My version of the s10 swap

[BlueJeep]

It's been quite some time since I posted an update on my project. I've been busy with other things and home projects. I'll relate it to the build by saying I've been trying to make more room in my garage by building a shed in the back yard. Now I don't have to keep garden tools or other non-truck related things in the garage!

Don't pay attention to the child labor, I cannot seem to get a solid 8 hours out of them no matter what I try!




Finished up just as the snow started to fly. I thought the people on this forum would appreciate the vintage feel of it.

[oldman3]

Looking good...Jim

[Indian113]

You sure have some quality helpers working on your truck with you. Your not only building a old truck but making memories for a lifetime! Keep up the good work.

[oldman3]

Super nice work. These body and doors have to be reworked to get a nice fit...Jim

[BlueJeep]

I did a little more work on the door gaps, then grew tired of it so I switched to something else.

[BlueJeep]

So I pulled off my passenger door and decided to fix some rust on it. Actually, I needed to trim some metal around the upper hinge so I can get it adjusted to where I can work on door gaps some more...but since I had the door off...

I evaluated what needed to be done:


Yep, need to make a patch. So I did.


Checking the fit, it fits pretty good:


I ground the edge and peeled away some rotted metal:


And cut out the bad:


And here's where I ended up tonight. Some more fine tuning, then some POR inside the door, and I can weld it back up. Not too bad of a job, so far I'm about 2 hours into this door:

[oldman3]

Looks like a nice repair....Jim

[BlueJeep]

Saturday I started with painting the inside of the door with POR-15, and then welding my patch in. I still need to pour a little more POR in it, to seal up the freshly welded patch on the back side. It turned out pretty well.





And then I went to work on the bed. I did some shrinking on the bedsides, and then was able to weld the front stake pockets on for good. I also cleaned up the hole for the filler neck and finished up the rest of what was needed prior to spraying epoxy on the bed.





And...

[BlueJeep]

My dad got me started, and I took over from there. 2nd time ever of spraying finish from a gun, first time at home. I did find out that the smell does permeate into the house pretty well on an attached garage. :-) I didn't think it was too bad, but my wife disagreed....





Wet black primer makes me realize how rough these bedsides were/are. If I had it to do over again, no way I'd use these....I'd build new ones from scratch.

[trucktech]

Like the work you've done. I'm starting my project with much the same equipment any advice you can give on putting the 3400 on the S10 chassis would be appreciated. Also feel free to take a look at what I've done so far I'm using your project as my base line.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by trucktech

Like the work you've done. I'm starting my project with much the same equipment any advice you can give on putting the 3400 on the S10 chassis would be appreciated. Also feel free to take a look at what I've done so far I'm using your project as my base line.

Thanks, and I've checked yours out and will continue to watch.

Well, I'm very close to being back at it with my truck. I had to take a break to work on another project, and now that that is wrapped up I have the truck back home!



Today I scored some LS1 exhaust parts off a 99 Camaro. Now I can buy some bends and build my exhaust. I had previously bought a near new OEM muffler off a 2012 Silverado that I'll be using. Yes, I'm looking for quiet. I'm happy to learn these manifolds are steel, so rather than messing around with blockoff plates for the EGR, I'll weld 'em shut.



The Camaro manifolds will allow me to get them in here, where the truck manifolds did not.

[BlueJeep]

Now that it's supposed to cool down, it'll be time to get some things done on the truck again. I've been working on it a little, but not post-worthy. I'm currently working on figuring out the exhaust system and building new inner fenders for it so I can mount all my stuff under the hood.

The stock AD inner fenders just don't leave a guy any room to mount stuff like an ECM, air filter, overflow tank, squirter tank, etc. I'm fixing that. I have started with some 36" trailer fenders, that seems like the appropriate size to accommodate the swing of a 28" tire as it turns.

Old:


Beginnings of the new. I'll roll some sheetmetal and close it in more, but even then it looks like I'll gain 5" per side of room, plus the space in front of and behind the tires.


To ensure everything always clears, I removed the coil spring and jacked up on the control arms:


I can definitely see that if I was bagged the stock s10 track width would be about perfect in the front. I currently have 1" spacers on the front and the tires get into the fender hard when it turns.

Here's the space I'm trying to capitalize on. Plans for these holes include air filter, overflow tank, and access to replace headlight bulbs. I picked up some headlights at Goodguys this year that use a modern style bulb, so I'll cut the back out of the existing buckets and have access through the engine compartment to change the bulbs, like a modern car.


Plenty of room for a filter now:


Should be able to pull lots of cool air from the grille too, instead of hot engine compartment air:

[BlueJeep]

I also have a significant amount of space behind the tire I can use too. Plans for this area include the ECM, a squirter tank, wiring, and hose routing too. Soo much wasted space inside huge AD front fenders.


This is full stuff with a 28" tire, cab 3.5" off the frame, and 2" drop spindles.


And playing a bit with intake ducting. This setup will not work for me, because of the Kwik Performance brackets and high mount Sanden compressor on the passenger side, which will also not fit until I build new inner fenders.




And just for fun, I did drive an old truck a little bit this summer. My grandpa's Model AA:


Next few weeks will probably not yield much progress on the truck. I have a 4 wheeling trip I need to get my Jeep ready for, and I need to set up some gears in a 68 Roadrunner.

[oldman3]

Nice update, can't wait to see some more on how the new inner fenders work out...Jim

[panelrodder81]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Nice update, can't wait to see some more on how the new inner fenders work out...Jim

Me too! Very interested in how that works out. Had some thoughts in this direction too for my stock frame AD panel truck w the same 5.3. The coolant ports dump right into the passenger-side inner fender!

-Panelrodder

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by panelrodder81

Me too! Very interested in how that works out. Had some thoughts in this direction too for my stock frame AD panel truck w the same 5.3. The coolant ports dump right into the passenger-side inner fender!

-Panelrodder

Yes they do, and the thermostat housing points off in that direction too. I'm also looking at building a new core support to accommodate a wider dual-pass radiator, just have to figure out how big I can go and still clear the hood.

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, Looks like a great start. I know what you mean, there is a lot of stuff to some what hide in the engine bay. With the s10 frame it is hard to get the radiator in. My BBC only has a 19x22 griffin radiator and both the other s10 framed ones I did had the same radiator. The s10 framed ones are offset to the passenger side a little bit. But it does fit low and is centered on the fan really well. Keep up the great work and have fun 4 wheeling.

Shannon

[panelrodder81]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Yes they do, and the thermostat housing points off in that direction too. I'm also looking at building a new core support to accommodate a wider dual-pass radiator, just have to figure out how big I can go and still clear the hood.

I'm running a Champion rad off Ebay that is four pass I believe and it fits in the stock core support. Maybe something to consider.

-Panelrodder

[selfbuiltrods]

Man this thing is so nice. You should be extremely stoked about your build. I spent so much time on my chassis, I'm super burnt out on starting on the body. Very nice work sir. Keep it up!

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by xpickup

BlueJeep, Looks like a great start. I know what you mean, there is a lot of stuff to some what hide in the engine bay. With the s10 frame it is hard to get the radiator in. My BBC only has a 19x22 griffin radiator and both the other s10 framed ones I did had the same radiator. The s10 framed ones are offset to the passenger side a little bit. But it does fit low and is centered on the fan really well. Keep up the great work and have fun 4 wheeling.

Shannon

I had a 19x22 in it when I had it together before with the 4.3, and that's the backup plan if I can't get a wider on in. I need to go forward with it several inches for e-fan clearance, so I figured why not also go wider if I can. I have to get the hood back from my dad to see how much wider I can go before I have clearance problems...hood is my biggest issue now.

We will have fun, the boys are getting to an age where they like it more. Thanks!

Originally Posted by panelrodder81

I'm running a Champion rad off Ebay that is four pass I believe and it fits in the stock core support. Maybe something to consider.

-Panelrodder

Thanks. My core support has the bottom chopped off and reworked to clear the s10 steering box, so that probably won't work for me. I can't go taller, but might be able to go wider with my new inner fender design.

Originally Posted by selfbuiltrods

Man this thing is so nice. You should be extremely stoked about your build. I spent so much time on my chassis, I'm super burnt out on starting on the body. Very nice work sir. Keep it up!

Thanks! I started this too long ago, and have had a lot of distractions along the way. Hopefully now I'm in it until it's done!

[panelrodder81]

Thanks. My core support has the bottom chopped off and reworked to clear the s10 steering box, so that probably won't work for me. I can't go taller, but might be able to go wider with my new inner fender design.


Ah, yeah I forgot about the S10 steering box. Sorry.

-Panelrodder

[xpickup]

BlueJeep, nice looking jeep. That looks like it could be a lot of fun. That is good your boys like it and can do it with you. My son loves being out with me while I am working on things. He has his own welding hood and loves to watch me weld. So hopefully he will follow in my foot steps. I know it is hard to wedge a large radiator in a S10 chassis. There is not much room up there. Keep up the great work.


Shannon

[BlueJeep]

OK, back to tinkering on the truck this weekend. Had the Jeep out last weekend again, beautiful weather to be out in the woods right now and very pretty colors.



Layers of sediment, pretty cool:


Scenery from the top of a hill:


Oops, should have went left instead of right...glad I wasn't leading that day. Under that muck there's a 39" tire.

[oldman3]

Very nice job on the exhaust, repair work looks great, nice job...Jim

[skymangs]

Looks great Bluejeep. Always a little bit jealous of the ability to really nail the curves. I wish I was better at it.

Gonna be a REAL nice ride when you're done!