I think we have a little spice here. Don't worry Brit. I have been called a jerk by a lot of women. And none of them had old trucks. Gater
ummm, Jess? (GMC girl) I think you just stole Kevin's heart~ even though your truck wears the G mug. He is doing the same S-10 swap with his *yawn* Chevy. He's just got his frame to his house so he can get crankin' on it. If you have questions or are seeking ideas about the S-10 swap, I'm sure he can help. He had me standing on the edge, ready to do the whole EFI/700 thing, but late nights spent on this site, big glasses of box cab wine, and many prayers to Heaven above led me to keep my 228/4speed and simply (?) update the rear end. I'm putting discs on mine, even though it's just a six. I like everything about discs, and not much about drums... Quite possibly, in 14 more years, this truck of mine will become a gift to my daughter. That, or I'll (we'll) build her a new one. I can only hope that I'll be reading her posts on this site by then. It's cool to have you on board AND posting! Don't worry about brit~ He'll think he can bad-mouth GMC owners, and then God will strike him down for a while. It's a long process with him, but he'll learn. Your grandfather must have been a great man!
Another all-nighter Anybody else but me notice that our newest members first post was in the wee hours of the morning? Hey Zig!!! How 'bout dat??? Another gear head up late thinking about, working on their truck and posting in the middle of the night. Andy
Andy It might just be a "G" thing! "the night time, is the right time..." Just make sure you get up early and re-read what you wrote!
Hey Zig- If you ever need parts for that truck of yours or want to build another one, there is a really decent salvage yard in Wymore NE. I think it is about 275 miles North-West of where you are. Long drive, but worth the trip. My cousin lives in Salina KS, and we meet there about once a year to go through and get parts. This guy has tons of old chevys and GMCs, and they are all organized by make and year. I also like this place, because he just lets you go right in with your own tools and pull parts. He is pretty fair on his prices too. (I will warn you, these shopping sprees can be dangerous!... It is worse than us women and shoe shopping I swear!)
Thanks, Jess! I will~ I pretty much need a whole new bed for a 3/4 gone 1/2ton. rear fenders, gate, front bed... I MIGHT be able to reuse the bedsides. I hear you about trips to the yard~ It's the same reason I stay out of animal shelters! The only difference is, I could NEVER have enough of these old ADs!
Did I hear S-10 frame Okay Jess I'm doing the whole S-10 thing with my truck. As a matter of fact I just got my frame to nashville this weekend and I've already installed my four link and rear bags. Front bags and controls are on the way, hopefully by the weekend. I'm just wondering why you want a four wheel drive frame if you're not going four wheel drive with your truck. If you did this you would have a lot of unecessary crap in the way. Maybe you know something I don't. I put the rearend out of a 02 blazer 2wd in mine. I know you may say not wide enough, but it's perfect for 20X10.5 wheels, plus disc brakes. Okay I'm gonna post a few pics now so you guys can see how my monday went.
OK, What is missing here? Where is the torque tube? Where are the Huck brakes? Where is that familiar trace of oily residue from that little breather on the rear end? This is no fun! Show me grease, grime, a little blood trail, Rosie the riveter's trademark, something!! Just funning you, son! Looking good! Still don't know what half of that stuff does that you are bolting on!
Another mid-westerner? Ahh Wymore. Haven't been there in probably 5 years but took many many a part from there. Especially enjoyed digging through all those cars hunting 1969 Caprice (my first love) parts (wasn't into the trucks at that point). Have you ever been to his 'special' yard where he keeps even more goodies? I hear its one of the few places left on earth you can pick parts off of 1970 GTO Judge's (or the like)... I'll be tackling much of the EFI modern engine here shortly. Already have the engine, next is the front suspension. I chose to keep the factory frame. For the cost of the S-10 thing I believe I can get close to what I'm looking for. To each their own. If you're in need of a good place for used truck parts (newer stuff) try Kosiski in Omaha. I picked up a 30K mile 5.3 complete with EFI and computer for $400, then a 4L60 (low mileage) for another $400. The newer the stuff is, the cheaper it is there. Andy
Torque tube= in the trash. Huck brakes= who needs them when you've got disc all the way around. Oily residue= not on this trailor queen it was sand blasted off. No grease, grime, blood trail has already been wiped off= happy street rodder. Just coming back at Ken so Nate don't get all upset, I've still got the torque tube, just not going to use it. Ken all the little pretty brackets and things give me better traction and stability in the corners, needless to say the ability to drop the truck on the ground when I get to the show. Hopefully I'll have the front end parts by friday so saturday I can put in another all day job. BTW has anybody ever taken out front S-10 springs? Do they have much tension on them or can I strap them and pull the A arms apart? I just need to know how far back to stand when I slam that lower A arm off. Zig are these pictures giving you any ideas yet? HHHMMM food for thought!
Who me? Change MY mind??? For the record~ Howdjah get that NICE, BLACK frame, Kevin??? Sorry, I'm so in love with where I'm going, a pack of mules won't change my mind! Believe me when I say~ As soon as my 228 is worn out, THEN I'll go V8/auto and head up to Nebraska to take on another G you might have heard about! Red and white VS yellow... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....
I see you read my email Zig. What he's talking about is I was going to powder coat my frame, but the guy shot his price through the roof on me so I decided to paint it myself. I talked to a body shop down the street from my house and they told me about the Dupli-color semi gloss black that your local flaps sales in a , you guessed it, rattle rattle can. I know that brought a tear to Zig's eye when he read that. It really does look good, like a spray gun instead of a spray bomb.
Put the truck up on jackstands and them put your floor jack under the control arm and compress the lower arm/spring to normal load. free the ball joint and carefully let the jack down. I ran a chain through my springs just to be safe, but it really didn't look necessary.
Thanks flipper, that is kinda what I was thinking. They really don't look like they are under that much pressure, but you definately eased my mind. I can't wait to see the truck in louisville. I think dad and I are going to drive up and spend two days there. Hope to meet you then.
Im just a babe magnet I think she's hooked, they cant resist me you know, its a curse, they always fall in love with the Brit!
Just an update... Decided to go with the 2 wheel drive s10. Found a guy through a friend of mine, that wants to get rid of his s10 blazer for $200. I figured, that since this is a rust free s10 (the engine is shot) that I would just use it instead of the 4 wheel drive that I was going to use. Who knows, maybe I will just rebuild, and turbo-charge the v6 that is in the s10, and put my 400 sb in something else. Fuel injection sound like a pretty nice idea for my daily driver. I think that I would really like to get rid of that automatic transmission too. Oh the constant metamorphasis (I am not sure I spelled that right) of my yellow GMC... What to do... What to do. For right now, I just need to get that steering box switched out, so that I don't have to crank on that wheel so much just to make a turn You know your steering is gettin bad when you can turn your wheel halfway, and the truck still goes straight!
