I am a new member thought I would take a minute to introduce myself. I live in Iowa and was raised around many street rodders including my dad but never really had the rodding bug hit me till lately. I recently bought a 48 1 ton but will use the cab only. I chose this style of truck because my dad has a 48 Chevy convertible (i'll get some pics up of it sometime) and I thought it would be really neat to have them side by side at shows. My style for building this truck will probably be a bit different from his and i'm sure many of yours. I have owned about every different style of vehicles including imports, minitrucks, suvs and currently own a Mercedes. Now to what you guys really care about the plans for the build... Frame: s-10 front clip drop spindles tubular control arms air bags front and rear custom rear half of frame four link not sure what rear end yet fuel cell My friend that will be building the frame has been building frames for a few years and has built a few cover trucks in the mini trucking scene. Engine: Not sure exactly but planning on using a newer chevy truck engine and tranny Body: fill in side and top vent also the louver on the pass. side shaved door handles chrome grill and front bumper smooth firewall sheet metal floor and tranny tunnel not sure on seats yet I would like to keep the dash looking original but no matter it should look clean power windows some sort of audio/video setup roll pan in the rear truck didn't come with a bed so if anyone knows of clean parts near the midwest let me know Wheels: 22"x9" in the front with a 4" lip 22"x10" or 11" in the rear with a 6" lip hopefully get a sponsorship for the wheels and tires The truck should lay the fenders and running boards on the ground with the 22s when finished. I am guessing it will probably take a few years to finish this truck depending on money and availability of parts since I want to try to use original parts as much as possible. I will put up pics of the progress as I can. Thanks for showing interest in my build and if you have any questions post up because I know I will have some for you guys.
Welcome, Yates. Sounds like the beginnings of a cool ride You didn't tell us what kind of engine you plan to use. Looking forward to progress pictures. We like pictures
Well you said that it would not be like any others on here, well not necessarily. Sounds like you have great vision of the truck and a good plan. I'm doing the S-10 thing as well, but I'm using the whole thing. If you want to save a little work and maybe even some money then use the entire S-10 frame. I put air ride technologies air bar for S-10 in the rear and firestone bags and cups up front. I've got a fully programmable air ride system that is in the middle of installation now (stalled because stupid parts people can't send me the right bag cups for the front), hopefully they'll be here this week. One question about the front. If your using air ride then why are you using drop spindles. These frames set low enough that if you can't get it low enough with air, then you should just hang it up. My frame sets about 3-4 inches off the ground, which will put my boards and fenders ON the ground. Also why are you going tube A- arms. Stock are more than strong enough, and no one is ever going to see them really. I know it's your truck and not mine, I'm just asking the same thing that my air ride guys asked me. He was very straight forward and really helped out a lot. Another thing the 22 in the front is not a problem, but the 22 in the rear is. I have also talked with a few pro builders that have tried this and they said the only way is the 2 1/2 in wider rear fender and still have to tube the bed little to get it to fit. The good thing about the S-10 rear (the reason I say why not use the whole frame) is it is not as wide and tucking big wheels is made much easier with a narrowed rear. Also the S-10 air bar is a breeze to BOLT in (notice I said bolt and not weld). It took me between 6-7 hours to put mine in by myself without a lift. The only down fall I see (which is not a down fall to me because this is what I wanted anyway) is you have to run your exhaust short and in front of the wheel by the running board. It is a very tight fit and really don't see how you'd get your exhaust around the four link and axle. Like I said it wasn't a big deal for me because I wanted to run my exhaust out the running boards anyway. Also with the S-10 frame you don't have to run a fuel cell, just use the S-10 tank. As far as the body work of shaving things and all that then it sounds like we're building the same truck. It really looks very clean and classy that way. The roll pan in the rear really sets one off. I'm in the same boat as far as the bed goes. I don't have one either so I'm just going to fabricate my own. If you're looking to buy one complete then Mar-K is the only source you should consider. Also the biggest reason for me building my own is because I have to sneak in an extra 4 inches in mine so the wheels will be in the center of the fender. Perfect wheel base for this is 118 inches. My frame is 122. Oh well that is minor and most people will never even notice it. I used the extended cab short bed, don't use that one, use the regular cab long bed and it will be dead on. If you have cab mount issues this way then talk to coilover because he does this conversion a lot and has helped me tremendously. Any way enough rattling on and welcome to the group. I'll attach a pic so you can see my air set up in the rear. Hopefully fronts will be posted soon.
Kevin, I always look at pics first Too much text, so I skipped that I like the pics though. Can't wait to see it in Oct!
No worries Ken, even Tab said I never talk that much. Well maybe I just got off on a subject that I know all to well.
The reason why I am building the back half of the frame, using drop spindles and all that is for the 22's. I was considering just bagging the stock s-10 frame and running like 15" or 16" steelies with white walls but I know as soon as I get it done I will wish that I had just takin the time to set it up for 22's. I figured I would have to widen the rear fenders a bit. I seen one at the goodguys show with 2" widen fenders and it looked really good also I don't mind putting tubs in the bed. I will check out Mar-K. I was looking at LMC, Brothers and few other web sites that I can't think of yet but hadn't really got serious about finding one yet.
Welcome, Yates! You have come to the right place to knock some ideas around. S-10s have been done here, so you have help. Good luck with yours! Kevin, you can "rattle" on anytime! Looks great, by the way! Ahhh, to have a garage...
If you insist on using the original back half and just building it then make for sure you measure the width before ordering your wide rear wheels. The original frame and rear end is much wider than the rear of the S-10. I would hate for you to get it all together then the wheels stick out of the fenders. I used the two wheel drive rear end out of a 2001 S-10 blazer. The 4wd is as wide as the old stock rear. The good thing out the 99 up blazer is it is 4 wheel disc. I built my frame to handle a 20 x 8.5 in the front and 20 x 10 rear. I have a 3:42 gear, 4 wheel disc, and over drive tranny. Good gas mileage (for a hotrod) and great stopping power. With the 4 link rear and the air bags it should handle like a sports car. I know sports car is hard to believe, but I've ridden in several old cars with air ride technologies that would out handle the BMW's I work on every day. Anyway keep us updated with what you do and of course we all love to see pictures. Most people learn so much more through pictures or atleast I do.
Ha I get it!!! You're just not gonna let me live down the rattle thing since I've preached so much about pro paint. Oh well the frame and engine turned out well. I've got a long weekend coming up so hopefully air ride and tranny will be done. Gotta watch my Titans on sunday but that won't take to much of my hot rod time away.
Kevin's 48 I think you are misunderstanding me i'm going to use the front clip from a 2wd s-10 and building the back half . I will try to put up pics of my friends frame that he built (same guy that will be building mine) so you can understand what i'm saying.
Ah Ha! okay so I get the DA of the day award. You have to excuse me it's been a LLLLLLLOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG day today. I understand ( I think) S-10 front and fully fabricated rear? If the guy built frames for trucks that made covers, then I'll say he know's what he's doing and he'd be the man to listen to. About the pic, definately post'em.
Its ok I have plenty of days like that . I will have to resize those pics before posting them but for now ill post up pics of the Caddy that he just finished baggin for another friend of ours. Its a 66 Deville with 30k original miles my friend picked up from the St. Louis area. Enjoy...
Nate, Although I would never set one up like this cause it just ain't my thing, I believe they are able to raise them with an onboard air compressor before driving off. This is one of those aesthetic things that folks do. I am just too into function rather than this kinda thing. Don't get me wrong, if you pay, you can play. Gater
Yates, Yes. Again, I am not putting it down (pun intended). I just won't do it to anything I have. You might say it's because I am old but it is really cause I also have my individual tastes. Led sleds have been around for years and I have always thought they were neat. If that Caddie isn't a sled, I don't know what is. Gater
