Chevy AD truck turned daily driver???

I didn't know anything about girls the first time either, but I'm pretty damn happy with the results!

 

Nothing wrong with an old daily driver, if you know how to take care of it.
My '60 F100 pickup has four-wheel drum brakes, bias-plies, and a '57 motor with points. I drive it daily .... I just need the occasional weekend to fiddle with stuff.

 

Congratulations, out of two pages of posts, you are the only smart *** post. The guy was asking a legitimate question and most gave good answers from their experience. Maybe you were just kidding.

 

there is a daily driver with a S10 frame under it here where im from, and he says "it rides like a 2003 S10 but with the appearance of a older truck"... so i take it he likes it too.... he even kept the 4.3L...

 

Good point, Jocko. I was thinking trucks, not cars. My '91 Caprice got about 20-22 when I had it years ago also. Nothing major to it, just a big old B body.

If you row, you'll get better mileage as well, usually. Look at the 5 and 6 speed ******s with a decent rear gear.

Sorry to hear about the H3. I thought you were a tree hugger...

 

Chev's of the 40's sells a bolt-in front crossmember for adding Mustang II suspension, etc.
Personally, I think a good way to go for a non-hotrodder such as yourself would be to buy a running S10 with 4.3 V6 and use the complete powertrain, electronics and all. That way it can be serviced at any shop that's familiar with GM stuff. Plus it would be reliable without having to worry about weather-related issues, finnicky ignition and carbs, etc. Overdrive auto trans to boot.

 

I have a 52 on an S-10 frame that i picked up last year. I drove it daily for a couple month's once i had the motor squared away..
Right now it's torn down and i'm rebuilding it... This WILL be my full time driver until they drop salt on our roads.
As some other's have said, it drove the same as an S-10. Handled, stopped, rode great but look's old without having to do major ch***is mods. Hard to beat that as far as i'm concerned ...
Now, for me its a welcome feeling because for about 6 year's i used my old 33 ford truck as a daily...chopped, channeled, dropped axle etc..i loved that too, but this is more real world with this ch***is.
It will be able to tow anything an S-10 can, and if i'm 300 mile's from home and tear up a wheel bearing, i can go to the local part's store and get one..easily.....anything on the ch***is can be bought at a local parts store for the most part, and chances are, the part's will be in stock as well.

I've seen them done as a full ch***is swap, and clip'd with a different rear. BOTH are very functional, so i'm not at all saying one is better than the other. Just stating my own thought's.

Tony

 

i say drive it as a daily driver, dont be scared. this is the way i look at it these cars and truck were built as daily drivers back then, so why can they not be thought of the same way now. i drive my 51 everyday never had an ounce of trouble out of it, always kept up the maintenance and ive had the car for 27 years. true its got a small block in it but for 20 or so years it was still flathead powered. but i could never see me driving a new car any way

 

Lots of them. Any TPI or LS Corvette is V-8 powered and can give that kind of mileage.

I have a co-worker with a full size Diesel pickup who claims he does 24 mpg. He isn't the sort to lie about such things, but I find it hard to believe.

A gas V-8 powered full size pickup is a completely different matter. None of mine get even close to that.

 

Stock frame, mustang II front clip, Camaro rearend, run a rebuilt 235 straight six with an updated 5 speed from S10 or Camaro. I don't think it would be wise to frame swap if this is your first old car/Truck project. Some good reference sites..www.stoveboltengineco.com and www.patricksantiquecars.com

 

AAA plus card, a cell phone and Drive it

 

Tree hugger? Well now, let's have a look at that...

180HP sled...nope, V8 Jeep GC...nope, 350 with 3 deuces for the truck(or maybe the bubbletop)...nope, old Bronco with a 5.8...nope, and 83 miles per day round trip for work...I reckon I'm a tree hugger's nightmare. FWIW I like the H3 even tho it's my babe's daily, but pretty soon I'll be drivin the bubbletop to work. Hope to be done by early summer and be gettin pretty decent mileage outta that center carb Maybe then I'll get closer to tree hugger status, that is by keeping more "paper" in my pocket!

 

If I were starting from scratch, I would buy a complete s-10 with a 4.3 v6/auto transmission, and swap the AD body onto that. You would power steering and power disc brakes, overdrive transmission, EFI, and a ch***is 40+ years newer!

Plus, you can send out your wiring harness, and have all the smog wires and unneeded other wires from the wiring harness, so the EFI is easier to hook up.

For a daily driver, this would be my decision. Old trucks are cool and all, and nostalgic when you're driving down the road, but honestly, I wouldn't want to drive something with a solid axle, manual steering, and drum brakes every day. Not with the idiots driving around now.

Nick

 

I've been standing back on this one, I've always driven old. my wife keeps a newer car, everything I drive has points and a carb period.
my old shop truck was a 75 2 wheel drive blazer (I still have it) I put 778,000 miles on it and won't quit till it tops a million. My new truck is a 54 GMC been working on it for 2 years, finally going back together for the last time. I'm running a 55 Cad 331 with 58 eldorado heads and tri-power, hooked to the stock granny geared 4 speed a 58 Edsel 9 inch rear with 3.0 gears. I plan on low to mid 20's mpg.
I base the milage on privous Cad 331's a 53 coupe de ville with El Dorado dual fours ran 17-20 mpg highway. my 48 Plymouth with a built 331 pulled 22 mpg both of those were Hydramatics. I've always wanted a stick Caddy motor

 

Had my 52 truck as a daily driver since 1995.
Everything stock but the 235 engine, 3.55 ring & pinion gears, monoleaf fronts and lowering blocks on the rear.

Got about 100K on it and never felt the need for making modern 'upgrades'.
Gets about 18-20 mpg on the freeways.

I love old Chevys as they were made. A modern car/truck with an old body bolted on top just ain't the same.
All that's needed for today is more displacement of the same engine and taller rear gears.
To each his own.

 

Okay, thanks to everyone who has posted so far, it has been very helpful. Let me point out that I am not insane enough to try to do this myself (with the little knowledge I have). Rather I'm researching what can be done so that I can get the necessary pieces and have someone qualified do the putting together.
The quote above seems like the smartest thing for my situation. So what would be the best way of doing that?
Thanks again!

 

There is a complete kit you can buy that includes every thing to put an AD on an S10 frame, but I cant remeber what company makes it.

Cl***icparts.com has a lot of info on these trucks.

 

Does anyone have any pics of a setup done like this?
I have a 66 C-10 that is probably going to serve as my daily once it is back on the road. I've been thinking about selling it to buy a truck that's a little older.... I kinda like the sounds of this...

 

i drove a `53 1/2 ton everyday to work and on sat. doing erands for fifteen years. i was a union carpenter and i had to do some traveling, and this was with a 216 cu.in babbit beater. if you use a full pressure block and a 3.55 ring and pinion, i think you would be in pretty good shape. if you need anything for your truck, P.M. me i have a 30 year collection of N.O.S. parts.

 

I've gotta question, but I don't wanna 'hijack this thread'. I think good answers would be relevant. I drove a stock '48 years ago. I was driving fairly fast on the freeway and somebody cut me off to the point that I had to stab the brakes hard to keep from running into the van (LEARN TO USE YOUR MIRRORS, VAN DRIVER!). It seemed like the truck almost jumped a whole lane over when this happened. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of variables as to what about the truck caused it, but what would you guess? The main reason I ask is I would partially answer the original post with 'front disc brakes and a dual master cylinder'. But, if the front suspension and/or something else likely contributed to the lane jumper ...

Thanks,
Kurt

 

I have a 50, completely rebuilt suspension, 235 I6, Holley/Webber progressive 2 bbl, HEI ignition, Fenton Headers, Smitty gl*** packs, T5 5 speed, 2.73 rear end, disc brakes on the front, dual master, power ***ist. Truck does 70mph @2100rpm. Was on the freeway and same thing happened to me. Except this person decided to stop in the left lane to make a u-turn on a freeway! Hit the binders at 70 and almost wound up in the center of the median. Jumped 1 lane. Everything is new and tight on the truck. Since that, I am planning on doing the same thing. Landed a 93 s10 and doing a frame swap to the truck. Straight axle and manual steering ****s. Cab mounts won't be a problem, just trying to figure out how to do the radiator/front fender mount.

 

I drive a 49 on an S10 as my daily. I used the AD Engineering kit because I wanted to get it on the road fast but the brackets are fairly straight forward. There is a company in Minnesota, E-Z Ch***is Swaps, who takes the approach of buying a good donor S10 and using most of the steering and brake components and the engine/******. The kit includes brackets to mount the S10 column, pedals, accelerator, engine, ******, bumpers, running boards, and tells how to adapt the wiring harness. Might be something that fits your needs.

 

If your car or truck is changing directions when you hit the brakes either you have a brake problem or a suspension problem.

Check all the bushings and shackles , make sure you don't have a greased brake shoe or a wheel cylinder that isn't working. Make sure none of the springs are broken and that the frame isn't broken. Something is wrong, straight axle and leaf springs aren't inherently instable.

Doing a frame swap is a lot of work to correct what might be a simple problem.

 

those kits for doing the S10-AD swap are not cheap! $12-$1,500 bucks but if they get you going down the road today more power to them. the one thing i would step up and buy is a kit to install a r&p in a s10. then the core support headache would be gone.

 

don't worry so much about these mounts we already have drawings..
i just got my brackets back they look great...
and there are enough people who are willing to help you out with questions..

 

While it isn't an AD truck I drive a 51 ford f-1 daily.

my recomendation is to rebuild the suspension stock, update the brakes with either discs or at least go to a dual resivoir master cylender. And If the engine/****** is worn out change to the engine / ****** that you like.

A stock inline 6 engine will get the truck moving well enough to get by and will get great mileage....I get 26 MPG highway and low 20's in the mountains/city driving with an inline 6 and 3 speed in my 4x4 truck and I have the added weight of 4x4 running gear.

Once the stock suspension is rebuilt on an old truck they drive and handel quite well....NOT worth the downtime and expense of going to a diferent frame or IFS setup.

 

These are when it was just put together and not cleaned or the air tube intake installed.





Makes one hell of a daily driver with more than 20 mpg and my insurance is $17/month.

I don't drive it daily due to my job and s*** bags seeing me go to work but I could if I wanted.

Oh and I'd sell it if you were looking for a completed vehicle, PM me.

 

I drove my 59 every day for years, right up until I sold it, a mistake I regret.
235 with a saginaw 4 speed and a caprice rear end. Got mid to high teens in town with it. Drum brakes, manual steering, was fine. Just keep the drums adjusted. No need for a fancy ch***is or V8. The stock stuff worked fine. If you get a babbit pounder a 235 swap is the easiest. And it'll get decent mileage. I think I got right around 20mpg the year I drove it to the HAMB drags. 1200 miles each way. That's where this pic was taken.