S10 Frame Swap w/ AD and LS motor

[tlorber]

Well lads,
today was a pretty momentous day.
I had the truck flatbedded to the alignment shop,



And then I drove it back to my shop.


The engine has tons of torque, and it felt great to drive. I still have a lot of adjustments and work to do as you can see in the pictures. The throttle pedal (drive by wire) sits a bit high for me so I want to cut, bend and reweld it, and there are a lot of rattles in the doors but it was nice, after almost 4 years, to get the truck back on the road.

[OutlawDrifter]

Congrats!

[joedoh]

wooooooooooooooooo!

[99 to Life]

that's awesome, congrats.

[robertsjm711]

Nice build!

[oldman3]

Late to the party, but congrats, first drive, NO MATTER HOW BAD, is always the best...Jim

[tlorber]

In case any of you are interested, I got my truck on a scale and it clocked in at 3,420 lbs. I still have a few parts to put on, but in aggregate they should be pretty close to my body weight (I was in the truck at the time I weighed it).

[tlorber]

Not a ton to report here. I got my hood back on, and it closes well. I do still need to fiddle with panel gaps though.



I also got some 3/4" spacers on the rear axle to stop the tires from scrubbing on the bed side. I haven't put a lot of miles on it, but it is a blast to drive.

[99 to Life]

looking good. keep knocking things out man.

[tlorber]

Got my rear fenders welded up and back on the truck.






Its actually looking like a truck again.

[99 to Life]

nice looks good. First ever parts I bought (was building a truck from scratch) were GMC parts and red, your truck so reminds me of them. Still have the parts, but not enough to build a whole truck with.

[Nut Case]

tlorber

Strong work!!!

Keep on keepin on

NC

[tlorber]

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
I got my tailgate wood mounted and the steel frame tacked together. This uses seat belt buckles to hold it closed.

I still plan on routing the edges of the wood for some visual reveal, and then staining and clear coating the wood.





It is nice to have the box closed so that I no longer have to worry about things sliding out the back when I take off.

[99 to Life]

cool gate

[tlorber]

I have a little more progress to report on the tailgate and the interior. Here are some shots.









I have around 300 miles on it. Still shaking out some kinks, but it has been fun to drive.

[joedoh]

nice work on the tailgate!

[99 to Life]

looking good

[tlorber]

I got my driver's side seat belt installed. In addition to being a bit safer, it keeps me planted in the seat better, so I can now throw the truck around turns without having to white knuckle the steering wheel.



I also bought some Belltech lowering coils for the front. These dropped the front by about 2.5".

[tlorber]

Its been a while since I've posted but I've gotten a bunch of small things done. Also, last night I got back from a trip up to San Francisco. I put about 980 miles on the truck and it ran great. I had to deal with 104* heat in the Central Valley while going over the Grapevine, but no overheating (except for me since I don't have air conditioning). It was a great trip. Oh, and if you look closely, you'll notice that the bridge really needs a repaint.

[99 to Life]

thats awesome, congrats.

[oldman3]

Driving is the best part...Jim

[joedoh]

quite the shakedown cruise!

[tlorber]

Thanks for the comments. "Shakedown" is definitely the word for it. Pretty smooth on most of the highway, but this truck lets you know when you are on a bumpy road. I've still got some work to do to get rid of rattles, and metal on metal thumps. Mechanically though it was a stellar ride.

[1952ssr]

Originally Posted by tlorber

Thanks for the comments. "Shakedown" is definitely the word for it. Pretty smooth on most of the highway, but this truck lets you know when you are on a bumpy road. I've still got some work to do to get rid of rattles, and metal on metal thumps. Mechanically though it was a stellar ride.

That's one of my favorite things mine looks and sounds like it's about to fall part. Sure does get the heads a turning, like going through Gatlingburg on our way to the Rod Run in April made me laugh out loud.

[Wyattdog2]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

subscribing, cool truck. yup I make my running board brackets bolt on for that very reason. You asked about the headers being close to the plug wires? I'd say put some heat boots on them. the v8 s10 headers for ex are terrible for clearances, so I run boots on the wires, mainly on pass side.

can I ask what you used for a radiator?