Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

A new Beginning. A couple years ago I started a Build Thread on my 51 Chevy 3100.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...7/100_1264.jpg

It was a low budget build and I opted to go with a narrowed 79 Chevy Scottsdale IFS.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...7/100_1549.jpg

Long story short, I have scrapped that whole idea. You can see more pics of the work and the results at this link.

http://s668.photobucket.com/albums/v...33337/?start=0

I have read pretty much every thread on this forum and others, on the S10 chassis swap. In the spirit of the "low budget" build that I originally had in mind, I recently bought an 94 extended cab chassis for $115.00.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2195.jpg


I will still be using the drive train of a donor Camaro.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...r/100_1382.jpg

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Here it is with the Camaro rear end mocked up.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2193.jpg

The first thing I did was cut the front frame horns off as well as all the cab mounts. I used a sawzall for all of these cuts.

Following others builds for this process I marked the frame to be cut about 1/2 in aft of the forward end of the steering box. As it turns out this was exactly 5 inches from the back of the S10 fender mount.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2182.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2180.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2185.jpg

Steering box bolted back up

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2194.jpg

May need some tweeking but this should get me close.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

I spent the day mocking up the cab and front clip

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2197.jpg
Just for s#%ts and grins.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2201.jpg
Looks pretty close

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2211.jpg
The cab it sitting on 4 inch wood blocks. I thought this would be about right to allow me to use the stock S10 gas tank and hopefully keep the bed at it's stock mounting height. Will see if I'm right about the bed on my next day off. I don't mind dropping the rear fenders an inch or two. If the bed sits way to high I can raise the cab and do some drop spindles and blocks to get it lower. I don't want the rear of the front fender any lower than 6 inches from the ground with the motor and tranny installed. It's sitting at 8 inches right now. 2 inches of settling under the weight of the engine and tranny sounds about right.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2202.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2214.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2207.jpg
Going to need to do some fine tuning. Right fender sitting kinda high. I should name this truck "Sly" because the bent grill makes it look like Sylvester Stallone. (his droopy lip) hahaha

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2217.jpg
Just for s#%ts and grins I had my wife snap a pic of me in the old truck

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2219.jpg
And here is the lady behind the build. My wife of 24 years (our anniversary was this week) We all need to thank the ladies once in a while for not giving us too much grief for the time and money we spend building our toys.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Great write-up and great pics. Thanks for sharing.
I'm at the exact same place you are on progress.
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...10/hoodon4.jpg
I haven't done much on mine since early spring because my brother and I are restoring a 70 shaker hood Mach 1. We wanted to get it done and have it on eBay by early summer, but that ain't gonna happen. But, it's pretty much taken all my spare time.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Glad you started a new build thread! I was just about to post a question but I think it works here instead.

What if and cuts to the sheet metal are required to make the body fit on the S10 chassis? I pick my chassis up later today and am just trying to get all the work organized in my mind!

Thanks,
Ben

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Looks good Bart! It's your old leading edge partner David. I'll have to come check it out sometime.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Welcome back to the new section and good to see you're making headway!

I dropped mine on 4x4 blocks to get it nice and low. The transmission will require a small hump, about 2" in height, so not too bad. if you decide to keep it that low, you will find the box a bit high and as so will require a few choice mods. You can either leave the box that high, drop your fenders (about 2") and will require taller filler panels between the box front and the running boards, or, you can drop the box back down those 2" and raise the bed floor up to accommodate.

Personally, I like the look of mine with the box a little higher as it really helps to offset the look of the tall cab on a low box. I did have to fab the box to board filler panels though... not hard IMO. Then when you do a 4/2 suspension drop, everything comes right back down (I'm running 28" tires on mine).

Cheers!
Ted.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Thanks everybody.

Dave, I got a few beers in the fridge with your name on them so come on over. Just call and let me know when.

A5Ben, About the only mods to the cab are adding a transmission hump depending on how high or low you want your truck to sit. You have no doubt done a little searching on here and the H#@b. One guy named 62chevyII has a nice threat that gives you a lot of info. There are tons of guys here that have done or are doing the same thing. Don't be afraid to ask questions. This is my first build so I am a novice, but I'll help you anyway I can.

Thad thanks, I was kinda wondering if you and other guys added another inch to your front wood blocks you use to mock up the front cab mounts as the S10 chassis has about an inch step down there. Also I have the rear mount "Channel" sitting on top of the wood block. Is that where you located your blocks or should I move mine forward to let the back of the cab drop down another inch??

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

I replaced my front cab mounts with 1"x2" tube stock with an 1/8" plate on the top and had a length of 1/8" flat stock folded into a "U" shape for my rear mounts. You can see them on my build with the cab on it's back. I placed the 4x4 blocks (3 1/2" in actual measurements) under the cab mount locations. I would highly recommend that you bolt up your front end and get all of that shimmed and located at the same time! One big point to note is that you will have to shim either the front or the back to get just the right rake on the cab for all the sheetmetal to line up.

Once you have the front end bolted up and aligned, put the hood on and check the gaps there... pay particular attention to the back edge of the hood where it meets the cowl... this is where you will notice very quickly if you have to shim the front or the rear of the cab up... If you don't, you will either have a larger gap at the bottom or the top edge. This is a sure sign that your cab has too much or too little 'rake'.

With everything aligned, you're good to go, bolt up your cab mounts (don't forget the body bushings to go with) and tack weld them onto the frame... pop the cab off and finish the welds... done and aligned!

Any questions, just holler!
Cheers,
Ted.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Thanks Thad, I'm sure I've read your thread but I will refresh my memory. I appreciate the info.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Hey, no problem!

Anything to make another's mockup easier and avoid potential "issues" and heartaches... I know, I spent about 2 days getting mine aligned and straight before I welded them in! It was, by far, the biggest pain in the assets but once it's done, everything else is based off of it... so most critical to get right, the first time.

Cheers,
Ted.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

I finally got some time to work on my truck today.

I was kind of waiting for this
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2229.jpg
Now I can get some stuff done

Here are a couple pics of the fitment of the front sheet metal that I had yet to post. The inner fender wells were slow going because I didn't want to over do it. Can you guess how many tries it took me to get it just right??
[IMG]http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2226.jpg[/IMG]

If I ever do that again I'll be able to eliminate the number of passes with the
cutting tools.

Here is what I did on the splash shield.
[IMG]http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2221.jpg[/IMG]
Sorry I didn't get an after shot but this might help somebody to trim theirs

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Here is what I actually did today.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2230.jpg

It was a lot of work, but instead of taking this stuff to a machine shop to have it cut with a band saw, I used my cut off saw and 4 1/2 inch grinder with a cut off wheel. Took about an hour to make all the cuts.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2234.jpg

This is the last cab mount I welded up.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2235.jpg
I finally got everything dialed in and got some descent looking welds. The other 3 got good penetration but were not as pretty.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2239.jpg

Just a quick shot of paint.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2241.jpg

Tomorrow I will try to get them mounted and drilled for the stock S10 pads. Have to invest in a hole saw.

Will try to get more pics up as I move forward.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Almost forgot. I took a couple pics of the original gas tank clearance the other day.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2222.jpg
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2224.jpg

I still have Shorten the chassis (before I can attach the new rear cab mounts) but it looks like I will have about 1 to 2 inches of clearance between the bottom of the cab and the gas tank after the frame is shortened by 3.5 or 4 inches.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Make sure you get a quality hole saw. I have a set from Matco that have life time warrantee and cut holes in anything.

So I looked at all your pics on the for build you started with the narrowed crossmember but I didn't see where you stated why you dumped it and went to the S-10, I probably just missed it.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Cool! I would love to see some pictures of the cab mounts mounted to the rear of the cab not just the frame. t - one week till work begins on my 49, started shop safety today.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

RootBeer, Yeah there are not a whole lot of good pics showing how the mounts mate up to the bottom of the cab. I will snap a couple and post of them in a day or two.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Bartman, is that 1/4" thick"? I would like to see those extra pics myself when you get time to post them.

Thanks,
Ben

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Yes they are 1/4 inch. It was about all my welder could do and IMO they didn't need to be that heavy. We have a great supply yard here in Wichita called "The Yard". It seems like they only stock the most popular sizes of material though. 1/4 was all they carry in 4 inch square tubing. 4 inch flat stock also only comes in 1/4. I'm sure there are other places I could have gone, but I got all the materials to build the cab mounts and bed mounts for $49.00. It was convenient and I was in and out in 15 minutes.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Do you think 3/16th would work just as well? My welder is a 110volt mig so it would be much easier to weld.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Yes I think it would work just fine but you might want to get other opinions. The factory mounts are more like 1/8 inch, but I suspect the older sheet metal is a little heavier than the s10 body. If not I would suspect since the AD cab etc sits higher it would put more strain on the mounts going around corners etc. Just a thought.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Just a quick update. Been working on the fab up and mock up of all the essential components. Cab mounts, bed mounts, running board mounts, motor mounts etc. Here are a few pics of how the truck looks now. Will post some pics of the whole process once its all final welded. Everything is just tacked in place right now except for the shortened frame. It's a done deal. Still need to do a 3 inch suspension drop but that will come when I blow this thing apart.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/45.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/48.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/49.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/50.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/51.jpg


Yes the top of the cab is caved in. I have another cab I'm going to use.

More to come..........

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Great progress Bartman. Wish I was this far along. Question though, did you have to do anything special to bolt up the camaro rear end? I have one thats from an older car that will need some mods to work like moving the spring mounts inward.

Ben

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Ben

I cut and ground everything off the Camaro Rear end. I went to Atwoods (A farm supply store) and bought some cheap spring perches that are actually for building a trailer and are too narrow for my springs. I'm just using them for mock up, but the radius fit my rear end tube perfect. Nothing welded, just held in place by the U bolts. I will make my own spring perches later with some 2 1/2 inch square tubing. Just set small goals for yourself Ben you will get there.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Did you get any of that big hail up there? I saw that you were near Wichita on a previous post.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Jeez, I wouldn't mind that cab. I have a good top that could be chopped on it.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

That's what I thought about doing and that is why I set this cab on the chassis for mock up. It has a lot less rust in the front fender attachment area, but both cowl sides have creases from the doors and inner and outer rear cab corners are rotten and there are a several other dents.

I have to replaces the same areas on my other cab and it has fare less dents and dings and a good roof. The only thing really bad about my original cab is it looks like someone hit the voltage regulator with a 10 pound sledge and wrinkled the top corner of the firewall.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...7/100_1417.jpg

So I plan to cut a section out of the caved in cab and fix that.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Funny you should ask. I pushed the truck outside and took those latest pics about 2 hours before the storm hit. I was planning on leaving it outside over night because I planned on cleaning the shop up a little bit the next morning. My wife heard that there was baseball size hail a few miles north so we put it back inside. We only got pea and marble sized hail here at the house but my niece across town got some a little bigger that golf ball size. There was also a Tornado heading right for us but it lifted about 3 miles away and didn't do any damage here. Gotta love Kansas!!!

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Nice build!

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Been a while since I posted anything. I went from only working part time to getting a full time job and continuing to work part time as well. 56-60 hrs a week. Needless to say, progress has been slow, but I have spent my rare free evenings and the occasional saturday trying to get the rust tamed on the S10 chassis. Also finished a little welding and mock up.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2288.jpg Boxed in the frame horns and fabbed a support for the front sheet metal and radiator. Going with a 19X22 crossflow.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2291.jpgGot the tranny mount in place.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2292.jpg Not a clear pick but I ended up with a 4 degree slope, front to rear on the engine.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Rust removal sucks. Media blasting is the way to go but I am just to cheap. I may have saved a few bucks but it was a b$%ch. If your time is worth anything to you I would suggest getting your project media blasted. I estimate I spent 20-30 hours, one 4 1/2 inch harbor fail grinder, 4 knotted wire cups, 3 flapper sanding wheels, 3 large cans of WD-40, one pint of Vapo-rust, and a good deal of my sanity, getting this thing ready for primer. And as hard as I tried I could not get ALL the rust out of the nooks and crannies around the crossmember attach points. But this is not a show truck. It's going to be a daily driver.
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2305.jpg
Getting there

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2311.jpg
Starting to really shine. I put lacquer thinner in a spray bottle and wiped it all down a couple times after I thought I had all the rust off. Found a few places that needed more work. I hit them with the kniotted wire cups and wiped everything down a couple more times. It is as good as I can get it so time for primer.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2314.jpg

I did't get any pics of it in primer but I used epoxy primer and gave it 2 coats. Then after letting it set for 60 minutes I hit it with 2 coats of chassis black. It was ready to use right out of the can and went on really smooth.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2334.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2339.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2337.jpg

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...p/100_2343.jpg

I am pretty happy with the results. I know there are a lot of opinions on how to do a project like this and I value others imput. For a first time builder I think it's going pretty well.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Nice job. In 85 I burned up a 1/4 drill using a wire brush on mine. Did not have a compressor at the time. Half way thru this project I discovered 3M purple disks. They look like oat mill but cut like crazy and do not scratch or mess up the metal. DA with 80 grit works good on the flats too. Something magical about going from bare metal to black frame paint.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

That is one clean looking bare metal frame, what a lot of ugly work. I started out to do mine that way and after an hour or so I said screw it and loaded her up in the truck and off to the blasters it went. I would've never thought you could get it looking that nice, good job.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Thanks Orrie and Bob. I about gave up a few times but like I said I'm cheap LOL. It was hard to have the patience to complete it. Believe me Bob I could point out some not so pretty parts on the bare metal frame. The inside of the back half was not a "bare" as I would have liked hopefully it will stay looking nice with the black paint for a few years anyway.

I've heard people refer to DA's a lot on here and I have no idea what that is. fill me in. I know about orbital and jitter bug sanders but I am at a loss on this one.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

I thought I would Post a few pics of the frame shortening process just in case anyone needs a visual.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...0%20swap/8.jpg
First I followed the advice of another forum member and put two strips of tape on the outside of each side of the frame 17 inches apart center to center. Then I actually drew lines down the middle of each piece of tape (using a square) that were exactly 17 inches apart. I am removing 5 inches. So starting with 17 inches I should wind up with exactly 12 inches between the lines when finished. I tried grinding the factory welds off first and got no where fast. I then made cuts about an 1/8 of an inch inside of, and along the factory welds.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...0%20swap/9.jpg
After separating the front half from the back half, I cut 5 inches off the back half of the chassis

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/11.jpg
This is what I ended up with.

http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/v...%20swap/12.jpg
You will have to notch the chassis in a couple of the inside corners on the back half so the chassis rear half will slide back inside the front half. I have heard some guys say they butted theirs together but I found out I could actually slide them back together this way. after tacking it together you will also need to notch the inside corners of the front half of the chassis and beat it in to where it is closer to the rear half due to the the rear half narrowing slightly thru this area. It sounds confusing but once you get into it for yourself it should make sense.

This is just my 2 cents worth on the process. I also found that I don't weld very well on vertical surfaces so I used my cherry picker to flip the chassis on it's side and upside down so I could weld it more easily. Another hint for you is to use a ratcheting tie down strap to pull the two halves together and hold it in place while you tack things back together. I fastened one end to the old carrier bearing cross member and the other end to the skid plate on the front cross member. Make sure to throw a straight edge on the bottom of the chassis to make sure it is all straight before welding. Or if you are doing all this on jack stands that you have all leveled, etc, you should be able to check the bottom of the chassis with a level to ensure everything is straight. Also measure from a couple of of points on both sides of the chassis to make sure one side is not longer that the other.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

I knew you would come to the dark side eventually! :lol:
You have made some awesome progress on your build. What are you going to do with the other frame that you started out with? I was hoping that you were going to finish that one because from what I've read and understand no very very few have finished it. Keep up the great work and keep those pic comin'.

And don't forget to fish plate over your frame splice. Best to error on the side of caution.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

while you did not mention it I assume you established and the check diagonal points to make sure it is square. Side to side length can be the same but pulled into a trapazoid.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

DA= "Dual Action", same as a "jitterbug"

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Thanks for pointing that out Orrie. Yes I referenced points on both sides and made diagonal measurements. I measured everything repeatedly, tweaked it where needed, until I was satisfied that it was all as straight as I could get it.

Re: Bartmans AD-S10 Chassis Swap
 

Bartman are you still out there? Anything new?