1940 ford pickup on an s10 chassis

I have seen some of these trucks that were on Ford Ranger chassis. They looked good and although I have not done one of them, I am told that are a good swap. I saw one that was on a 4 wheel drive chassis and it set low enough(about stock height) that you did know it was a 4 wheel drive.

I think when you start to considering frame swaps you should consider your personal fabricating skills and the tools you have. I like to do the swaps but I can see that others may need to go another route.

 

Might Fit well on a Ranger Frame but they have that Dumb Twin I-beam Suspension that is a pain to get lined up and tends to wear out tires quickly if not set up right.

I would also suggest finding a stock frame and setting up a MII & Maverick/Stang/Ranger/9" Rear end. Then your body will bolt up nicely as well as all your bumpers etc. etc.

You can use the S-10 but it will be more work fitting the body to the chassis. make sure that you have the 40 front end on the truck cab when making mounts etc.
The V8 in the S-10 should also be set back a little from where the "aftermarket swap" mounts place it...since they are set up for S-10 bodies. It will give you more room for Headers and Steering Shafts, Etc. Make sure you get the motor High enough so that the fan sucks through the center of the radiator and not the bottom...unless you plan on using electrics.

Note on the 700R4 Tranny - go to www.bowtieoverdrives.com and read, read, read. They need to be set up correctly to last.

 

At one time I was going to do this swap and did a alot of research on it. You may have to adjust the weelbase on the S-10 chassis. Not too hard to do as the center of the frame is a straight section. The biggest problem is the S-10 steering box intrudes into the radiator support on the '41. Hope this helps some, Armstrong

 

There was a local guy that was putting 35-40 fords on Ranger frames. He did a buttload of em.

 

Here's how I see the propsed swap and its merits:

There are ten ways to solve a problem.
Three of them are dead wrong.
Four of them are iffy and should be avoided.
The remaining three are winners.
One of them is the absolute best idea,
but so long as you select one of the three winners,
you're going to win.

That's something my boss passed on to me. I have a tendency to beat my head against my desk for days trying to come up with the best way too solve a problem without realizing that I already have several workable solutions at hand.

The thing to realize is that every solution has compromises and trade-offs. If the S-10 chassis is going to do what you want for a reasonable cost in time and money, go for it. Sure there might be a better way to do it, but it sounds like you've found one of the three winners.


[Stepping off soapbox]


Ed

 

Watch out for that S-10 rear axle. They are really narrow and weak with the 7.5 inch ring gear. I am using a 1980 camaro rearend on my S-10 frame swap on my 1950 Chevrolet.

 

Since there seems to be no floor in the cab, making the S10 frame is no big deal. It would be different if you were going to have to move mounts around and such, but you can put them where you want, since you are making a floor anyways.

 

Bingo.

 

im doing a 49 f-1 on a s-10 longbed single cab frame. its fitting really well with little mods i wonder how much diffrent the cab dimensions are from the 49? i think the bed is the same from 36 to 50 on the ford pick ups which means i think the track is the same which would if like mine works good. i think the s-10 is a good chice espically for a daily drive. i am doing it cause i get power front disc breaks power steering in dipendent front supension like you i got just the front end only. let me know how you made out.