The gas tank was located under the cab on the drivers side, behind the running board. Also, though I haven't tried it , I believe that the 73-87 front suspension is a bolt on that is a 1/2 inch wider than the IHC frame, not sure about the 88 on up though.
The '88 is quite a bit wider than the IH. I don't have my measures right now though. With the exception of the width, the rest of the cab measurement are very close. I'm not sure how other trucks are put together, but these things are damn simple. It's was only about 18 bolts to remove the fenders, front end, inner and inner fenders all in one piece. Another cool thing is that the floor and firewall all come away from the top part of the cab. Anyway, updates from work done yesterday: I pulled the dash off the Chevy. What a blast. Front end of IH is pulled. Just need to get the cab off.
Ok, that's not an S-10 chassis, It's a C-10 aka big pickup. That makes a lot more sense but it may be a tad wide over all. I'm still among the sit back and wait and see brigade on this one. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
I've looked into doing similar projects... but the width of a modern chassis usually scares me. I'll be interested to see how this one turns out. Good luck!
cool....if the IH is rusty have you thought about channeling/body dropping on the chevy frame? it also might cover up some of that ugly where the leafs tie into the frame.
As I stated before, I need to drop the floor out of box and raise it about six inches. I'm retaining the running boards and they will hide most of the frame and other garbage. I'm gonna have to fab something up for the gas tank filler. But that should be pretty easy. I forgot the camera yesterday, but I'm on my way over to take some more measurements. I'll try and post what I have accumulated so far. I think you guys would be surprised at how close things are. But I'm new to this and may be totally wrong. I think the big problems I think I'm gonna run into is hiding the cluster fuck of wires and figuring out how to run the gauges. I really don't want to use the 80's back to the future style gauges that this thing has. Yuck. Also the steering rack has a huge chunk busted out from someone trying to steal it, and it has tilt. It's pretty bulky for such a simple cab. I have not looked at the steering on the two trucks, but hopefully I can morph the two into something better.
I never mentioned S-10? In the front, the Chevy frame measures 27" inside to inside (add about 5" for outside to outside) between the fender mounts. The IH frame measures 28" outside to outside. I'm gonna cut the front end off the IH and weld it into the frame on the Chevy where the front bumper would normally mount. That way, like twogees stated above, I can keep the IH front bumper. By doing this, I'm also able to use the two bolts that hold the front panel on. I'm not sure yet if I want to keep the A/C or not. But the radiator will fit right in between the IH inner fender with 1 1/2" on each side. Should fit nice and snug and look sleak. The firwall on the Chevy is about 8-10" wider. I have to remove the fan for the heat/AC and also move the wiring panel on the drivers side. I think I wil be able to cut a hole in the side of the cab and run the fan inside the left fender so I can keep the Chevy heater box. I'll have to wait and see how things line up. Once again I forgot the camera. But I only had a couple hours to work tonight. Progress tonight- -Remove Chevy front bumper -Removed Chevy inner fenders -Removed Chevy header panel -Started to remove fan from heat box On deck- -Narrow Chevy friewall -Fill Oxygen tank and cut cab bolts out. -Find new rear shackle for Chevy (the PO rigged something up but it's a 1" lower on the R side rear -Pull A/C out and convert to air pump. Pics soon...
Oh yeah...If you want Chevy frame dimensions, I got this link from a ton of searching. Pretty sweet. http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/framespecs.html Thanks Chuck.
Just found this too! S-100 with a Chevy front end! Sweet! Lots of good measurements on there. http://57ihbuild.blogspot.com/
that thing just fell right into place....looks like someone did their homework. making pretty good progress...ill be watching this one for sure.
Hello, I just got back from a week long vacation in Northern MN. It's strange how they are relaxing until you get back home... I decided to scoot over to the trucks for a bit. Progress today- -Broke the IH cab loose. I need to get a few guys to help me lift it off. -Trimmed the Chevy floor pan a bit. I decided to do something different. More this weekend. Sorry for no pics.
Sloooow progress. So far I managed to tear it all apart with no problem! Now to begin the hack job of putting it back together. Progress today- -Cut out IH firewall -Trimmed down Chevy firewall -Cut off front Chevy cab mounts -Cut off radiator support mounts (I think I'm gonna use them for rear cab mounts??) From my guesstimations, it appear that the Chevy cab is about 4-6 inches further out that the IH cab. Now I need the boards help. It doesn't look like there is much stopping me from scooting the Chevy firewall back a little bit. The steering rack seems to be the only thing that is holding me back. If I could extend that a bit, it would be radical. Anyway. Enough of my rambling. If any of you see something I'm doing wrong, please let me know. This is the first project I have ever done.
I got the cab set on today. I was worried that the gas tank was gonna make it sit kind of high since it is about 4 inches higher than the frame. But it looks like I'm gonna be about 4" off the ground at the running board. I still think I might cut out the floor out above the tank and drop the IH cab right on the frame. The running boards will be on the ground if I do though. Hmmm. Probably not bad since I'm pretty much riding on the bump stops up front anyway. I also had to trim the inn fenders more to clear the brake M/C and the frame. I'm not sure if I need it anyway, but we'll see. The heater box also got tossed. I think it's gonna look like shit inside the cab. I found a crazy old local hot rod guy that has a hoard of old electric heaters from the 40's and 50's and they also have some style. That'll be for later. I forgot the camera so no pics yet. Headin' out to play bike polo in a bit so I'll try and snap some pics. I was pretty excited to see the cab set on there today though! I can't wait to drive it!
i saw no intro and some ot words and thort here we go. entertainment. but checking out your thread i discovered that what you doing is pretty cool. post heaps of pics, this is a great way to do up an old truck. lots of potental, look forward to seein it done.
And the fun begins. I found a 3" steering shaft extension today. They wanted $40 for the damn thing though. I'm gonna try and find one used. I know it looks funny. But you get the idea for now. I have to shorten the front of the Chevy frame a couple inches to clear the IH front end. The radiator is gonna have to be pushed back a couple inches. It should clear the fan though. Cab length is good and I should be able to scoot the Chevy firewall right in to where I want it. I might have to bend the brake lines a short bit though. I'm also leaning towards dropping the cab down, but I'm gonna have to raise the front end up again or I think it'll drag everywhere I go. I thought the wheels would work out, but I'm not so sure I really like them. More tomorrow...
Hahahaha . Your not kidding. You truck is worse than a beater! I almost bought a Ford F-350 in about the same shape. The truck is not as nice as the photos show. It was re-painted. I will have to get pics of the body some time. The hood and roof were caved in and pounded out by the PO when he was 17. There isn't one panel that has been pounded out. Luckily only one fender had bondo in it. EVERY single bolt had to be broken or cut out due to the rust. The nice thing is the metal on the truck is thick, so it's mostly surface rust underneath. Maybe beater was the wrong word to use. But it's far from a "traditional" rod. I didn't realize how strict y'all are around here. I have a $1000 into it so far. Which was the cost for both trucks. I'd say it's a beater compared to some of the vehicles on here.
damn...you been busy. i'd like to see how it looks once you bob those horns in the front and the sheet metal lines up better. that should be a nice reliable daily driver when its all put together....those chevy trucks are tanks.
I shaved down the front frame horns. Now the front end clears. I also got the cab set on the frame level to see where I need to put the mounts. I wanted to try and put the cab on without channeling it to fit over the gas tank, but I think it's just gonna be to high. I didn't start cutting into the floor to much yet. I need to go pick up some steel to brace the cab. My camera died so I didn't get any pics of the front end mock up the other day. I did manage to snap a few quick pics of the firewall. I'm gonna have to trip it some more to fit in, but it came out damn close. I used a piece of heavy wire to make a template on the IH cab, and transferred it to the Chevy firewall. I have to head out of town tomorrow for a job interview. So I won't get to work on it again until Tuesday. Here's a little bit more progress. Do any of you know of a steel wheel in a 16" that would fit the Chevy five bolt pattern? The IH pattern is a lot larger.
Bare with me guys. I'm new. I have already said "I should have done it this way" a few times. But hey, I don't have anyone around here to help me. And asking questions on here usually ends two ways, and usually not for the best. So I keep to myself. I'm learning, and I usually learn the wrong way first. But for now... Today I decided I was gonna channel the cab. I ended up getting the floor section cut out so the floor will clear the gas tank, and also room for the drive shaft (although I'm not sure how much it'll move up and down). So the rear of the is resting on the frame using the floor supports (previously about 6" higher). I also had to remove two inches from the bottom of the cab to clear the gas tank. It's low now. With the running boards on it'll be about 3" off the ground. Maybe to low. Once again I forgot my camera. Sorry guys.
I know. It's ugly, but it'll hold. I used longboard urethane wheels for mounts. Got the bird shit tacked in. The place I have the truck only has like 40 amp service so the welder was struggling. I just need to get the cab set on so I can drive it to my girls farm and use a real welder. Anyway, the rear mounts are set and tacked in. Need to get bolts tomorrow and also some rubber. Again, I did this with the shit I had laying around. I have only spent about $40 for blades and cut off wheels. I cut out a section of the support in the floor. I used a piece of steel from the old seat and flipped it so I could clear the tank and drive shaft. I used two longboard wheels for the mounts. I scavenged some pieces from the old mounts to make seats for the wheels. I still have to weld some more pieces in so the wheels won't shift on the mounts thought. BUT, the cab is set on the mounts now! I think I'm gong to add a gusset on the frame around the mounts and also on the cross member on the floor. Again, I know it looks rough. I will clean it up later. I'm learning.
I put ten more solid hours in on the truck today, and worked five! As usual, I forgot the camera. Progress today- -Drilled spot welds for HOURS. removed floor in cab. -Measured -Took a small section out of the front cross member so it would clear the transmission. -measured -Drilled holes for the front mounts and made two new holders for the other longboard wheels. -Bolted the front end on to check gaps and to see where the wheels were at (a little bit forward but as expected). -Measure, measure, measure. -Drilled out the spot welds in two of the cross beams in the bed. I need to remove these to lower the bed down to the frame. I think I'm gonna be able to get away with the stock floor after all. -Cut down the rear of the frame and got rid of the bumper, receiver hitch and a small piece of the frame. Damn it look better now. I have to pick up artwork from a gallery tomorrow so I won't have time to work on it. But I will try and get pictures.
Holy cow!!! that thing is really starting to take shape!! Looks Great! Awesome job on the first build. keep up the good work and keep them pictures coming!
The Jalopy Journal
