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S10 - 50 ford sedan Frame swap project

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by holleywoodphoto, Nov 3, 2010.

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  1. holleywoodphoto
    Joined: Oct 4, 2010
    Posts: 84

    holleywoodphoto
    Member

    Well there is no turning back now....we have made the decision to put an S10 frame under the 50 Shoebox.....Does anone know if the S10 frame needs to be extended? I watched a video on Youtube where someone did this and he extended the frame 5" and installed a longer drive shaft from an chevy silverado....

    The reason we decided to do this is becasue we want to make a daily driver out of it and this seemed to be the best way to do that.
     
  2. subdajj
    Joined: Jul 18, 2009
    Posts: 174

    subdajj
    Member

  3. holleywoodphoto
    Joined: Oct 4, 2010
    Posts: 84

    holleywoodphoto
    Member

  4. koolkemp
    Joined: May 7, 2004
    Posts: 6,005

    koolkemp
    Member

    depends which frame you start with...short box needs to bwe extended, long box or ex-cab need to be shortened...check my build thread in my sig, I used a long box on my 47 Ford.
     

  5. 73super
    Joined: Dec 14, 2007
    Posts: 778

    73super
    Member

    You know.. I was thinking about doing this as well, but with a 49 - 50 Plymouth. My goal would be to start out with the notion of making it a completely updated driver for daily use back and forth to work. S10 frame, suspension, power train, etc. sounds like the ticket. Can always extend, shrink, whatever the case may be. Guess I'd better start by picking up an S10. Good thing there are so many available. May even go with a six-banger.

    Yes, yes I believe I have just been inspired. Of course I've got a couple other projects to get done first (well at least my current one) then I can move onto the "Project Daily". Hmmm... the wheels they be a turnin'....
     
  6. the-rodster
    Joined: Jul 2, 2003
    Posts: 6,945

    the-rodster
    Member

    Have you thought about just using the S10 front clip, grafted to the original frame?

    And using the S10 rear with the original rear suspension?

    I'm going this route.

    Rich
     
  7. 73super
    Joined: Dec 14, 2007
    Posts: 778

    73super
    Member


    Another option.. good one too.. less trouble.. Hmmm.. Probably a better way to go in the long run.
     
  8. koolkemp
    Joined: May 7, 2004
    Posts: 6,005

    koolkemp
    Member

    Having done the full frame swap, I would say that if your frame is solid enough to do this it would be easier , alot less fabrication and floor reconstruction thats for sure!
     
  9. holleywoodphoto
    Joined: Oct 4, 2010
    Posts: 84

    holleywoodphoto
    Member

    Definetely doing the frame swap......Now just to figure out automatic or manual?????
     
  10. C. Montgomery
    Joined: Dec 18, 2003
    Posts: 1,010

    C. Montgomery
    Member

    I would just use the s-10 clip. Fits good, alot easier to do than a whole frame swap
     
  11. shoebox50
    Joined: Nov 20, 2005
    Posts: 662

    shoebox50
    Member

    I used a s10 clip on mine it worked out great.
     
  12. Captain Chaos
    Joined: Oct 16, 2009
    Posts: 652

    Captain Chaos
    Member
    from Missery

    I would use a G body front frame and then get an 8.5 from an late 4x4 S10 or mid 70's GM car.
    Its been said before but I 'll say it again, S10 frames are not intended for heavy cars with heavy V8s . G bodys where designed for V8s and are narrower track front w/ front steer .
     
  13. holleywoodphoto
    Joined: Oct 4, 2010
    Posts: 84

    holleywoodphoto
    Member

    Does anyone know if a mid to early 80's model S10 will work or if it has to be an 89 or newer model?
     
  14. holleywoodphoto
    Joined: Oct 4, 2010
    Posts: 84

    holleywoodphoto
    Member

    does anyone know if a 1990 S10 Blazer frame is compatible for a frame swap with my shoebox?
     
  15. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    That year S-10 has a 100.5 inch wheel base plus is usually four wheel drive or at least I have never seen a two wheel drive S-10 Blazer here locally. your Ford has a 114 inch wheelbase. That is 13.5 inches you have to figure out how to put in a frame.
    Plus the S-10 four wheel drives have torsion bars that are right in the big middle of being in the way most of the time.

    An S010 two wheel drive clip would work a lot better than the whole frame swap.

    I'd go with the A / G body Chevelle, Lemans ?, Cutlass, Regal frame from 79 to 80 something. Those cars are inexpensive to get your hands on and it would be a lot easier to stretch the 108 inch wheel base off one of those especially if you drug two of them home and used the front half of one and the rear of the other.
    If your Ford has bad floorboards you could use the floorboards that came with the frame pretty much as Dick Dean did when he swapped 49/51 Mercs over on GM frames in his shop on a regular basis.

    If you do swap a frame under the shoebox and don't swap the floorboards with it you can still pretty well count on cutting out and replacing the whole hump over the rear axle and rebuilding/replacing it for clearance. I had to do that when I put a 75 Monte Carlo Frame under my 51 Merc back 22 years ago.

    If the Ford frame is solid and the floorboards are ok I'd do the front stub and rear axle swap and be done with it.
     
  16. xxzzy999
    Joined: Apr 8, 2011
    Posts: 143

    xxzzy999
    Member

    Hollywood,

    Here's a pic of my '85 S10 2WD Longbed chassis modified to go under my '50 Ford sedan. This model S10's wheelbase was 117.9 inches which I have modified to 114 inches to match the Ford. I reworked the rear crossmembers, moved the rear shocks forward, mounted a Mustang tank, notched it, and lowered the rear section of the chassis rails 5 inches to match the Ford's dimensions.

    Also, here are pics of the S10 and Ford chassis dimensions that should help you.

    I would stick to a 2WD S10 truck chassis vs. any 4WD or Blazer chassis. The ride height and tracking width are going to be much closer to the Ford's dimensions with a 2WD truck chassis.

    p.s you tend to get a lot of misinformation from folks who have never done this before.

    Good luck!

    Regards,
    X
     

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    Last edited: Sep 18, 2011
  17. koolkemp
    Joined: May 7, 2004
    Posts: 6,005

    koolkemp
    Member

    ^^^^ Nice work! Lets see more of the whole car !
     
  18. bulletproof1
    Joined: Feb 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,079

    bulletproof1
    Member
    from tulsa okla

    i did the s10 clip on ine as well..not much to it...
     
  19. flatheadpete
    Joined: Oct 29, 2003
    Posts: 10,478

    flatheadpete
    Member
    from Burton, MI

    What's wrong with what Henry n Edsel used?
     
  20. scottybaccus
    Joined: Mar 13, 2006
    Posts: 4,109

    scottybaccus
    Member

    This isn't traditional hotrodding.

    It's Kit Car 101.
     
  21. Biothree
    Joined: Dec 16, 2009
    Posts: 50

    Biothree
    Member

    I am using the S10 dual leaf spring rear end on my 1946 Ford 2 door sedan. I am clipping the S10 front end onto the 1946 frame. You are correct, you get a lot of advice from those who have never grafted a frame. Some recommended that I stay with the original 46 dropped axle (1940's technology). Others recommend an aftermarket Mustang II (1970's technology). I choose the S10 (1990's technology) which is cheap, cheap compared to the other choices and it wasn't my first rodeo.
    The picture is of the S10 rolling frame and the '46 frame before I started.
     

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  22. drptop70ss
    Joined: May 31, 2010
    Posts: 1,201

    drptop70ss
    Member
    from NY

    S10 frame worked for me and my Buick, but it was as much work or more than just clipping it. My trunk and floors were gone so I had to make them anyway, plus widen the rear wheel tubs, make the body and engine mounts, etc.. if you have solid floors and trunk I would clip it.

    [​IMG]
     
  23. xxzzy999
    Joined: Apr 8, 2011
    Posts: 143

    xxzzy999
    Member

    Geee Scotty... (Mr Expert)... I see your "My Truck" thread build has been going for ever... have you given up?

    Maybe you should have gone with a "kit car"... much easier and you could have been finished by now...
     
  24. spiderdeville
    Joined: Jun 30, 2007
    Posts: 1,134

    spiderdeville
    Member
    from BOGOTA,NJ

    would a 58 chevy x frame install/swap not be O/T ?
     
  25. Some dingbat posts in this forum. S10 and G-body are related as far as front suspension goes, and guys have been V8-ing S10s for over 20 years and I've never heard of an issue.

    But the G-body and other front ends are too goddamn wide for a '50 Ford or Chevy, unless you want either the tires to rub every time you turn a corner, or it to look like a 4x4 truck with the tires sticking out.

    Hard to believe, though, too that someone would make the decision to go with an S10 frame and not even know what their own car's wheelbase is to know how to mod the S10 so it would fit right.

    But Chevy especially and Ford both they make plenty of kits and there are ways to do it without hacking up the original frame. If the frame is rotted out, okay that's another story. Something like a Buick where you have to re-engineer the rear suspension to go open drive, is also somewhat understandable. Just be aware sometimes it's worth the money to pay for someone else to do the fab and engineering for you, than to spend weeks doing three times as much fab and engineering yourself.
     
  26. qoute: "Hard to believe, though, too that someone would make the decision to go with an S10 frame and not even know what their own car's wheelbase is to know how to mod the S10 so it would fit right."

    ...my thots exactly!...can't believe everyone thinks the S-10 chassis is the magic frame swap.
     
  27. badshifter
    Joined: Apr 28, 2006
    Posts: 3,535

    badshifter
    Member

    Done what? Posted stuff that has nothing to do with the HAMB (you know, traditional hot rods)?
    Or never done an S10 or G body frame/clip swap?
    Just curious.
     
  28. If you're looking to create a commuter, the little 4.3L sixes that came in the S-10s are great little engines and there's about a zillion of them to pick from.

    I bought one new in 94 and put 385,000 miles on it before I sold it. The damn EGR valve kept gumming up one me starting at around 200K, and I had to change the fuel injection spider a few times, but other than that the thing just couldn't be killed.
     
  29. xxzzy999
    Joined: Apr 8, 2011
    Posts: 143

    xxzzy999
    Member


    If you're worried that this thread isn't about traditional hot rods, why don't you have Ryan shut it down?
     
  30. badshifter
    Joined: Apr 28, 2006
    Posts: 3,535

    badshifter
    Member

    A) I'm not worried about anything.
    B) I'm a member just like you and have no power over Ryan or what he does or does not do.
    C) I've done a G body clip on a shoebox and know first hand they are too wide.
    D) I asked a simple question that you side stepped.
    E) That's about it on the S10 stuff for me.
     
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