"Albert" -- 1949 AD, S10 Chassis

[lsjrl07]

Good job on the tunnel!

[Advanced Design]

Very nice work!

[rtinniste]

make me a tunnel please! haha

[mongocanfly]

Very nice work on the tunnel...

[joedoh]

gorgeous tunnel work!

[oldman3]

Very nice...Jim

[HUSSEY]

Thanks all. This weekend I'm focused on the dash. Probably noticed in the pics above that it's bare metal. I have to patch the cut out for the steering column and I have another small patch from rust through. The I'm just going to smooth some of the rust pits with filler then rattle can on some primer, sand, then rattle can on some gloss black. For now I think the rest of the cab is going to stay as is. I'm hoping to be able to drive it in the next month or two so I'm not spending much time on the cosmetic stuff.

[Robert Andrew]

I noticed that your frame, dash and floor pan was very clean. Did you sand blast the interior of your cab before you started work on it?

Great work, and awesome documentation. I'd bet you are a real valuable asset at Black and Veatch! Your engineering background comes through very clearly. If you ever decide to change careers, I know a lot of manufacturers that are in desperate need of assembly manual illustrators..................

Thanks for your great contribution!

[HUSSEY]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

That is a bummer about the heads. Now the head gasket leak tool is pretty cool. Tool looks new with made in Germany on it yet the box looks old. And I don't remember ever seeing one.

Tool is just as old as the box. A must have for a mechanic though you probably only use it a few times a year thus the reason it's not beat up while the box rattles around inside my tool box.

Originally Posted by Robert Andrew

I noticed that your frame, dash and floor pan was very clean. Did you sand blast the interior of your cab before you started work on it? Thanks for your great contribution!

Thank you. I stripped the dash down and shot it with a can of Rustoleum. As for the floor, I just went to town with a wire wheel on my grinder. I then brushed on a coat of Ospho for some short turn protection. I would like to paint the entire inside of the cab one day. Wish I had more motivation and did it all with quality two-part paint before putting it together, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be driving it for another year.

I had seen you post in another thread about you "getting yours on the road soon"? What do you have? Next spring I'll likely hit the cruise night at Johnny Rays, might see you there some time.

[Robert Andrew]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Tool is just as old as the box. A must have for a mechanic though you probably only use it a few times a year thus the reason it's not beat up while the box rattles around inside my tool box.



Thank you. I stripped the dash down and shot it with a can of Rustoleum. As for the floor, I just went to town with a wire wheel on my grinder. I then brushed on a coat of Ospho for some short turn protection. I would like to paint the entire inside of the cab one day. Wish I had more motivation and did it all with quality two-part paint before putting it together, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be driving it for another year.

I had seen you post in another thread about you "getting yours on the road soon"? What do you have? Next spring I'll likely hit the cruise night at Johnny Rays, might see you there some time.

Thanks for the response Hussey. I have a 51 AD on an S10 chassis, Ramjet 350 and a 200 4R transmission. I was lucky to find a body that didn't even need the cab corners replaced. Thanks Giving weekend I plan to dismantle it, move the motor mounts and transmision crossmember back, center the rearend, and send the chassis, rearend, fenders,, and cab to the sandblaster. My concept is the have the chassis, engine compartment, and interior look like brand new, and leave the patina on the body. I would like to add a 56/57 dash, like one of the other guys installed, if I can find one and have enough energy left to do it. If not, I have a plan to add a double DIN stereo in the center of my dash, AC vents on each side of the stereo, Autometer 5" tach and speedo, 2 5/8" Autometer gauge panel under the dash, and extend the top of the dash, similar to a 54 dash, but another inch or so, to give it a more modern appearance, possibly adding a leather overlay to the top portion, where I extend it. Astro van second seat, recovered in dark saddle leather. Other than that, pretty basic stuff. I really, really appreciate the build posts you and several other guys have been so descriptive with. There is some great talent out there that saves those that follow in their footsteps hundreds of hours.

[Robert Andrew]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

Tool is just as old as the box. A must have for a mechanic though you probably only use it a few times a year thus the reason it's not beat up while the box rattles around inside my tool box.



Thank you. I stripped the dash down and shot it with a can of Rustoleum. As for the floor, I just went to town with a wire wheel on my grinder. I then brushed on a coat of Ospho for some short turn protection. I would like to paint the entire inside of the cab one day. Wish I had more motivation and did it all with quality two-part paint before putting it together, but then again, I probably wouldn’t be driving it for another year.

I had seen you post in another thread about you "getting yours on the road soon"? What do you have? Next spring I'll likely hit the cruise night at Johnny Rays, might see you there some time.

PS: Johnny Ray's is certainly convenient for me. I'll look forward to seeing you there. I also have a satin black Model A roadster pickup with a tuned port, 700 R4, red wire wheels, and some really unique headlights. Hopefully I'll have the 51 running by next summer.

[Homebuilt Hotrods]

What great fabrication. This build thread pushed me over the edge when deciding on another s10 swap. Following this one for sure. The fit and stance is great.

[HUSSEY]

I did a quick paint job on my dash last weekend. I also centered and enlarged the cutout for the steering column. I shot it with some primer, sanded with 600, then shot it with Rustoleum Professional. I have to give a thumbs up for the Rustoleum Professional, it comes in a larger silver can, I’ve seen it at Home Depot and Lowe’s. This stuff laid out awesome for a rattle can. The last coat I put on heavy and wet and didn’t get any runs. It dried with a good gloss and minimal orange peel.

[HUSSEY]

The brakes have been 90 percent done for some time. I finished off the remainder this weekend by getting the final pieces in place and bled the system out. I used a modified S10 pedal bracket. The brake booster is an eight in. dual diaphragm that I got from Pirate Jack’s and the master cylinder is from a 1980 Corvette which had front and rear disk brakes. Currently I don’t have a proportioning valve. If I have issues with the rear wheels locking up I’ll install an inline valve to the rears. I read a great article on brake system valves which I used to arrive at my decision not to install a proportioning valve just yet. I had posted that article here previously, post 4:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=710975

I installed new lines on the front and made use of the OE rear line. I found out that bending brake line templates out of coat hanger makes the install a bit easier. I did a Blazer big brake swap and the front brake hoses and hose brackets are from a 2000 Blazer.

I also moved the brake light switch. The new switch incorporates the brake lights, TCC lockup, and cruise control into a single switch, P/N AC Delco D1541D. The front terminal pair is normally open (brake lights) and the two rear terminal pairs are normally closed (will be used for the TCC lockup).

To bleed the brakes I used a pneumatic bleeder I picked up at Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight tools can be hit and miss but I thought this one was a winner and I would recommend it. The entire system was dry with a new master cylinder. I started at the furthest wheel back and worked my way forward. By the time I was done with the last wheel the pedal was firm and there was no need to go back and do any additional bleeding.

[joedoh]

nice work! its nice that the standard s10 caliper hoses fit the blazer brakes, because the blazer hoses dont fit the standard s10 caliper, and the rubber lines dont fit the blazer hard lines, or even the blazer frame brackets! (I bought a blazer line and hose setup, my truck frame did not have any)

brakes are the one thing I cant stand doing. I am going to pick up a harbor freight bleeder on your advice, I have a 10 year old mity vac that is a giant pain to use.

[HUSSEY]

Thanks mate! I was about to buy some stainless braided brake hose and the needed AN adapter fittings from Summit for the front flex lines then though, why?

I've been trying to put as many auto parts store available parts on my truck as possible that way if I do have future issues the replacement parts are easily obtained. About the only custom items are my Spahl fan and Summit radiator.

One other tool you may want to look at is the Eastwood Pro Brake Tubing Flaring Tool. You can use it to make double flares for brake lines and also bubble flares for hard lines to soft lines. It is a bit pricey at $200 but it works really, really well. I have a small hand held flaring tool but never really liked it. It's kind of hard to justify a $200 brake flare tool but I'm kind of a tool junkie though.

[HUSSEY]

Also another note I should have pointed out above is I got all of my brake tubing and fittings at Advance Auto. Their fittings are about the best price I've seen anywhere. Even if a line comes with a fitting, I prefer to cut it off over using an adapter, it avoids another potential leak source and I think it provides a cleaner look.

[Advanced Design]

Very nice work! Real clean on the brake pedal assembly mounting. How good is the finish coating on the brake booster from Pirate Jack?

[99 to Life]

Nice work, I'll have to give the prop valve a read. My 51' had all new everything and drums on rear, its got issues I need to diagnose. My last build used all disc, 7" booster and prop valve and it stopped way better. So maybe my drums aren't adjusted right. I got same booster for current truck off pirate bay, it doesn't look like a powder coat to me.

If you get fittings from parts store, look behind their counter for the ones that come bulk, way cheaper than buying the ones out on the floor. also we have a place called Hovis in my town, they have the cheapest fittings anywhere water, brake etc. They also sell air ride stuff.

[HUSSEY]

As 99 noted above, the booster doesn't look like powder coating, more like that electro deposit paint that comes on replacement panels. Not a high gloss but more of a semi gloss. I would give it a 7 out of 10, not bad, but if you want it to look really nice it would need to be repainted though I don't think you would be disappointed.

[HUSSEY]

I got the gas filler squared away. I ended up piecing together a filler neck out of my original S10 filler neck. I cut it off about where it bends and also cut off the end. I then welded on the end to have a sealing lip. Instead of using my MIG I thought I would give gas welding a try with some 1/16 filler rod.

I got the grommet from McMaster-Carr, P/N 63595K38. They’re made by Kennard (http://www.kennardind.com). It’s really a pipe grommet but I thought it worked well. I also bought an assortment of these for my wiring; they make them for all different IDs. I like them because they have a center that stretches easily. The easiest way to find them is to search for “Pipe Grommet” on McMaster-Carr’s website.

I plan on getting a new gas cap ordered. I saw another builder use a Harley Davidson fuel tank cap, P/N 61102-83, its chrome, threaded, and vented. My plan is to keep this non-vented cap on when it’s parked in the garage over longer periods of time but swap out for a vented cap when I drive it.

From the pics the neck looks like its installed horizontal but it actually has a slope to it. I positioned the fill inlet a couple inches higher than the connection on the gas tank.

[HUSSEY]

^^^^^
I did not make up any drawings of the running board frame. Because of the subtle differences that may exist, I think you'd be more satisfied building them to fit.

My suggestion is to first cut the short 1x1.5 in. pieces that bolt to the running board, get them drilled and mounted on the board. Then lay the long 1x1.5 piece on the board, make your marks on your smaller mount pieces then notch them out and weld those to the longer piece that runs the length of the board. One item to note is try to make that notch as tight as possible or else they will warp when welding them on.

Following that cut your 1.5x3 in. piece that bolts to the frame. From the pics you can get an idea of how tall they are. From the pics you can also get an idea of about where they mount vertically and horizontally along the frame. I would suggest drilling some elongated holes in them so you can can move them up and down a little to fine tune their height.

I would suggest cutting the piece that connect the running board to the frame mounts a little long. Fit them up and identify where they mount to the running board frame, weld that up, then you can fit them up to the frame mount.

I had installed a new cab to running boar rubber filler piece before mocking up my running boards. I think doing this made it easier getting them aligned and mocked up.

Good luck and happy building!

[av8tr33337]

I just spent a couple hours going through your entire build thread. Some if it looks very familiar as a lot of us have gleaned the same info from other build threads over the last few years. I also appreciate the innovations you have come up with. Many of them will definitely give me fuel to finish my build.

I definitely see a few things I wish I would have done different on mine, but then on the other hand you actually put my mind at ease in several areas where I have been second guessing myself. (ride height being one)

Since mine is my first ever build, I fear that I will end up with a few regrets along the way, but that's part of the process. My build has been very slow due to life getting in the way from time to time, but Im getting to a place where I will be able to devote a little more time and resources to getting this thing on the road.

All time and effort that went into documenting your progress is much appreciated and I will definitely be following for more ideas and insight.

[tetfemal]

Originally Posted by HUSSEY

^^^^^
I did not make up any drawings of the running board frame. Because of the subtle differences that may exist, I think you'd be more satisfied building them to fit.

My suggestion is to first cut the short 1x1.5 in. pieces that bolt to the running board, get them drilled and mounted on the board. Then lay the long 1x1.5 piece on the board, make your marks on your smaller mount pieces then notch them out and weld those to the longer piece that runs the length of the board. One item to note is try to make that notch as tight as possible or else they will warp when welding them on.

Following that cut your 1.5x3 in. piece that bolts to the frame. From the pics you can get an idea of how tall they are. From the pics you can also get an idea of about where they mount vertically and horizontally along the frame. I would suggest drilling some elongated holes in them so you can can move them up and down a little to fine tune their height.

I would suggest cutting the piece that connect the running board to the frame mounts a little long. Fit them up and identify where they mount to the running board frame, weld that up, then you can fit them up to the frame mount.

I had installed a new cab to running boar rubber filler piece before mocking up my running boards. I think doing this made it easier getting them aligned and mocked up.

Good luck and happy building!

Seems fairly easy enough, thanks

[kameltoes2015]

Excellent details on attaching running board brackets. I am at that point in my restro, but what's "running board rubber filler piece" can you send me a pic or a link so I can get that piece(s) so I can illuminate alignment issues.