe next week. mike

[rgunlock]

Getting the title has to be a big relief. What was your solution for this?

[msaintg]

week 49 - Wow, way back in week 45 I spray painted some red primer on a fender and the tailgate. I have been trying to finish the sanding on these two pieces ever since. I thought it was the cold, but now I think I might have just got some bad primer..... it NEVER dried. I can't believe how much sand paper and time I have wasted trying to finish these parts. I ended up stripping all of the red primer off this week and redoing it with a gray primer. I didn't get all of the red primer off at first, so the gray primer cracked when it was over the red primer. Here are a few pics of the cracks. Go figure, huh. Well, hopefully I will have these two parts painted by the end of this week. Mike

[msaintg]

Week 49 - I worked through the primer problems and got paint on the tailgate and drivers side fender. Next I have to get the gas filler tube attached.

[87Jimmy4JP]

nice work on the tailgate and fender...look great...

good luck with that title thing, too!

JP

[msaintg]

Thanks, I was hoping to have the body work done before I hit my one year anniversary, but it doesn't look like I will. Hopefully I will be able to get the running boards and last fender done by next week. I have been putting off the doors till last because they need a lot of work and I am afraid they are not going to fit correctly and I can't decide what kind of latches and door handles I want to use with them.
Mike

[87Jimmy4JP]

Originally Posted by msaintg

Thanks, I was hoping to have the body work done before I hit my one year anniversary, but it doesn't look like I will. Hopefully I will be able to get the running boards and last fender done by next week. I have been putting off the doors till last because they need a lot of work and I am afraid they are not going to fit correctly and I can't decide what kind of latches and door handles I want to use with them.
Mike

I understand about the timeline thing...anniversaries are important, ect....though these things take on a life of their own and you have put details elsewhere that I bet you didnt quite plan for at the beginning.

I just took a look at the whole post and realize how neat this project is...didnt think that a 50's truck could so successfully be put on a blazer frame like this.

cool

JP

[msaintg]

wow, what a weird January we are having here in AZ... record cold, record heat, and now record rain! WTF?