My version of the s10 swap

[BlueJeep]

Back to work on the truck. Not too much progress to report yet, but I'm hoping to. Pressed out the old bushings and ball joints from the control arms and bead blasted the lowers. Ordered MOOG bushings from Rockauto cheaper than the local parts store wanted for their house brand. Once those show up I'll paint the control arms and they'll be ready to go back on the frame. Trying to decide if I should put the stock coil springs back in or go dropped springs. Anyone know if 2" drop s10 coils will kill my nice ride?

[BlueJeep]

A little bit more done on the bed. Welded up the front stake pockets from where I'd shortened the bed, I'll cut them back out in the new location in a little while. More practice with the TIG, and cutting 16ga is really slick with the Beverly shear.



I've also filled in the rear corners where the original sill went across. I'll have to get a new sill made, but want to get a little closer and have a better idea of what I want before I do that. Also spent some time DA-ing the bedsides, so I can get out the shrink disc next and figure out how to use it to smooth them out a bit.

[BlueJeep]

It's been a very good weekend so far. It started off with a delivery:



First order of business was to figure out how to get it out of the truck. Dad forked it in there on a pallet with a Bobcat, since I don't have one of those I had to use my cherry picker. Not wanting to hurt anything, I decided that I needed to make some brackets to lift with. I was able to find some scrap 3/8 plate in my steel rack and started drilling. Dad said I took significantly longer to get the engine out of the truck than it took to get it in there, go figure. :-)



But we got 'er out!



I really like wiring, so I'm looking forward to modifying the harness to work.

[BlueJeep]

And since I decided it couldn't go in dirty, it was time to do something about it. Here's 3 generations of my family, toothbrushes in hand scrubbing away. And my wife thought I was joking when I said why we needed new toothbrushes!





And at the end of the day, it's looking good in primer:



Even better than that is how it looks in paint:





Once I get the garage cleaned out from today's activities, I need to start cleaning and painting the accessories and putting it back together. Once I get it in the frame I'll see what I need for an oil pan and swap that out. Fun stuff!

[oldman3]

Everything looking good, those two young helpers look like that can get the job done...Jim

[Indian113]

BlueJeep, I don't know what your going to do for exhaust but I tried to put Camaro manifolds on my S10 and they didn't fit. I had to but a set of headers from Patriot-they really fit nice on my truck. Your helpers make me smile,I wish I had some help somedays.

Lookin good I like watching your build.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Indian113

BlueJeep, I don't know what your going to do for exhaust but I tried to put Camaro manifolds on my S10 and they didn't fit. I had to but a set of headers from Patriot-they really fit nice on my truck. Your helpers make me smile,I wish I had some help somedays.

Lookin good I like watching your build.

Thanks! The boys were super excited to see it this morning because it got painted last night after bed time. One told me I painted it the wrong color, he wanted it green like the truck will be.

I was hoping to use Camaro manifolds. Did you have them in an s10-bodied truck and where was the interference? My motor will be slid back 7" or so from where it would have sat in an s10 bodied truck, with the way the frame splays out and down it should help with clearance, but I'm not far enough yet to know. I'll keep those headers in mind. I bought a set of F-body manifolds off craigslist a couple years ago but for the life of me I can't figure out what I did with them....

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Everything looking good, those two young helpers look like that can get the job done...Jim

Thanks! Yes, they're getting to the age where they know where to find my tools. I saw a light last week after dark in the back yard next to the hole they've been digging. Upon further investigation it was my cordless trouble light....

[Indian113]

Yes I'm putting a 5.3 in my S10,the manifolds wouldn't clear my Aarm on passenger side and looked like the steering shaft was going to be awfull. If you can't find yours let me know I'll loan you mine to mockup. I had firewall interfence but I'm sur that won't be a problem for you,the frame need to be notched also .

I also heard the trailblazer manifolds would be a better fit but I don't have any experience in them.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, It is great seeing that you get the little helpers in the garage too. And is great seeing the 3 generations also. I will find out where my buddy got the headers on the truck that I am working on. If I remember right they were for a S10 with a LS motor or that type. I will let you know. If you need pictures or measurements let me know. Keep up the great work.

Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by xpickup

BlueJeep, It is great seeing that you get the little helpers in the garage too. And is great seeing the 3 generations also. I will find out where my buddy got the headers on the truck that I am working on. If I remember right they were for a S10 with a LS motor or that type. I will let you know. If you need pictures or measurements let me know. Keep up the great work.

Shannon

Could you get me some pictures of the motor mounts and then the oil pan from the side? Interested in how high the motor is mounted and what he used for an oil pan, since the truck pan hangs so low. Thanks!

[Indian113]

Here's how mine sits right now,I can take better pictures tommorrow. My Truck oil pan hangs down about 1.5 inchs below crossmember. I don't know if it's going to be a problem yet as I have dropped spindles.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, My buddy bought the stuff from S10V8.com. He bought the headers, motor mounts and the oil pan from them. I could not get a good side picture of the pan but I can this weekend. As you can see from the front it does not set lower than the front cross member. He made his own frame pieces that the mounts set on. The headers have great clearance and should be not problem hooking up the steering. Hope the pictures help and if you need any others let me know.

Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Thanks for the pics! Yes, if you could get a side picture of the pan that would be great!

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, I will tomorrow. I will take a wheel off to get some pictures.

Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Today I spent some more time cleaning and painting parts for the motor. The goal is not super fancy, but clean and respectable. I've given my dad lots of crap over the past 5 years about all the money he spent on billet this and that on the motor of his Chevelle, so this is my chance to show him my way.

Before:


And after... really all I did was de-grease it, then hit the casting seams with a file really quick to knock off the sharp edges, and then clean it up in the blast cabinet. Now it's painted like the rest of the motor.


So since I needed something to do in between coats of primer and paint, I continued work on my control arms. The sway bar holes had seen a lack of maintenance, so I TIG'ed them up and drilled them back out.




I also pressed in my ball joints and bushings. I filled the void around the lower ball joints with silicone to prevent dirt from filling them up. This is something I've done on my builds for years, and keeps it from ever looking like it did when I took it apart!



And the end of the night with my helper. He was telling me to "move this" and "move that" so he could get in and sweep, so of course I did what he wanted! His brother decided he'd rather watch TV tonight.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, looking good. Isn't it great having the little ones help. I will get your picture tonight. Things have been crazy the past couple days.

Shannon

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, Sorry for the delay. Here are some pictures. The motor and tranny are both even with the frame and front cross member. So when aired out neither are close to the ground. If you need any more let me know.

Shannon

[BlueJeep]

Thanks Shannon, looks about like what I need!

Indian, is this the same pan you're using in your s10?

[Indian113]

No,I'm using the stock pan from GM. It hangs down about 1 1/2 inchs below crossmember. I won't know untill I get my sheetmetal back on to see with my dropped spindles if I'm in trouble. If it is too low I'll buy the H3 pan as it's shorter. I already notched my crossmember for the original so I know I'll have clearence.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Indian113

No,I'm using the stock pan from GM. It hangs down about 1 1/2 inchs below crossmember. I won't know untill I get my sheetmetal back on to see with my dropped spindles if I'm in trouble. If it is too low I'll buy the H3 pan as it's shorter. I already notched my crossmember for the original so I know I'll have clearence.

I just did the same research! Looks like the H3 pan (AKA GM Muscle Car swap pan) is the one to go with, part 19212593.

I'm thinking you'll be fine on clearance. Here's a picture of the 49 on the s10 frame with stock springs, 2" drop spindles, stock s10 wheels and 235/75R15 tires on it. Plenty of clearance.



FYI I just also looked up the s10v8.com pan that Shannon posted pictures of, and that's the H3 pan that comes with their kit so now we know what that looks like in an s10 frame as well.

[Indian113]

BlueJeep,I found a place that has the H3 oil pan kit on sale right now for $141.15 + shipping. I can't wait to see if my truck is going to clear the truck pan. There is a set of Stainless Steel Ls1 Headers o E-bay for $199.00 at the moment too.

[BlueJeep]

Not much progress to report this weekend. Ordered the H3 oil pan, some misc. gaskets, a tranny filter, and some relays and other wiring stuff. Picked up a spare wiring harness and ECM tonight off craigslist, this is the one I'll start playing with and cutting up.

Also got the remaining bushings pressed into my lower control arms and started to paint them chassis black. Painted and re-installed the water pump. Cleaned the intake with my toothbrush, the plastic cleans up very nicely as compared to the aluminum parts.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Indian113

BlueJeep,I found a place that has the H3 oil pan kit on sale right now for $141.15 + shipping. I can't wait to see if my truck is going to clear the truck pan. There is a set of Stainless Steel Ls1 Headers o E-bay for $199.00 at the moment too.

I found that too, but by the time you add the shipping it's the same price as JEGS so I ordered it there. It will ship out tomorrow!

[72-c20]

some nice pics of BlueJeeps tube work too... (on my rig)