[mericketson]

I have a 48 chevy half ton and have read about using the S-10 frame under it. I found a kit but haven't located very many folks who have done it. Anybody out there know something about this swap??
Thanks
Mike

[dan 2]

in answer to your quandry; start with S-series.org. there are mind boggleing numbers of other people doin what you want to. go for it

[home brew]

Is this the kit you found?

http://www.ad-engineering.com/

[dan 2]

i tried to investigate all the sites i could find before i started my project.it was like opening pandoras box. there seems to be endless info available. it sure did make life easier after getting started. and i didn`t use the A-D kit. just a lot of yankee ingenuity.

[Dusty82]

You might look for Joe (TooMany2count) here on the board. He's in the process of putting an AD Panel Van on an S-10 chassis, and could probably give you some tips.

Also, another member here, StinkinV8 (at least I think he's still a member here - anyone heard from him lately?,) is putting a '52 Suburban on an S-10 chassis. Here are a couple of links to his web page that deal with the frame swap. He hasn't updated his website in quite a while, but the relevant pages are still there.

http://www.commerce.usask.ca/staff/h...frameswap.html

http://www.commerce.usask.ca/staff/h...eswaptech.html

I'm still in the planning stages of my build, and I'm gathering parts from donor trucks and other sources to do it. I'm stripping an '83 Chevy C-30 1-Ton Diesel Dually with a seriously rotted out body, and stretching the frame 6". Then I'll be swapping a '55-F GMC 1-Ton Panel Van body onto that rolling chassis. I plan to end up with a '55-F GMC 1-Ton Panel Van Dually with a turbocharged 6.2 L diesel and a 5 speed manual transmission. I'm building it to be a powerful, strong, safe, and comfortable driver that will tow our boat or a flat bed trailer. I should have everything gathered together and be ready to actually start work this summer - possibly this spring.

I know the C-30 has a wider track width than the stock AD truck does, but with the dually rear, it won't matter because I'm going to have to do some pretty aggressive body work to cover those big wheels out back. The offset of the front wheels will help make up the difference in track width up front, and if they stick out of the front fenders a little, no biggie. I've seen a couple of AD trucks that have had a later model Chevy front suspensions (although not Dually front suspensions) swapped into them, and the front tires just barely protrude out of the front wheel wells - somewhere between a quarter and a half an inch. On a dually, this won't bother me a bit - in fact, it might just add to the "big truck" look I'm after.

If I were building a smaller (half-ton) truck, Suburban, or panel van, I'd probably opt for the S-10 frame swap as well, as the potential is there to make it a very comfortable daily driver or weekend cruiser, and Lord knows there are plenty of S-10s out there cheap to use as donors. The size of this beast I'm building (138 inch wheelbase!) tells me that an S-10 would be just a bit too lightweight for what I want to do with it. The previous owner's wife dubbed it "Moby Truck - the Great White Whale." It fits, so I'm running with that theme.

As you've probably seen online, there are several S-10 frame swaps being done with AD trucks. I'd love to drive one and spend a little time crawling around under it with a tape measure and the digital camera just to see how the swap was pulled off, and whether or not it lives up to its potential.

Have fun with your build!

Dusty

[TooMany2count]

ChevyTruck.ORG S10swap info
S10 frame swap from HAMB
G-body frame swap
i had more links but they were dead.

NOT to take anything away from this fine site BUT i do believe a couple of folks over on StoveBolt.com have done the swap using Ad-Engineering so u could ask a couple of questions over there also.
here's my link to Large Marge which is my project(&& Dusty it's a 1ton Panel that was made into a school bus ). i made my own mounts which was very easy & welded them to the frame once i knew where to place them.
as for the size & thickness of the S10 frame it will work out fine no matter if ur building a 1/2ton or a 1ton truck. what i have found is the S10 frame are WIDER then the mid 80's chevy/gmc 1/2ton truck frames && the thickness of the frame is sooo close u cant tell the difference unless u mic it, PLUS the 1ton stock AD frame is about 3/16th inch thick, i think i figure out that the stock 1/2ton AD frame weights about 1000LBS less then the 1ton frames because of the size & thickness of the 1ton frame. if ur worried about the s10 frame u can always box it under the cab for strenght which u shouldnt have to do.
&&& Dusty u should look at some 1 1/2ton && UP front sheet metal they are a tad wider then the 1/2 & 1ton sheet metal, that could put ur tires inside the front fenders & then all u'd need to do it make the rears a tad wider, just a thought.

if i can help u w/more info just send me an email(add @hotmail.com to my screen name), life has been nuts around here w/my dad passing away, my wife having by-pass surgery, my mom being sick & in the hospital & the son coming home on leave, sooooooooooooo as u can tell i've been running around like a chicken w/it's head cut off....later gators...joe

[dan 2]

i recently posted a for sale advertisement here. somehow many nice people have offerd me advice as to how to build the truck i am already putting together. what my add was supposed too indicate the extra pieces i am willing to sell. sorry for the confusion !

[Dusty82]

Originally Posted by TooMany2count

(&& Dusty it's a 1ton Panel that was made into a school bus ). i made my own mounts which was very easy & welded them to the frame once i knew where to place them.
as for the size & thickness of the S10 frame it will work out fine no matter if ur building a 1/2ton or a 1ton truck. what i have found is the S10 frame are WIDER then the mid 80's chevy/gmc 1/2ton truck frames && the thickness of the frame is sooo close u cant tell the difference unless u mic it, PLUS the 1ton stock AD frame is about 3/16th inch thick, i think i figure out that the stock 1/2ton AD frame weights about 1000LBS less then the 1ton frames because of the size & thickness of the 1ton frame. if ur worried about the s10 frame u can always box it under the cab for strenght which u shouldnt have to do.
&&& Dusty u should look at some 1 1/2ton && UP front sheet metal they are a tad wider then the 1/2 & 1ton sheet metal, that could put ur tires inside the front fenders & then all u'd need to do it make the rears a tad wider, just a thought.

if i can help u w/more info just send me an email(add @hotmail.com to my screen name), life has been nuts around here w/my dad passing away, my wife having by-pass surgery, my mom being sick & in the hospital & the son coming home on leave, sooooooooooooo as u can tell i've been running around like a chicken w/it's head cut off....later gators...joe

I seriously considered the S-10 frame swap, Joe, and actually found a 4WD S-10 down the street for $100 (no title.) I considered buying it until I found this Dually with a brand-new (never been started) 6.2L diesel in it for $500. (Long sad story of the reason it was sold for that cheap, but suffice to say the owner wanted to get rid of it because he is now living in a nursing home and it couldn't stay where it had been parked.)

I know where there are a couple of 1 ½ ton AD trucks, so I'll go do a bit of measuring to see what the fenders look like and whether they'll fit my 1-Ton. Thanks for the tip. Like I said, though, I'm not really concerned if the front tires stick out just a bit - say less than an inch. When it comes time to mock up the front fenders, I'll find out how much they'll stick out and go from there. My real concern is the rear fenders. As you know, panel van fenders mount almost flush with the sides of the body. I need to do a bit of creative thinking to figure out how I'm going to cover those dual tires out back without it looking like I bolted on some cheap fiberglass fender flares from J.C. Whitney. I'm thinking pick-up rear fenders might help here, and, if I have to, they'd be a lot easier to widen than the stock panel rear fenders would be.

I do have a question for you though, Joe. When you lengthened your S-10 frame, what wheelbase did you go for? The stock wheelbase for my panel is 137 inches. I figured on stretching the donor frame to give me 138 to try to center the rear wheels in the wheel openings a little better. If I'm wrong here, please let me know. I'm still in the planning stages, and I haven't even started taking the donor apart yet, so now's the time to get things straight. What do you think?

We (the wife and I) are pullin' for ya Joe. Everyone's in our prayers. Here's hoping your Christmas is the best it can possibly be under the circumstances. We've been there too.

Dusty

[TooMany2count]

http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyresto/4959.htm

Dusty here's good page to look at for some info..
i'll get back w/u later on the rest of the info..lots of running around to do.....joe

[54-1ton]

i bought a s10 long bed to do a frame swap on my sons 54 chevy 3800
but got denied by his mom to do it. So need less to say i have a 92 GMC Sonoma long bed for sale. I live near sacramento ca anyone interested please call 916-284-7833

[496CHEVY3100]

if you decide to do this swap try to find a long bed regular cab 2WD they are starting to be hard to find around hereextended cab or blazer do not work you car use a short bed but an the rear of the frame cut of 11 inches move the left side to right and right to left reweld this mwkes 117 inch wheel base yiur truck is 116 factory long bed but wheels are not centered in wheel well this mod mover rear spring hargers rearward after you get welded back move front spring hangers back to match or if you use long bed frame just trim off rear of frame after you mount bed i inch forward of bed to mount bumper on front go to drivers side first cut frame 1/2 inch forward of steering box measure other side to match weld flat plate on front of frame for bumper mounts you will hwve to trim running board mounts to correct lenth and weld small plate to attach to frane cut mount next to frame hope this helps get you started i have 2 of these trucks one is on s10 frame with big block chevy 496 turbo 400 tri power 3x2 second truck we are mounting on a 1984 corvette frame i will be using motor trans twin fuel injection 700r od sterring column and interior and wiring harness this way i can hook to obd for service and repair long bed frame 117 wheelbase DO NOT change this will center rear tires in wheel well

[327NUT]

54-1ton....not only is the original post 6 yrs. old you can't advertise on the forum, there's a classified section for that.