I built a 48 on a S10 chassis. http://m2.photobucket.com/albums/shaggy27/48 Project/#pb_complete link to my build photos. If i were you i would consider mounting tje cab at least 5 inches off the frame. Lookin good so far!!
I'll be mounting my cab an inch or so off the frame. This will let me get the ride height nice and low without notching the frame or anything crazy up front. I will be building a new floorboard anyways so I don't mind building a tunnel for the transmission.
Didn't get a whole lot done today on the truck because I did some organizing. Ok, so here's what I did to get started on cab mounting/floor building: I can't exactly build the floor until I have a transmission mounted up, so first I welded some angle iron to the inside of the kick panels. Then, I cut a couple pieces of 1x1 tubing to span from side to side. Right now the tubing is just resting on the frame and I still need to make actual body mounts, but I needed a way to set the body on the frame. At ride height, with my new wheels! I got bored while organizing so I used a little left over spray paint and window chalk to brighten things up a little...
Thanks! Having some trouble deciding exactly how I want to mount the cab. Once I get that situated progress will fly!
20 something degrees outside and I'm still at it! Cut the s10 rear cab mounts off and re-used them for the front cab mounts... Did both of the frame side mounts tonight and I'll have to do a little more cutting so I figured I'd give the neighbors a break since it was 9 already.
In an effort to do at least something for the truck project everyday, last night I took the engine off the tire it was sitting on and put it on an engine stand I picked up yesterday. I then proceeded to go inside and get warm. I've seen too many awesome build threads where someone loses motivation and you never find out how the car/truck ended up or if it is sitting just like it was when the last picture was posted. I refuse to stop this truck build. Thinking about and building this truck in my head all day at work is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. My '54 will drive all 12 hrs to the Lonestar Roundup on March 31, 2011. In case you missed my intro, my name is Mike and I love anything with wheels. I grew up on the MS gulf coast and graduated from Miss State University a couple years ago with a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. For the past two years I managed a local bike shop instead of entering the real world with an engineering job. Well I married the best woman ever in June of this year and decided soon after that it was time for me to step up my career and I was hired by a local company as an engineer. So now I work 7am to 5pm most days with the occasional late night for a project. I work on my truck out of a carport in a rented house in a crowded neighborhood, so I usually stop working by 9pm to avoid complaints. So, by the time I get home and get all my tools out I might have 2.5 hours to work on her. We'll say I average 3 nights during the week so that gives me 7.5 hrs plus one day on the weekends usually... not a whole lot of time, but I feel like I'm making progress quick enough. I don't know why I felt the need to talk so much this morning...
Finished up the front cab mounts and I was so excited I decided to put a couple bolts in each fender and set the bed on the frame. I'm pumped! This is pretty close to the ride height I'm going for.
hey mike, love the patina, I think you should keep it. Anyway, cab height note!!! Mounting it that low will produce major problems ex. if you can deal with tranny hump and less bed height you might have some problems with your radiator height. Depends on how you mount it and what radiator you use. Mine is a 51' so the grill is different, but you will prolly have to cut some the back of your grille too, as I have seen a 54' done before. But I can't emphasize enough, I would got about 4" off frame. 3.5-5 is the average. Good luck. P.S you could have just added your length before the springs so you didn't have to do all that extra work. None the less there is no right or wrong way, but your way!
Your truck is looking great. Makes me want one. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
I would hardly call it patina! Ha it's just layers and layers of old crappy paint! I have no problems with a transmission and driveshaft tunnel. And as far as a radiator goes, I don't have a stock one so I will just find one that works for me. Im more interested in the benefits of a non-hammered suspension geometry. Also, I didn't just lengthen the frame because I was going to run trailing arms and had already removed a spring mount when I found the trailing arms were bent.
I still like to call it Patina, I love the layered paint that rips off!! I have about the same ride height as you. I used 2" drop spindles in the front and 3" blocks in the back. I am 4" off frame. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=382481 pages 3-4 are the more interesting pages. You will run into radiator problems. Not saying it isn't feasible but the rad is always a debacle with these. I used an aluminum one that was made for a 55 bel air. The specs worked well for me. There are definitely some things I want to do on my next s-10 swap. I also have plans for the OG frame as well. I have heard of people doing the dakota swaps. So maybe I would try one of them down the road too. Good luck
The silverish spot on the passenger front fender is where I hit it with the wire brush and took a layer or two of paint off.... I might just knock down all of the brown paint and see what it looks like under that. It's mostly the brown paint flaking off.
yeah I am loving your "colors" I would leave it for sure. Also I realized you might have to make tunnel for your driveshaft too, also depending on the engine mounts. Mine are kinda high so I had to make a little driveshaft tunnel halfway through the cab. Is your frame the powersteering or the manual? Didn't see that or not, but the pwr steering is also a PITA with doing your rad. So you might have to make a crossmember that sits below the frame in the front as opposed to on top or flush. You will prolly have some grille issues to deal with. I hope it works out for you, cause this would be the lowest off frame I have seen, with these swaps. keep it up.
Yeah the inside of the cab is just as bad, it's green with red-ish brown paint flaking off everywhere... It's really killing me not to take a wire brush to the whole truck right now. I found where it looks to have been leaded up from the factory where both front fenders mount too. I'll definitely need at least a little tunnel for the driveshaft too. And I'm going to try and mount the motor as low as I can get it between the rails. It is powersteering, but I think I'll have more problems with header clearance than radiator clearance. I'll probably use an old mustang radiator with an electric fan pushing air to keep cool. Not much traffic to deal with in MS, so I shouldn't be sitting still for long on hot summer days. As far as grill issues, right now the frame rails are sitting pretty much in between the bottom and middle parts of the grill. I'll probably do a little trimming so I can jam everything up perfect, but nothing major will be needed as it already fits pretty good. Oh and btw dt50chevy mounted his an inch off the frame? Mine won't be much different than that... If I run into major issues then I'll space it up
Yesterday I took a break from the truck to make a Christmas present for my mom. She's an art teacher and loves anything artsy... Behold: A flower vase made of 22 gauge sheetmetal that happens to look like an old prism tank! I didn't intend it to look like a mini 70's digger tank, but if I don't mention it she will never know! I cut trapezoidal pieces and a pentagon for the bottom, tacked and repeated, and ground smooth. I then welded some bike chain stiff and added some leftover cogs as flowers... Don't have any pictures of the finished product, but you get the idea.
Here's a little extra motivation (like you need it) from rod and custom 1958 I know the exhaust is kind of goofy, but I like it.
Thanks for the motivation! I swept my garage tonight. A move in the right direction. You wanna drive to Round up. I could walk. I hope to see you there!
The Jalopy Journal
