54 s-10 swap

[EliteStreet]

Hello all, I am new to this site and have spent hours going through your message boards and have been well informed with the plethora of information here.

My company had purchased a 54 chevy truck and we are puting it on a s-10 chassis. The first day we had the s-10 stripped and the 54 mocked up on the chassis.....all went well until I put the bed on and found that the floor was lowered . So, we bought custom side, tail, header and rear cross sill for a 53. I bought front a arms, rear 4 link, bags, dual pumps, 5 gallon tank and height controller set up from Newmatics, so it can lay on the ground when parked. One piece side glass is a given and we want to use the 54 grille. Finally we have a LQ9 427 with a A8LOE trans.
BUT, I have a few questions after I fill in the firewall, cowl, pass. side vent and replace the cab corners.

How much can I c-notch the frame with the 53 bed floor? I bought an 8" notch, but wondered how much I need to cut off and will we be able to lay it on the ground with 22" or 24" wheels?

Can I just purchase 47 side glass and channels and make them work with the 54 doors?

Has anyone tried to morph the power window regulators from the s-10's to our beloved 1st series trucks?

Has anyone on here installed an LS motor in their 1st series, will the 19" by 22" radiator keep it cool, I understand the metalwork involved with the inner fender wells, trans hump and have patterns made up to build....but wondered what other issues I may run into?

Has anyone installed the Hagan french headlight kit? I realize that kits are just a starting point....but the buckets seem to save some time and I like the polished ring. Any issues with the kit?

I want to use......save money rather, on the gauges. The truck came with a voltage drop box, but was wondering if the 48LOE can be swapped over to mechanical, to save $ on the conversion?

I am having problems finding an 4X4 rear end with disc brakes, any reasonable priced kits out there?

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, I just like to build with the final look in my head as I am fabricating..... I only like to do things once
Thank you for any help in advance.

[Layedoutsonoma91]

You need a pretty big notch to lay out on a 22 or 24 inch wheel. If you want a solid side window i think you need to swap to the older doors, or there is some modification involved not just a swap. Looking for a 4x4 disc brake rea,r look in 98 up s10 blazers 4x4. Ive seen plenty of people use a 19x22 radiator with all types of motors, including ls. lq9 is a 6 liter so I cant be certain. Really all i can help with. Hope it helps

[EliteStreet]

Thank you, I appreciate your response. I will post some pics and let you know how much notch I end up with and will let you know about how much fab work is needed to fit the early glass. That way if this comes up again, I will have a step by step.
Thanks again.

[xpickup]

EliteStreet, sounds like a great project, but we need some pictures! I do not know on the height of the notch but if you want it to lay out with the 22-24 inch wheels you will probably have to modify the bottom of the rear fenders by adding a little to them. The tires will hit in the outside corner with that being said, the fenders just are not tall enough. The 19 x22 radiator sound be enough for you motor. That is what I used on the 2 s10 framed ones I did. You will have to make a new radiator support. I have used the Hagan light kit and I did not think it was worth the money, but that was me. On the rear how about a 8.8 ford rear. They are the right size and may be a little easier to find. I have one with 3.73 posi and disc brakes and it was cheap. I used one on the 54 I did. Sounds like it will be a great build. I can not wait for some pictures.


Shannon

[EliteStreet]

Well I took a few minutes to upload some pictures.
First is a pic of the floor of the 54, as you can see it is a da*% solid truck. Needs lower cab corners, but dont they all?

Got the body mounts in

And moved the firewall back three inches.

i chose to use the original metal because I like the organic shape of the firewall and the beading that the factory rolled into it....that and their was no rust in it.
I didn't get a pic of the front frame horns cut and plated, but I will when i have some more time. We are also restoring a 68 olds 442, that was a frame off rotisserie restoration and a 55 t-bird pro touring car that is getting a 4.6 little supercharged late cobra mustang motor...blah blah blah.
I have a good couple of guys and they carry their own, so I should make some real progress on the 54.
I appreciate the feedback I got from you guys, I am embarrassed to say I never thought about the height of the fenders being the limit to my drop and will address that when i get the new bed mocked up.
Shannon, after looking around looking at your skill sets......we are not worthy, fantastic metal skills my friend.....very impressive. I did purchase an 8.8 inch rear end with 3.73 gears, posi and discs today. The drivetrain should be in tomorrow.
Who do you all recommend to send out the pcm and harness to get cleaned up, the VATS removed and what nots?

[EliteStreet]

Oh and the reason for this build. Last spring we built this 51 and it sold before the customer got to enjoy it. So he asked us to build and paint another one, but not to hold back this time.

[PurdueSD]

Wow, that looks like a nice truck! Maybe a silly question but why go s10 frame on a high dollar build? Stock frames are so much less hassle and you dont end up with a silly 12" deep bed.
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[EliteStreet]

Maybe a silly question but why go s10 frame on a high dollar build? Stock frames are so much less hassle and you dont end up with a silly 12" deep bed.

Great question Purdue! $300 S-10 and after parting it out we were $500 ahead of the game and I couldn't see clipping the original and changing the rear suspension and make money. Once I box the S-10 frame it should have the strength we are looking for. As far as the bed.........yeah i was disappointed in that and wish I would have kept the horse in front of the cart on that one, I simply overlooked it, and can not turn back now.

[PurdueSD]

I hear ya, didnt mean to come across snarkedy if i did. Just wondered the logic there. I also did something along similar lines buying a donor 88 suburban using what i could and parting out the rest to help control costs for my client -myself
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[EliteStreet]

HAHA, I have a new word, "snarkedly". I love it!. No I didn't think for a second you were being snakedly, Purdue. That was an honest question. I stood around scratching by head pondering over that for days. I do stupid stuff all the time and need to be called out on it alot. Most of the time it just costs stuff out of the first aid kit to put me back together again. But if you see something I am doing wrong, please call me out on it, I only like to do things once.

[EliteStreet]

Been a busy week. I have the motor in and mocked up, the engine harness gone through......wow that was fun (wish there was sarcasm font), removed drip rails and am adding 3/16 round stock to make a new drip railish style line, found a local company with a slip roll to make trans tunnel. Been busy overseeing assembly of a 1968 olds 442, but am in this weekend to play catch up.
Who is a good company to send off PCM to have reprogrammed? This is new to me, the 51 we just through in a White Racing engine and a 700R4, this injection should be a lot better.
Anyone know if the 46LOE will excite diffrent circuits so i can just light LED's in the gauges to show the gear selection, or will I need an electronic speedo? I found a trans shop that can retrofit the extension for mechanical speedo drive....but forgot to ask about gear select.