It's my turn, 47 S10 build

[Cautrell05]

Small amount of progress. Have the upper mount bolted in and started cutting out the piece for the lower amount. I don't have a bender that will gracefully bend 3 in by 1/8" So I cheated and cut a notch on one side, been it where I need and I'll just weld a gap shut. Need to trim it down a little bit so it fits better on the frame and then move over to the other side.

[Cautrell05]

I had been looking into options for the wipers for a while. They make kits but I didn't really want to spend that much. Also, I wanted to use the GM wiper switch on the column. All the conversations say they won't work with the GM switch. I took it as a personal challenge.

This is the motor I used.
Wexco 4R Wiper Motor-4R2.12.R110D... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1G1FXI...p_mob_ap_share

It's a semi universal 2 speed self parking motor that looks identical to what all the conversion kits come with. I used a piece of 3/4" tubing welded to some 1/8"x1 inch strap but you could use angle iron also. The rubber grommets are optional, none of the kits I saw came with them but I wanted to try and help keep noise down. I still need to make a small bracket to hold the other end of the motor steady but that's an easy one.

I bought a 1/2" collar from Menards for about $2.50. It measures .505 inside. The splines on the motor are about. 550. Ran a 17/32" drill bit through it and then took a small triangle file and cut splines on the side opposite of the set screw. After that I took a Dremel and a grinding Stone and opened the rest up until it was just big enough to for over the splines of the motor.

I reused the wiper arm of the original vacuum motor. Just ground the end of the shaft where it was staked and then pulled it off. Centered it on the collar and welded it on.

That's really about it too mounting the motor. It can point down and hang between the column brace and cowl vent bracket or point to the left above the column brace. Still clears the defroster ducts and the cowl vent linkage.

Just watch when you make the mount. Try and keep the wiper arm the same distance from the mounting holes as the original motor and the same height when you look from the end. That should help keep the wiper linkage from hitting stuff.

The wiring wasn't that bad to get worked out. The factory GM system uses constant power and switches the ground for high and low speed. The conversion motors are grounded all the time and switch the power between the park circuit, low speed and high. Wiring them backwards isn't a good option. Tends to let the smoke out.
For the two speed GM switch without delay there is three wires going to the motor. Low speed, high speed and park. You need power to one of the three. There might be a fourth wire if it doesn't ground through the case.
What I did was use two 5 pin relays and use the ground signal from the GM switch to control them. One relay switches between low and park. The other relay switches between high and the first relay. Hopefully the diagram makes sense.

[Cautrell05]

Some more pics of the conversion. More to come

[dsraven]

Anybody ever thought about using a wiper set up from industrial equipment that runs on the roadway? They need wipers and are set up really basic, like a rubber tires backhoe. It's what I used on a rail buggy years back. Easy to find, mount and wire. Swap a lever on the end of the shaft instead of the single wiper arm they usually have.

[Cautrell05]

That was some of the applications for the motor I used. It crossed to several John Deere numbers and I think bobcat also.

[99 to Life]

One of the better conversions I'v seen through the years. I did one on my 49' years ago and I'll have to dig up the part number, but the motor was less than $100, although different than yours. For $170 bucks you can get one from classic parts with a switch. (imported) The usa made motor is 230 which is a bit of a jump. The wiper swap cost was always a nail biter for me early on in my building experience. Though well worth the money, its still something most of us guys on here wanted to tackle or see whom else can do it on the cheap. I think with more sourcing on motor and your setup, it can catch on quick. Great job. Here is a pic of mine. I had shannonpanel (ya'll remember him on here!) make me the milled out adapter he designed.

[Cautrell05]

That's a nice looking bracket. I need to get some new arms and actual wiper blades and see how my travel is. The nice part about this motor is that the travel is adjustable internally. I have to pull the motor out of the truck to do it but it's a really easy process on the bench. This one was about $110 with tax.

Like I said earlier, I wanted to use the GM wiper switch so paying for the kit that came with a harness and switch I wasn't going to use didn't appeal to me.

The big thing that I wanted was to have all the factory features of the gm switch work just like original. Wash, mist, low, high and delay. It took some wiring changes to make it happen but I managed to make it work. I just need to get the wiring diagram for the delay wiper switch on something shareable.

[Rusti]

hello
nice work on the truck. your ideas to solve Problems are reallx grate. nice work on the steering system.
so Long
Arnd

[joedoh]

nice tech on the wipers, I wonder if its the same for 98+?

[Cautrell05]

Originally Posted by joedoh

nice tech on the wipers, I wonder if its the same for 98+?

I'd have to look up a wiring diagram. What wiper switch were you thinking?

[joedoh]

I use 98+ s10 on all my swaps. current one is a 2001, I like using the whole shebang, HVAC, distributed electrical system, drivetrain. every part of the buffalo.

[Cautrell05]

Kinda bouncing around a little bit depending on my schedule. Took a little time this past week and got the front bumper mounted. I used 1 1/2x1/4" strap for all four. I don't have a heavy enough vice at home to bend it accurately so I cheated and cut 2/3 of the way through where I wanted the bends, shaped as needed and then added a couple heavy tack welds to hold it for now. I'll finish weld them when it's apart. Right now it's held on with 4 #12 self tapping screws. They worked well to hold it in place for mock-up and my pilot holes are already drilled this way.

I ended up with a white bumper from being cheap. Searching through Amazon and eBay they were all either chrome or black primer. The painted one from LMC was $6 cheaper so I ordered that one. Turns out the painted one from LMC is white. Thank God for spray paint.

[joedoh]

ha, good tip on cutting the strap. I have built rear brackets from 11ga (vice limitation also) but they are mostly aesthetic, 1/4 is a better choice especially on the front. I think the oem brackets are 3/8!

nice work!

[Cautrell05]

Thanks. I was really happy with how well they turned out.

[Cautrell05]

With the radiator support mounts built and the front bumper on it was a good time to pull the front clip for the winter before I have to deal with snow outside. I normally use my engine hoist but it was buried in the back corner of the garage and I didn't feel like digging it out. I picked up a hoist for the tractor a while back that works great for this stuff. Got it put on my thrown together car and it fits well between the camper and the garage. It'll get snowed on but it's out of the wind and away from vehicles. With the front end accessable now the next step is finalizing the steering, then on to the pedals and the transmission linkage.

[Cautrell05]

This week I started reworking the steering shaft. The first version was functional but it sat really close to the manifold and had the bottom of the column kicked out to the point it looked off. The first version used the ranger lower steering shaft adapted to the gm column. Problem is that the slip yoke and the U-joints are kinda fat. To do it right would need 3 joints and a support bearing. Before I spend the money on that I figured I'd try something cheaper. I cut the end off the ranger steering shaft, combined that with a piece of 1 inch 1/8" tubing and a short piece of double D shaft and made an extension for the input shaft of the rack. That combined with a different steering shaft pushed the lower joint out far enough to get decent steering shaft clearance with the column lined up better.

[Cautrell05]

The steering shaft is a bit of a Frankenstein job. The main part of it is actually from a 2007 Mercedes SUV. One of the younger kids at work stripped out the pinch bolt so they put a new one on. There's nothing really special about it other than it was a free, low milage slip shaft. The lower half fit the smaller double D shaft with a little grinding. The other half was nowhere close to fitting the gm column as expected. Originally I was just going to cut the end off weld the other one on but then I started looking at the actual steering U-joints. The more I looked at them the more they looked pretty close in size. Half hour at the vice and I had the Mercedes and GM joints out. Both measure exactly 15mmx37mm. Reused the Mercedes joint because it was newer and it pressed in to the GM yoke just like it was made for it. I would have never guessed that would work. In the future if I ever need to replace the steering shaft I'll just buy two joints and a double D slip shaft but for now I have a total of 0 dollars in the upper shaft. Can't complain there.

[Cautrell05]

I made a little more progress on it this weekend. The upper steering column mounts were just kind of rougged in and held in with c clamps. Got it lined up where I wanted so it was centered between the gauges and up as tight as possible but still have decent clearance for the shifter. Drilled a hole and mounted the left side. The right side bracket wasn't quite as easy. The dash slopes down right there so the bracket wouldn't quite line up. I ended up cutting the ear off and welding it on the inside. May not be quite as easy to get to as the other one, it's still better than 90% of the new cars I work on at my day job. Once I get the bottom of the column mounted where it needs to be, I'm going to go back and extend the upper brackets so they tie into both holes on the side of the steering column. It's probably Overkill but they look out of place being empty and it'd be a little more solid that way.

The other thing I did was throw together some adjustable bump stops out of some leftover pieces I had laying around. I took the springs out way back at the beginning of the project with the intention of everything being built at right height so that I knew it was going to be exactly where I wanted. I had a couple wood blocks that fit in between the lower arm and the frame when I was sitting on the ground they got really annoying every time I jack it up and set it down then fall out and I'd have to reposition them. That and they weren't the exact height I wanted. Out of my pile of saved hardware because I can't throw anything away, I had two 5/8 carriage bolts that I knew I would never use on anything, 2 5/8 flange nuts and a couple flat plates with the square punched in them if you're running a 5/8 carriage bolt. I stacked them up and tack welded them together and then I also welded a 3/8 bolt sticking out the bottom as a peg and slipped it in the arm in place of the bump stop. It won't fall out when I jack it up, and they're also adjustable. There's about a half inch of adjustment at the bolts which is about between 3/4 and an inch of adjustment out at the wheel. for mockup purposes it'll just be more consistent and a little more convenient than the blocks falling out all the time. One of the things i have been meaning to do for about 2 years now.

[99 to Life]

nice job, steering components add up quick.

[Cautrell05]

Thanks. Yeah, they add up really fast. I don't mind doing it cheap as long as I know it will last.

[99 to Life]

It all adds up quick! Its always been a balance on what to make from scratch vs buying. It just seems daunting sometimes during a build, sometimes its easier to just buy stuff and be done with it, other times is fun making stuff from scratch. I just watched a vid on a guy rebuilding a stovebolt, it so reminded me of all the stuff that goes into just building the engine. Anymore I look back on my builds and I'm like how the heck did go through all that!!!

[Cautrell05]

Another view from the bottom showing where the linkage goes right around the clutch pedal.

next on the to-do list is to get the bottom of the column mounted salad to the firewall, and I started laying out pieces for the throttle linkage. Still not a hundred percent sure how I want to do it. I want the original pedal on the inside, and I would prefer a metal linkage versus a cable. Bit by bit it's getting closer.

[99 to Life]

very ingenuitive!

[Tempest67]

yes, very creative, good job

[joedoh]

looking great!

on the one truck that I used a normal round column on, I cut off the weird firewall closeout that was at the bottom of the column and used a regular old round column clamp and seal.