Here's my GMC/S10 build

[sgtusmc]

Hello all. I bought this 53 GMC about 6 months ago. It's a father & son project. My boy is seven and it's his build. I'm just doing most of the wrenching. His plans are for a old looking US Marine Corps gun truck (I'm a retired Marine). We did the s10 swap, for now we're gonna stay with the s10 v6 till he out grows it.

[sgtusmc]

We even got the wife into the build.

[memo43]

Question for you,
First Thank you for your service to our Corp. An Did you retire out of Pendleton.
second
What did you use for sound insulation/ or insulation.
Also your heater you got from an S10?
hopefully mine will be done for ever....
thanks
memo

[sgtusmc]

I got to spend some time in the garage with my son this weekend. He's been wanting a "loud system" in his truck since day one. We built a box and started on the center console. I let him silicone the box. He had more silicone on his clothes and hair, than he had on the box.
I wanted something that I could use as a center seat and storage. We plan on hiding the 10" speaker with the back/top area of the center console. I'd like to build a folding arm rest that will display the speaker when down. So far we have one 10" Alpine Type-R sub. Two sets of 6.5 Alpine type-R's components and 1 Alpine 6x9 for the dash. I have 2 Alpine mono blocks I need to find homes for. I'm thinking of mounting them under the seats. Some how I'd like to incorporate the designs of the doors into the console.

[0331grunt]

Like the console! Looks great! You sure do have a lucky boy!

[Daniel U]

Very cool! I'm always a fan of "Family" projects. My 4 year old "helped" me put on some chrome this last week. Will this be a driver for you until he's old enough? I really like that green primer!

[pugs]

sweet looking ride, been thinking about going with the s-10 chassis for my 57

[sgtusmc]

Yeah I'll put some miles on it till he gets his licence. We wanted that old truck look without having real rust to worry about. So a nice paint job was out of the question. What we did was, I Por15'd the cab and bed (top and bottom in and out)then we went down to the local home cheapo and bought some satin rustolium dark olive paint in a can. Rolled in on. Sanded down the orange peel, sprayed areas with red and brown oxide primer. Then sprayed over the primer with dark olive. Sanded it alittle to get that worn look.

[Kim57]

Very cool build.
Kim

[casey1]

looks nice how far off of the frame is it did you use a kit

[nickp51chevy]

Originally Posted by sgtusmc

Yeah I'll put some miles on it till he gets his licence. We wanted that old truck look without having real rust to worry about. So a nice paint job was out of the question. What we did was, I Por15'd the cab and bed (top and bottom in and out)then we went down to the local home cheapo and bought some satin rustolium dark olive paint in a can. Rolled in on. Sanded down the orange peel, sprayed areas with red and brown oxide primer. Then sprayed over the primer with dark olive. Sanded it alittle to get that worn look.

So did your paint turn out ok being rolled on? I went out and got a couple of spray guns but, after reading another thread I'm apprehensive about spraying in my garage. And rustolium, that's a good idea. I think that I'm gonna do that also (hope you don't mind). Your truck turned out real good. Bravo Zulu.

[sgtusmc]

Yeah it did. I thin'd it with some odorless mineral spirits. Then used high dense mini rollers. I was shocked on how smooth the outcome was. I did have to sand it down to get more of a flat worn look. Do a search for "$50 paint job". There are guy's doing very nice smooth paint jobs via the roller. Good thing about it is touch up paint is available any where they sell rustolium. You can also get it in a spray can and spray the hard to reach areas. It's not for everyone, But it was outstanding for my application. And, it's very durable.

[Lrall]

did you make your own mounts or buy a kit? Any suspension mods? sweet ride

[drummin89]

WELCOME

very cool, looks like it coming along really nice

I like those seats, any idea what they came out of?

Oh and got more pics!!! We love pics

[sgtusmc]

I made my own kit (for the bed anyways) for the cab I followed mongos instructions. I cut the S10 mounts, switched them and welded them to the frame. I used the stock GMC rear shackle mounts. The cab sits 3 1/2 inches off the frame. I had to build a tranny hump so it would clear. The only suspension mods are 2" blocks in the rear. The reason for that is, I have a Fulton visor for the truck and it sits pretty low. So I'd like the rear to sit just a little lower than the front. The seats are are out of a 2003 Honda Accord coupe both seats are heated and the driver is powered. I also have the rear Accord seats, so I'm gonna cut them up some and make a center seat. I'll get some more pics up today, once I clean up the garage and finish up the chores the wife has set for me.

As for the seats I've seen them (both front and rears in leather, black, grey and tan) go for as little as $150 on ebay. However, the front mounts are set at an angle. So they have to bent flat. The rear monts are flat.

[sgtusmc]

I just finished cutting up the rear seats out of the Accord to make a center seat. It's not bolted down yet. I'm just test fitting them. Here's what I started with.

[YOLO]

nice truck. looks like you will have fun with it. at least you can drive it and he can tell his friends that its "his" truck. when you register it at car shows, put his name on it. it is cool when the young guns pick up the trophy and they have a huge smile on their face.

[Demmit_Hemmit's 65]

Great looking father a son project......................Looks like you have made a lot of progress .........................Great picts too.................I like what you did with the seats.........................Good luck and post more pictures as you progress............Hemmit

[sgtusmc]

I got my gauges today. I thought I'd take some pics of what I'm doing. I found the info on a forum I don't recall who had posted the pics but it worked for me. I owe him a beer if he's a member here or he ever reads this post. Anyways, I pulled out the gauges from the pod and drilled it out. I installed new chrome bezels.

[sgtusmc]

I didn't like the stock light set-up so I went with 53 Buick rings.




I also installed a Fulton visor. I still have to tighten it all up and adjust the center support. I'm not a huge fan of the visor, however, since it's my son's truck he either wanted a visor or those huge Honda race car spoilers on the rear. Well the spoiler is out of the question. So now he's got a visor. Thanks for looking.

[Kim57]

I like the head lights.
Kim

[Swifty]

looks like a good father/son project. I'm curious to see how the Buick headlight rings turn out. I'm curious where you got the mongos instructions for the S10 cab mounts. Do you mind posting them up or a link for the instructions?

[sgtusmc]

Here's the link that I used. I also did alot of different forum searches. If you need help, feel free to ask.
http://www.mongosgarage.com/tech/s10...p/swapinfo.htm

[solidaxel]

Do the Buick rings fit the contoure of the front fenders or did you have to massage them to fit?

[sgtusmc]

The rings fit pretty close at the top of the fender and light ring. However, the bottom area needs to pulled forward welding and filler. It's not a hard mod at all.