everyone is doing it so i am to........s10 swap on a 51

[nickp51chevy]

well i'm building a 51 1/2 ton and i am using a s10 frame. i've been working it off and on for a few years now (mostly off). found the s10 from a guy at work for a $100, ext cab short box so the wheel base was way to long. i took 9" out of it around where the back of the cab will sit, so my new wheel base is 114". i will be cutting the bed a couple of inches (i don't know who much for sure yet). i have a 307 sbc and a t5 borg warnner that will power the ol' thing. as of now i'm doing some of the body work on the cab, and after i get the floors solid again i will finaly mount the cab (i've been wanting to do that for a long time).

here are some of my build pix i will up load more soon, and keep my thread updated as i go also.

[nickp51chevy]

I know that it's been a while but space has been limited and so has the money. But now I have the space and I got some money for x-mas to get things that I need for the truck. So here's whats happened: I found out that I had a T-50 in my truck not a T-5 so I found a T-5 for a $100, and I'm getting ready to put that in some time this week. I finally got around to welding on the cab mounts this last month (missing one of the original rear mounts, cleaned up and still can't find it.) Fabed up some suports for the front end, now the hood closes all the way and is all lined up (until i take it off for paint.) And i guess last of all No_Respect found a seat that works real well in the truck, with some minor fab work it will fit just right. Now I'm a Chevy guy and I'm sorry to say that it is a ford seat.

[nickp51chevy]

You can see more of my build pic on my photocucket account.

http://s531.photobucket.com/albums/dd356/nickp51chevy/

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Nice work. You're making all your mounts? What rear are you gonna run?

[nickp51chevy]

i'm trying to make everything my self. i'm hoping to get to the steel store today to be able to start mounting my bed. i'm thinking about running the s10 4x4 read end but for right now it's the 2wd version.

[iokua80]

Unless you are wanting to use wheel tubs in the bed, then you might seriously want to get either a 4wd rear end or possibly a camaro one. I went with the camaro one and still had to make about a half inch wheel tub. The 2wd drive one is too narrow. Just my opinion. I'm not sure how low you are wanting to go but I think it may need one regardless.
Later,
Josh

[nickp51chevy]

i'm most likely going to use a 4x4 rear, i'm just not to that point in my build yet. the only bad part is that i saw one for $30, but i didn't really have to time or money to go get it when i saw it. i know that $30 isn't really a hole lot but money was a tight when i saw it.

[iokua80]

That would have been a good deal. Keep looking around you might find a better deal. When I bought my 54 last year, I wasn't planning on working on it till the winter which was almost 9 months away. Then I found an s10 that I could have the frame for free. And that started the snowball effect. Kept checking around and this guy had a 67 camaro rear that he was gonna junk so he said I could have it for free. So, there's deals out there. Just gotta keep checking. Good luck on your build though. It'll get stressful if you work on it constantly. I spend 4 months straight working on mine after work and all weekends. But the end result is worth it.
Later,
Josh

[Sal's '55 Chevy]

i was wondering about the s-10 im getting a great deal on an 97 s-10 but i don't want to do the swap all i want is the rear and the front components. just wanted to know if you could use the stock a-arms on a mustang II crossmember? if not can i get the crosmember and a-arms and use the s-10 spindles and disc breaks in the front? if any can check this out i would like to know asap.



Thanks,

[nickp51chevy]

sal, i don't think that you can do that. i think you can clip your original frame with the s10 clip. it's just easier to use the entire frame at that point though. i don't know how easy or hard it would be on the TF body. it hasn't really been that hard on my AD. you might want to ask the guys building that body style, i don't know much about the TF's.

[nickp51chevy]

well I got my rear end today for $75. I was going to go to the pull a part and get one but I saw an ad on craigslist, "parting out an '87 s10 4x4, i'll beat pull a part prices." That was good enough for me. I think the best part is, the leaf springs were already gone, I just had to cut the break lines and load it up.

[nickp51chevy]

Today I put the shackle mount on, and I started to swap out the rear end. I got the old 2wd rear out, then my wife needed me to come in and help with our kid so I wasn't able to put the new rear in. I'll have something to do next weekend, along with finishing mounting the bed.

[nickp51chevy]

I forgot to mention what I had to do with my bed. Well since i had to shorten my frame, instead of making it 116" wheel base I made it 114 1/4". So this last week I shortened the bed rails. I think the worst part of it was drilling out all the spot welds. I was happy with how it turned out. Like I said I'm still working on making mounts and mounting the bed.

[nickp51chevy]

Got the bed mounted now. I think that it turned out pretty well. I really like how the bed mounts went, smooth and easy to put on. Now I'm thinking about what I'm gonna do for the bed, as far as what I'm going to put down.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

nice work, thanks for sharing. That must be the 4x4 rear already in now in that pic? Fills the fenders nice.

[nickp51chevy]

Thanks Bill, that is the 4x4 rear end.

I mounted my seat today. I think that it turned out pretty good. Didn't think about taking any pix until after i was finished and going in for the day, so I will have to take some later when i take it back out.

I was hoping to be able to sit the seat on the original tracks and have them bolt where they ares suppose to, but it didn't turn out that way. I had to move the tracks in about an inch. So I had to make some thing to hold up the front end of the seat. I used 2x4 tubing and welded an 1/8" plate to the top and bolted it to the track. I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to weld some angle iron to the side of the square tube and bolt that to the original mounting area.

I will post some pix when I can.

[glowins10]

Looking good!! Do you (or anyone) have pics or links of cab mounts they made?
-getting ready to work on mine and could use a good blueprint!!
Thanks!

[nickp51chevy]

glowins10, how high off the frame are you going to want the cab? i have mine 3 1/2" off and i'm happy with it.
check out what these guys did.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...light=s10+swap
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=294539

i'll take pix of what i have and post them for you. i used the original shackle mounts in the rear and i used the s10 rear cab mounts for the front mounts.

[glowins10]

Nick,
thanks for the post.. Im looking to go about 3 1/2 inches off the frame (possibly a little lower).. With 3 1/2" did you have to rely on lowering the suspension? Pics would be great! Thanks again!!

[Lrall]

not to interrupt or anything but the 'kit' i installed is 5" off the frame if i remember and i had to drop the front 5" to get the fenders to sit nice.

[nickp51chevy]

lrall,
I don't think that i'm going to lower my truck.

[Lrall]

ok, but it will have a HUGE fender gap fyi

[glowins10]

This is what I got from 2 guys on the "Yet Another s10 swap" forum. very helpful!! I might go about an inch lower than this shows.. try to save from lowering the suspension to much..

[jeffs51chevy]

Originally Posted by Lrall

ok, but it will have a HUGE fender gap fyi

I don't mean to hijack, but what do you mean by "fender gap".
Jeff

[nickp51chevy]

Originally Posted by jeffs51chevy

I don't mean to hijack, but what do you mean by "fender gap".
Jeff

i'm with you jeff! what do you mean fender gap??????