1954 Chevy 3100 5 window S-10 Swap

[spanto]

Hi there, my build is a 1954 Chevy 3100 5 window getting put on a 1982 S-10 regular cab long bed frame. I've had the '54 for about 18 years sitting in my parents building. The truck had been slightly restored around 27 years ago, put in primer, but never painted. That guy sold it to a friend of mine in 1987, when we were 13 years old. He was learning to drive it and the transmission went out. To work on the trans, he pulled the engine, trans, torque tube, and rear end. I know, a little bit of overkill, but in his defense he was 14. In the following years he sold the engine and the truck was moved into a barn and left with no rear end. In the mid '90s, I was getting out of Figure 8 Racing to go to college, and had a small number of cars and racing parts sitting around. Turns out, his brother and him were wanting to get into racing, so I traded my 1976 and 1977 Monte Carlos, roll cage, a race worn 350, and miscellaneous other parts for the 1954 Chevy 3100. I had paid $100 for the 2 cars, $50 for the roll cage and whatever I paid for the engine had been used up anyway, so I felt like I got a pretty good deal. After that I parked it beside a building at my parents place for 9 years before we found a spot inside for another 9 years. A couple years ago I got talking to my father in law about wanting to actually get working on it. He had room in his shop, so I loaded it up and moved it to start the build. I had already gotten a stripped S10 frame so I got that moved to his farm as well. That's pretty much where I am now. I have gotten the body loose from the frame and the gas tank out. The floor pan is almost 100% rust free and the body is too. I had no seat, so i picked up a third row seat out of a GMC Safari mini van. As far as a drive train, I plan to use the engine and trans out of my old band van, a 1995 Chevy Van. It only has 62,500 original miles, but the body has about rusted off the frame. I also have a 327 out of a '61 Impala and the cast iron Power Glide. Both are in need of major work before they could be used. Also, I bought an AD Engineering full kit, with trans mount and motor mounts, so I hope that helps cut the fab work down a pinch. The truck is a little more than an hour away right now, so I don't get to work on it as often as I would like to, but I will get some more pictures and details up as I move forward.

Thanks,
Jeremy

[oldman3]

Jeremy, welcome to the site. Nice solid looking ride, with the AD kit it should help with the change over to the S-10 chassis. There are several guys on here doing this swap, but using their own mounts. Best of luck with the build...Jim

[Atommik]

Welcome Jeremy,
There are a lot of guys on this site with a lot of knowledge and creativity. Feel free to ask questions and gather opinions. It helped me a lot as I built my '51(S-10 swap with a 327). Good luck and I look forward to seeing many progress pics!

[spanto]

Thanks guys, I have been reading this site for a few years, but hadn't gotten a username. I've read both of your builds and am thoroughly impressed.

[Kodiaks53]

Welcome Jeremy, as the guys have said there is a lot of very helpful folks on here, it's just a matter of asking and someone will reply. I have a 53 Chevy 3100 I'm working on and I also bought (a few years ago!) the AD Engineering kit. I like the way it will work out on my truck. Several of the guys on here have fabbed their own mounts and did a outstanding job. Its just how low you want your truck. The all look super! Let me know if I can help you out with any questions on the AD kit.

Ron

[spanto]

..

[spanto]

Here is with the doors off...the rockers are completely solid

[spanto]

Here is the interior. The seat riser was 3- 4x4 wood blocks with 2x6 oak planks nailed to them. The 4x4 blocks were bolted to the cab with carriage bolts on top and nuts with no washers under the cab??





Here it is without the riser...pretty darn good shape






Here is what I have for a new seat...3rd row from a 2005 Astro Van

[spanto]

^^^^This isn't my actual seat...I haven't taken any pics, but it looks identical.

[spanto]

Next I got the nose off

[spanto]

I have been working on this since November, and I just started the thread last Friday, April 4, 2014. I didn't get much done over the winter because the building I have it in isn't insulated or heated and our winter didn't want to quit. But now that spring has somewhat gotten here, I have been able to get back at it.
This past weekend I was able to get the cab and box separated from the original '54 frame. I also was able to get the S-10 frame pulled out of the weeds and into the shop.









I didn't take a picture of the box, but it came off as well. I guess I now have a frame that eventually I will have for sale, so message me if anyone is looking for a 1954 frame. I have the torque tube with the frame and the rear end and leaf springs are sitting behind a building at my parents place.






Here is the S-10 frame, a 1982 regular cab long box. I have very few donor parts because the original owner wanted everything off the frame. Not ideal, but he also gave me the frame for free w/ title, so it wasn't that bad of a deal. That is the 4x4 rear end from a 1999 S-10 Blazer with disc brakes sitting on top of the frame. It was also a freebie from a friend at a body shop.

[FarmerSid]

Nice work. Looks like you got a good size shop to work in.

[spanto]

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Nice work. Looks like you got a good size shop to work in.

Thanks Farmer Sid,
I got seriously lucky that my father in law has a nice building for me to work in. I traded out wiring it for letting me work on my truck in there. We just got the power hooked up at the end of February and have been trying to get lights and multiple outlets set so we can both work on our various projects. It's a 40x96 building, but it is half full of tractors and other "farm stuff", so I try to keep my "project" in the back and out of the way. The cool/fun thing is how excited he gets when I get there to work on the truck. All I can hope for is to get this thing rolling and out of his way as soon as possible.

[stewdecky]

Welcome. Nice build. You are going to love the s-10 set up. The ride and handling is awesome and makes it so easy to drive a cool ride. Did mine following the guru's on this forum and had very little I couldn't handle.

Enjoy!

[spanto]

Here is the 1982 S-10 stripped frame. That is the rear end from a 1998 S-10 Blazer 4x4 sitting on top of the frame.



Here is a front body mount cut off.



A "cleaned" mount



Got the body mounts bolted on to get ready for the cab. These are the mounts from AD Engineering.










I am at a stand still right now. I didn't have the body mount bushings for the cab, so I am waiting for those to arrive. Also, we had trouble with the leaf springs on the 4x4 rear end. One of the bolts came out with the bushing rubber. Now I am having trouble finding the correct leaf spring bushing. I have the VIN from the donor Blazer, but all the parts stores want to give me a bushing that is way too small. I am going to have to bring the spring to the store to physically match. Once that is done, the rear end and the cab can be mounted, and the box can be fitted and leveled.

[FarmerSid]

Those mounts look like a nice piece of work.

[STOCKISH]

Looks like a great truck to start with, cant wait to see how this one comes together.

[tlorber]

Hey Spanto, with those AD Engineering mounts, is it necessary to bolt them in or could you just tack weld until you know you have them in the correct spot? I plan on going the same route, and I'd like to avoid all the drilling and bolting since I plan to burn them in anyway.

[spanto]

You can tack them just as easily, I just don't have a welder in the building at the time. I'm going to get the truck mocked up before I move it to the building that the welder is in. I also just got the 4x4 rear end installed today, so it hasn't been mobile until now. We used a little backwoods engineering to get the leaf spring bushings installed. A log splitter, a chunk of oak, and some old axle bushings from a '66 Power Wagon to press the new bushings into the leaf springs. Some new bolts and disassembly of the brake rotors and now the rear end is mounted and I can now move on to mocking up the body. I also got the heater core/fan unit out so I can get it updated for the 12v system. I also worked on getting the dash sanded to get the silver spray bomb cleaned up.

[FarmerSid]

Good idea on using the wood splitter.

[spanto]

Sorry I haven't been posting anything for awhile, my wife and I just bought a small acreage and have been trying to get moved and set up there. On the plus side, it came with a 50x70 machine shed, so I might be able to work on the truck a little more around the clock, rather than the current hour and half drive both ways to work on it. Here is a picture of the outside of the building. It doesn't have a concrete floor, but that only means I can pour it the way I want it.

[oldman3]

Nice size building, lets see now how many will fit...Jim

[chipflyer]

Welcome Jeremy and nice job so far. I love those seats you have shown, can you tell me how wide they are at the widest? I have an idea for a project I am working on and that seat may be what I need to look for. I would appreciate a quick measurement.

Jeff

[spanto]

Thanks. The seats are 55" wide, from what I remember. They are up on a shelf right now that I can't get to. I have an extra one as well.

[chipflyer]

I see you're a jeep guy too, I want to put one of those in my 86 J10 but I can't round one up like the one shown in your picture. I think the 2nd row might be a good option also for a J10 So you have 2 of that style?

Jeff