61 Rambler Wagon w/ S10 Frame

Looking for advice for using and S10 frame under my Rambler Wagon.

Her name is "Velvet" after the "Velvet's Vibrations #6" vintage 1981 porn book I found in her. Too funny. At work we have a daily reading from the book of Velvet.

I've got just about everything stripped off the car now. I just need to drop the rear suspension, then I can look at what I need to cut out of the floor. I'm hoping to keep that too a minimum, but I want the car to sit low at standard ride height, then go on the ground with bags. That may mean I channel it some, right?

The wheelbase is almost a perfect match. Off by 0.5"! That should make some things easier, but I'm still looking at a huge task. Any lessons learned or encouragement is appreciated!
Pike

(I'm going to have alot of original parts that I won't use. If you know someone who can use them, please get in touch with me. I'll do a sweet Hamber deal)

 

Set your frame at it's lowest point (bags empty) Some measuring will tell you how much you need to channel. Cross brace the body before you cut the floor. Don't cut the rockers, or the torq boxes if you can avoid it.

 

Tinbender,
Thanks for the help.

I wasn't planning to get the bags until I get the frame in the right spot. I was hoping to get the car "low" w/o bags, then to drop it more with the bags. In that case, do you still recommend getting the bags set up first?
Thanks again,
Pike

 

try taking the coil springs out.....then stick something between the frame and the lower control arm ....and level the bottom control arm and use this for ride height....the rear you could strip down the leaf springs....and possibly use a pair of ratchet straps to pull frame down to the desired ride height....then use some metal to tack the frame to the rear....so it will stay at that height....its easier to get your ride height mocked up with out the springs in the front ...less guess work ...i have been kicking around the something similar on my 62 cross country 'blur.....and a g body frame and floor pan are within a 1/4" of fitting....brandon

 

S10's Have A Wide Variety Of Lowering Kits I Believe If You Look At Air Ride Technologies They Have A Boltin C Channel Kit Which Will Lay Frame When You Drop It Also Check Out Minitruckin Mag As They Probably Have Tons Of S10 Products Also

 

cool project. interested in how it'll go. keep us updated.

good luck.

 

Being a fan of Ramblers, interested in seeing this progress. I was wondering how the width of the s10 works with the narrow velvet. Did you think about front subbing the frame if you are going with a small motor.

BTW - naming a car after a porn book is way funny. Guess I should've named my long gone rambler, plywood cause that what the floors were.

 

I've got a '62 American wagon so I'll be watching this thread closely. Keep us (mostly me) posted on your progress. I like mine but that trunion front suspension and tiny little engine bay are stumbling blocks. And the 196 was by no means a powerhouse.

 

thats a blazer frame... most of the bolt on rear suspension will be different

 

man cool ass wagon.....always a sucker for wagons.....do the s10 frame deal and channel it, of course air bag it too......it might seem like a lot of work but if you can do it why not?

 

Here's the ghetto way to do it-- take out the springs and set the frame on 4x4's. (I always used 8 footers so they go from one side to the other. Then set the body on the frame and start cutting until the rockers sit on the 4x4's also. Patch up the gaps and go.

 

the S10 blazer rear springs are 2inches longer then the S10 truck.
the blazer rearend is also a total of 4 inches wider then the trucks....joe

 

Thanks to everyone who replied. I think the idea of taking out the springs in front and somehow mashing the back down is a killer idea. I know it'll drop with some weight, I just hadn't figured out how much. I'll level the lower A arm and go from there.

As for "Velvet" I'll bring the book back from work and give us a HAMB-only reading from the Book of Velvet.

As for frame width vs. existing rambler, I'm screwed up front. The s10 frame rail is pretty much RIGHT on top of the existing unibody "frame-rails". The front inner and outer panels will have to go too. I only want to keep the areas where the hood springs bolt up and where the fenders bolt up to make putting it back together easier. At the center, the unibody goes wide! About 62" and the S10 from is only about 48. I might have got lucky there. I'll do the serious channeling to get the body down low. I don't want to "lower" the s10 suspension. I want to get the body down low enough that I don't need to. Isn't that the idea of channeling?

Now comes the hard part... my wife is coming home from a 5 week Japan trip with the kids! So much for playing in the garage!
You wagon guys, do you need any front or rear suspension, steering column, transmission, anything from this thing?
Know anyone who does?
Thanks for the advice and support.
Pike
And I'll keep you posted.

 

Think carefully before you commit to a gigantic channel. Every inch that you go down takes an inch out of the interior space. Not that you don't have some to spare, but a moderate channel combined with a moderately lowered chassis might make the finished product better proportioned and more comfortable.

 

I'd channel only so the rocker and frame are the same height, and do the rest with the suspension. You can drop the s10 frame to the ground and still ride good.

 

instead of losing floor space whats wrong w/a 1 or 2 inch block in the rear & a lowwered or cut spring in the front??? u'll still have lots of suspension travel...joe

 

Any updates on this project or did it die a slow withering death?

 

The S10 rear[2wd] is about perfect width to place the wheels dead center of available rear tub space....
The front suspension on the other hand, needs to end up with a 54" hub to hub width, to be centered -optimally.......I always wanted to say that word
IF CHANNELLING-the S10 frame rails will protrude [badly] into your "potential"seating area and on the other side of coin-to leave the frame "under", the car will be able to be seen from a side view.......and make it tough to get lower.....

 

Choprod,
I just saw this post. The project is still alive, but instead of using the entire S10 frame, I'm just using the front clip. A good friend advised to do that and after thinking about it, I decided not to chop out a perfectly good floor. That's probably more than I can handle at this point.

Here's a pic of where I'm at now. Everything is lining up sweet, except the car sits too high. I'm going to Z the S10 clip to the Rambler sub-frames to get it lower. I wish I could use it as it sits here, but it just doesn't look right. I was ready to start welding it in place and now it's back to the cut'n and grinding!

I'll post again when the sucker's sitting on the ground. Or as least when you can see its low mean stance!

Pike

 

Forgot the pic

 

For every 20 project posts I see here, about 17 of them fail or stall for one reason or another. Look up the OP's stats to see when he was last here.