Definitive S-10 Frame Swap Vehicle List

Well hell, guys - you might want to start your own threads and add to 'em as your build progresses, and post links to your threads here (along with a few pictures). Like you, we love to see pics and captions, especially about what was easy or hard, and a short description as to why and what you did.

Hell, the rest of the world does, too!

~Jason

 

My daily driver is a '49 Chevy pickup sitting on an S10 chassis. I used the AD Engineering kit because I wanted to get it on the road quickly. At the time (2 yrs ago) the AD kit was around $900 but I understand it now has a few additional items. There is also a fellow, Ed Lipinski, of EZ Chassis Swaps in Minnesota that makes a kit and he uses as much of the donor S10 as possible, not just the chassis.

I found the AD Engineering kit to be well made and easy to install. It is set up so that no cutting is required at the firewall. However, this, in my opinion, results in the truck sitting a little too high so I opted for 2" dropped spindles on the front and 3" lowering springs on the rear. The most difficult setup is the radiator. I decided to use a 19" high by 22" wide aluminum 2 pass and fabbed my own mounts to get it above the steering box. All in all, I am happy with the swap and have driven the truck from KC to St. Paul twice and once to Phoenix.

 

can you tell me what the kitt al includes because $900,- for 4 brackets is a lot of money...

 

Isn't it like $1200 nowadays?

~Jason

 

FYI, here's Ed Lipinski's site: http://www.e-zchassisswaps.com/



"COMPLETE CHASSIS CONVERSION KITS FOR 1941-1959 CHEVY & GMC'S
UNIVERSAL S-10 KITS FOR ALL MAKES OF 40'S & 50'S PICKUPS"

~Jason

 

And what do you get for that price..???? 4 brackets and....

 

Have a look for yourself here:
http://www.ad-engineering.com/HOMEPAGE.html

Likely you can shoot off an email to them for more information and/or a BOM (Bill of Materials) list.

~Jason

 

That not even a bad idea.. but to be honest i have no idea what to write them my english is better in word then in writing

 

Can anyone make drawings of these parts with Runningboard brackets...


http://www.ad-engineering.com/KitComponents.html

 

BigTumTum-

As I recall the kit included the four cab mounting brackets, the cross sill mounting brackets for the bed, two brackets at the rear of the bed, and the running board brackets. It is a little pricey but it is quality fabrication with all tig welds. I was in a big hurry to get it done so the cost was acceptable. If you're not in a big hurry the brackets could be made but I'm not sure how many manhours would be involved since I haven't done it. I am thinking of doing this at least once more with the idea of selling the pickup so fabbing my own might be an option on that truck.

 

Thanks for the info... any change you still have the info how to build the brackets on yor chassis maybe drawing or pics???

 

All the info I have is within this thread. The answers you seek can likely be obtained with a PM to the people within.

~Jason

 

i dont believe a company would say hey... let us provide you with al the info so you can build your own brackets..

 

Anyone know how far the bottom of the frame rail is from the ground on a stock S-10?
Larry T

 

Great thread Abomination i posted on here early on, but i have made significant progress on my 47 KB-1. The parts for s-10's are everywhere, piles of them laying in junkyards, and getting new stuff is on the shelf, nice not having to chase parts. Makes it easier to complete my project quicker.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282679

 

Dude, I meant to PM the HAMB people... they'll help you out FAR more genuinely than a company that only wants to sell you their stuff.

~Jason

 

Lookin' good, man!

If you get a chance, we'd LOVE to see some pics of the treatment you gave your radiator (how it fits, etc)!

~Jason

 

HEY JASON I did a 50 ford coupe for BL used 90 s10 xt cab left all elec &drive train intack Shorten in front of rear moved front spring mounts forward of weld for safety shorten rear shaft. used firewall of S10. V-6 5speed air p.s. p.d.b.

 

The '91 rolling chassis I just brought home sits just about 12.5" at the frame's lowest point (roughly the mid section). Obviously this depends a bit on tire size, and also it's completely unsprung right now - no body, no engine, nada.... so loaded down and measured on level ground would be bit lower than that. But hopefully that's "ball park" enough to help?

 

Man, I'd love to see some pics of that!

Kind of reminds me of when folks keep the floor of the car with the donor chassis and weld it into the body they're mounting to it... only with a firewall!

~Jason

 

Here's a few places that may come in handy when searching for info.



http://www.s10forum.com/ has all kinds of info about modding the S-10, and has lots of info on just what can be done to the suspension, etc.



http://www.v8s10.org/forum/index.php is... um... self-explanatory.

~Jason

 

I originally was going to do that with mine but the explorers have a large gap between the floor and the chassis. I am still thinking about using the bellhousing cover section of the firewall, just to get a nice smooth section there.

 

Here's my basket case I started about 12 years ago on a S10 frame. Used the brake setup and the complete wiring harness from the S10.

 

I'm getting alittle curious. I got a 50 ford and heard about the s10 clip, but not about the complete chassis swap.. Ive been looking but havent found a build up on it..anyone have a link or know where I can check out a complete build up for a shoebox ford onto a s10 chassis?

 

You'd have to hit Chop37 up for some info on that. And hell, I'd love to see pics of that, too! Lots of folks doing trucks, I'd love to see more car people.

~Jason

 

I've wanted a '40 since forever!

~Jason

 

Don't forget, the Isuzu Hombe!

It's technically a GMC S-15, but come on... it's just a re-badged S-10 and we all know it. Hell, they were all built on the same F'n line anyway!



~Jason

 

Also of note, I read this several years ago and just found it again today:

"...In the 40 mph offset crash test, the frame buckled in the middle of
the occupant compartment, allowing significant intrusion into the driver's space.
So the crash performance wasn't good."

It's a .PDF, so have Adobe Reader handy (unless you're on a Mac, in which case it's built into Preview, assuming you're running some flavor of OS X). Here's the link:
http://www.iihs.org/news/1998/iihs_news_051298.pdf

So now you know where the weak spot is... bulk it up!

~Jason

 

Found this on the 'net. It's on Flickr and they say it is a 4wd (apparently) S-10 frame.


Anyhow, I was just thinking as to how someone could do to make an S-10 cab look like an older hot rod. Since, if you use a newer cab, you would also have an updated interior, gauges, power windows, windshield wipers, safety-glass, etc. that is all readily available a junkyard and over-the-counter. And all at a fraction of updating/retro-fitting an older truck cab.
I just fooled around with some pics, but I think that there is possibility with a newer model Ford Ranger cab (since the newer Ranger cabs are more rounded, they look more like an older truck). Anyway, here is what I was thinking about an S-10.

 

These guys were way ahead of you, man...

Here's the link: http://www.rodster.com/

I'm not a big fan, but they are out there, and some people really like 'em. Here's some pics, so you too can be all like, "Dude, WTF?"









It's the roofline that kills it. Lose the roof and shave the handles/add old-style ones and it gets better. Kind of.

~Jason