51 Chevy 1/2 ton, My S10 swap

[99 to Life]

yeah great saying. it will all come together for you. You'll figure it out, you'll end up cutting some off the rear of the frame and the front. Other than that just get the cab on, set your height, put the front fenders on put the bed on and get the wheels lined up, then fab your cab mounts and mount the cab, then get the engine and trans in there and you'll have to relocate engine location and probably have to make or modify a new trans xmeber. all in all s10 swap is not hard and I have two other frames lined up (not to rub it in) but it is just very logical to go that route, just like a sbc, just simple and effective.

[Atommik]

In my head, I've mounted the cab and fenders about a thousand times!! My cab mounts are ready and I've been looking at many threads on here about sbc/s10 motor mounts. I'm as prepared as I can be...I know some unexpected things will come up, but that's the way it goes. I'll just step back, figure it out and make it work!!

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by Atommik

I'm as prepared as I can be...I know some unexpected things will come up, but that's the way it goes. I'll just step back, figure it out and make it work!!

With that in mine, you should have no problems, go get it....Jim

[Atommik]

As you can probably tell, I'm a little excited to move on to the next phase of my build!!

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by Atommik

As you can probably tell, I'm a little excited to move on to the next phase of my build!!

that's a good feeling.

[oldman3]

Sounds like a plan....Jim

[99 to Life]

looks great man, gotta love the organization. Love the pic with the cab and engine and parts in the BG.

[focusedontheprize]

Always amazes me when I dedicate a few hours to cleaning and re-organizing the garage. At the time, I am thinking it is a waste of time and I could be working on the truck. Then when I finish I always think "Damn this was a good idea". Nice setup.

[Atommik]

I got my s10 frame today!! Included in the deal: Rolling chassis with 4 tires that actually hold air, Gas tank (20 gal), brake booster and master cylinder, steering gear and ps pump, 2 piece drive shaft. It definately needs a major clean up and paint. I think I got a good deal at $200, and a pair of 2008 Jeep Liberty headlights! Pics tomorrow.

[xpickup]

Atommik, great score on the frame and extras.

Shannon

[Atommik]

Here's a couple of pics of the frame and I also got the cab mounts painted.

[Atommik]

I started the prep work on the s15 frame today...Removed all of the box and cab mounts, degreased and pressure washed. Then I cut off the front of the frame rails and capped them. It's starting to look like something!

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Atommik

I got my s10 frame today!! Included in the deal: Rolling chassis with 4 tires that actually hold air, Gas tank (20 gal), brake booster and master cylinder, steering gear and ps pump, 2 piece drive shaft. It definately needs a major clean up and paint. I think I got a good deal at $200, and a pair of 2008 Jeep Liberty headlights! Pics tomorrow.

Looking good! You should try to get the pedals out of that s10 too, see my build thread for how well they work.

[Atommik]

I spent a few hours Saturday putting POR 15 on the frame. I would have liked to disassempble everything, then have it blasted and then repaint it and reassemble it, but time and money are in very short supply. The frame is at my work and there is no way I could leave it there for as long as it would take to do it like I'd really like. Also, this will be my daily driver for 6 months of the year, so having the frame repainted and beautiful is not high on my priorities for my build. The frame is solid, and the suspension components look to be in very good shape. The front brake parts look like new and all the grease fittings were, well, very greasy when I cleaned it all up. So it looks to me the original GMC s15 appears to have been maintained fairly well.

I'm hoping to mount the cab this coming Saturday!

[99 to Life]

congrats on the frame. Looks good man. Now the fun really begins. Can't wait to see some progress.

[Root2812]

Lookin good... Were all the parts you needed in that door I gave you?

[Atommik]

Hey Greg, yes and thanks again. I think I may use the whole regulator instaed of trying to swap the spring!

[pinecrest]

Git Summmmmm!!! That's right, baby!.... git it git it git it!


(hope everything goes AWESOME, and I can't wait to see pics!)

[oldman3]

Will be waiting for an update....Jim

[oldman3]

Will be waiting for an update....Jim

[msaintg]

I have a newbe question for you. I am far from the paint stage, but I was thinking about painting just the firewall so that I can put the cab back on and not have to removed it again. I see that you did a real nice job masking off the places where you did not want to paint yet. I was wondering why? If I paint the firewall and get overspray on the cowl area, what does that hurt? what am I missing? thanks

[Atommik]

msaintg, Thats the same reason I painted my fire wall first. I want to mount the cab ONCE. After I get all the front sheet metal fit up, I will install the motor and trans then paint the rest of the cab, doors fenders etc. I still need to build the box. As far as why I masked off the cab like I did, I did all the body work and primed and blocked the entire cab at once. I didn't want to sand off paint overspray on the other areas that I had already primed and sanded. So now when I paint the rest, I will mask off the areas that I've already painted. After I painted the firewall, I brought the cab back to my garage to store until I got the frame, and got it ready. I was afraid if the cab was completely painted while it was sitting in my garage, it would get scratched up. And when I loaded it up to take back to work last night, I did see a couple of areas I will have to re-prime because of some small gouges...I hope this long winded answer, answers your questions!!

[fredscarryall]

nice fab work on the brackets for the cab. your build is awesome.dig the orange.what size square tubing did you use for the cab mounts and what do they measure.

[Atommik]

fredscarryall,
Thanks for the kind comments!! On the cab mounts I used 4" X 4" X 3/16" tubing. It worked well in the rear but in the front I needed to trim off about 1/2 inch in width from each bracket to clear the rockers while mounting. So, over all it worked out well. I used the basic design of "jeffs 51 chevy" whose post had dimensions for making the mounts. My mounts ended up holding the mounting point about 4 1/4 inches off the frame in the rear (including about a 1/2 inch rubber spacer) and about 4 1/2 inches in the front. The back of the cab clears the s10 gas tank by about 3/8 inch.

[Atommik]

I went in to the shop at 6am today and got busy!! Worked till about noon. Then back home for some family time! Hoping to go in again Sunday and Monday mornings!! I got the cab mounted, (haven't welded anything yet, got to fit everything up first!) Bolted on the fenders, trimmed the inner fenders to fit. Overall, a very productive morning!!