49, bagged, 6.0, patina, the works

[NickL]

Been a long time lurker and figured I would go ahead and start a build thread. I picked this truck up in the car corral at Goodguys two years ago. It was stuffed in a barn in Washington for 30 years, has killer patina, and was all there. I fell in love.

The original frame was rotted so it's getting an S10 chassis. Other plans are air ride, 3 link rear, 6.0LSX/4L80E, nice interior, vintage air, etc. etc.

These photos are a timeline from 2 years ago with the most recent being today. I work on the truck a lot more now and have been making progress daily, so stay tuned!

Enjoy!







Started tearing it apart.





Couldn't help myself :stickoutt





Bought an S10 longed for dirt cheap, yanked the cab and bed to send to scrap.

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My sick cab removal tool

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Frame with the motor/trans left. Sold the dropout a few weeks later.

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Yanked everything from the 49 frame

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What I ended up with at the end of that night

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Stripped the frame completely (super fun, not) and began to assemble the swap kit from code504 to land all the 49' components on the s10 frame. Picked up a 4x4 rear end from the yard. The s10 frame is the correct width to fit underneath the cab and bed, but with how large the track width is on the 49', the 4x4 rear end helps fill out the fenders.

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Rebuilt the front control arms, energy suspension bushings, proforged super travel balljoints, repainted.

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Fresh front rotors/wheel bearings/ races/seals.

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Assembled with 2" drop spindles, proforged upper and lower balljoints.

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And back on the ground again. Dad had some random old radials laying in the basement which were good to get the chassis back on the ground and size up how it will lay.

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Starting to look like a truck again.

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3 Link came in the mail

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Roller







Cab back on the chassis for a test fit



Support from the pup


Front bags in and finished up. Control arms dehumped, welded, plated, and repainted. Clip on for a test fit


Lays out pretty hard


Found a killer deal on the perfect donor vehicle for the drivetrain. 04 1ton express van with a healthy 6.0 LQ4 and 2WD 4l80e (freshly rebuilt). Had no brakes and the guy wanted out of it. Towed it on home. Pretty sketchy on an 18ft trailer.



Easiest way to pull the motor/trans haha



Frame out, motor out.


Motor back in the shop for tear down




Next up is making the harness stand alone on a 4 fuse 2 relay setup. Then regasket the whole motor, add the TSP 228r cam, valve train upgrades and into the truck it goes for a test fit.

Separated the motor and trans today, removed some things from the motor and got it on the stand for tear down.
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Had some ****ty luck with the trans so I'll have to go get this tigged by a friend. Mistakes happen I guess.



The motor has definitely fought me with its typical Chevy issues, dipstick rusted to the block and broke off, both front manifold bolts broke inside the heads. Next time i'm at the shop ill be tackling those issues and continue to break the motor down and begin cleaning.

[oldman3]

Welcome to the group, doing some nice work. I'll follow along for the build...Jim

[ADchevys]

Looks good, following

[joedoh]

nice condensed timeline! I would have jumped on that original truck too

[youngrodder]

Looks great. I was at Columbus 2 years ago and I remember seeing your truck in the car corral for sale. Nice progress.

Marc

[Coldshot]

Nice looking patina. I had the same manifold bolts go one mine as well.

[big_moss]

I like the patina on it gonna be sick with that 6.0 in there. ive kicked the idea of putting one in my build just haven't come across a good deal yet. ill follow along man good luck

[Coach529]

Awesome.....subscribed

[ptc]

Another nice build going on.....

[HUSSEY]

Sweet score on the van.

When you get to it can you show some more pics/info on the Thorbros three link. I was thinking about going that way too.

[HULK64]

I would like to see pics of the Thorbros kit installed as well. Are you going to notch the frame? What's your plan for mounting the rear bags?

[Advanced Design]

Cool build and love your shop. I will be tagging along.

[NickL]

Originally Posted by HULK64

I would like to see pics of the Thorbros kit installed as well. Are you going to notch the frame? What's your plan for mounting the rear bags?

I'll get some photos of the link later today. Frame will be notched and probably a behind and under setup to help with keeping some bed depth. Bridge between the notches for strength and shock mounting.

Thanks everyone else!

[84blaze]

Wicked dude. Yours reminds me a lot of my 49'

[NickL]

Harness laid out



Removing unnecessary wiring (Emissions, Rear O2 sensors, A/C, etc. etc.) Began labeling what I will need from the PCM to get +12v



Harness went on a diet



PCM connectors/all wires that will receive switched 12v. All thats left to do now is solder them to their correct fuse/relay locations. I have the relay sockets, just waiting on the fuse block to come in.



Anyone like spaghetti?



That's it for now. Next update will be the finished harness, wrapped and fused, ready for install.

[NickL]

Also, for those wondering more about the 3link. Quality is top notch and heres a few pics of how the lower bars install, the cross member, and the diff bracket. The bolt on solution is nice for simplicity and ease of removal, etc. Ignore the lack of washers on some of the bolts, they're all there now.

[CHIZZLER]

Great work.

[big_moss]

Looks good man

[pigpin]

I looked at that truck that weekend. Held out for a 5 window.
Nice project.

[69CST-V]

Nice job so far. Like where this is going.... Sub'd

[TimE]

Really nice! Will be following your progress...

[84blaze]

Any updates on this?

Do you have any photos of the Code504 LS engine mounts?

[99 to Life]

like what I'm seeing, I'll be in on it.

[NickL]

Originally Posted by 84blaze

Any updates on this?

Do you have any photos of the Code504 LS engine mounts?

I just got them in the mail yesterday so I'll take some detailed shots soon. Engine should be sitting between the frame rails soon.

Just been so busy working, sorry for the lack of updates everyone!

[NickL]

Bit of an update for you guys.

Code 504 LS series mounts. This is the passenger side mount and its components.



Mounted to the block



Getting the drivers side bolted up to the crossmember. (missing third and final bolt in this pic)




Motor/Trans in.



Few more shots. This shot shows how the A/C compressor will need relocated. Common with how far the engine must sit with the S10 swap.



If you look closely in this photo, you'll see one of the issues that needs taken care of. With the trans mount in the only position it could possibly work, the pan of the trans hits the crossmember itself and prevents the mount from making contact with the crossmember. Im going to notch the crossmember/reinforce it and should be good to go.







Overall: The mounts are nice. Simple but effective, nice quality. The only other issue other than the A/C and trans crossmember is the truck oil pan has way too much depth to it and is preventing the frame from airing out all the way. F-Body or Holley LSX conversion pan should fix this rather easily and gain some nice clearance for driving low.

Unfortunately, I don't have the headers, steering shaft, and the cab isn't currently installed so no pictures of those things. Supposedly these mounts set the back of the heads 1" from the firewall. Should have that all taken care of sooner than later.