AD S10 swap info

[BlueJeep]

I have a 49 Chevy 3800 that is going to soon reside on an S10 frame. I'm almost done stripping my S10 and I wanted to share what I'm finding for those of you who may be considering this swap.

My S10 is a 95 extended cab with a 4.3 and 4L60, and I got it for free. Since my AD truck is a 3800 with a 9 foot bed, I figured to set it apart from the rest of the 3100 guys, I'd shorten the box to fit the extended cab S10's wheelbase and end up with a bed that's longer than a short box, and shorter than a long box. Shortening the frame isn't a problem for me since I'm a fab guy, but I did want it to be a little different.

I now believe that the newer body style trucks aren't good ones to use for the swap. First off, my frame is boxed back to the rear spring hangars, so shortening it to long-box specs isn't as easy (if that's what I wanted to do). Second, the brake pedal isn't removeable as an assembly, as it is on the older ones so bolting it into the AD isn't do-able. Third, the steering column is big and rectangular looking, and wouldn't fit the old truck very well. Fourth, 4 wheel ABS adds a lot of complexity to both the wiring and the plumbing. Fifth, the driveshaft has CV joints on the front and rear of it, so the rear axle has a flange vs. the yoke that's on my 4wd rear axle (I'm an axle guy too so this isn't a problem for me, but it could be for some folks).

So, since it was free I'm moving forward with it. I plan to use the S10 wiring harness as well since this truck had no options (no A/C, PW, PL, Cruise, etc.) so the harness isn't as complicated as it could have been. I have a buddy who's parting out a 90 S10 so fortunately I should be able to get the parts I need from him...but it would have been nice to use everything off the same truck.

This is mainly an FYI for guys looking to do a similar swap. My advice would be to seek an older S10 to use as the donor, so you could use more parts from it.