G M cars wheel base?? frame swap

Im looking for a Gm rear wheel drive frame with a small block to put under a 50 chevy car I think stock wheel base is 115" or 116" (not sure because i dont have the frame for the car) it is on a S-10 frame that the wheel base is to long it is 118". I thought a mid 80s monte carlo would work but it is 110"

 

The S-10 is easy to shorten. There is a joint in the frame, where you can cut the welds, slide the front and rear sections apart, cut off whatever you need, then push the frame back together, measure carefully, and weld it back together.

 

so that frame just slides togeather? Thats sounds pretty easy.

 

I don't know how much you can take out of it, but a few inches should be no problem. Measure a couple dozen times before cutting and welding...

 

The thing with older S-10s is that the front suspension is the same parts as the G-bodys (Monte, Regal, Cutl***), so you can get stiff sway bars, faster ratio steering boxes, etc... in other words, you could turn it into a real good handling SOB...

 

If it helps you, my 52 Buick is sitting on a 76 Skylark chasis. No mods were made to make it fit.
Mike

 

How many S-10s have been built? and what years and models are useable for swap material?
I have no idea. They're to new for me to have paid any attention to...

 

Gary Mundy is having success with the 81 82 Olds 88 frames.
The wheel baxe is very similar to the late 40s and early 50s cars.

 

That's the long bed frame you got. The short bed frame is only about 109".

 

Check out '78 - '96 Chevy Caprices. I think they are 114" -116" or so. I know they aren't 118"

 

Need more info and pics on this one...

 

Why not spend the money on the original? I just finished a leaf spring/rear axle update on a '54 that worked great. Replace all the bushings up front, add a modern steering gear and some good shocks and you'll have a great ride.

 

1978-86 GM G-Body (Midsize) Monte Carlo, Cutl*** etc wheel base is 108" with a front track width of 58.5" and rear track of 58.8

1977-96 GM B-Body (Fullsize) Caprice, Delta 88 etc wheelbase is 116" with a front track of 61.5" and rear track of 60.5".

S10/Blazers come in a varity of wheelbases, 100.5", 107", 108.3", 117.9" and 122.9" with front tracks of 54.5" and 54.7"

1949-52 Chevrolet wheelbase is 115" with a front track width of 57" and a rear track width of 58.75".

While the wheelbase of the 77-96 B-Body is a good fit, but the front track is pretty wide for the 49-52. Also the 77-96 B-Body is a perimeter frame which may be a challenge to get the body mounts set right. I have seen a 51-52 convertible done with this frame, and it did not look too good. His front wheels had a positive offset like a front wheel drive car and it just didnt look right - also even with the offset wheels, he had clearance problems with the fenders.

To me your best bet would be to shorten your 82-93 Long Bed S10 (117.9") and get the track width back in line with your wheel choice. - Oh and the S10 shares it's front end suspension with the 78-86 G-Bodies which have a ton of aftermarket suspension parts.

Or if you have the big bucks, you can get a Morrison G-Force frame - they can probably modify one of their Tri-5 frames to fit.

 

Or better still, find a 4-door parts car and use the stock frame - any 49-54 frame will work. The 53-54 frame has some differences but will be much easier to use than an S10 frame. It's very easy to upgrade the stock frame with bolt on kits or a little salvage yard inginuity; for instance a second gen Camaro rear only needs the locator pin holes redrilled and it bolts on the stock springs. The stock front suspension completely unbolts from the frame, too, there's plenty of posts with all the options for front end upgrades.



The S10 frame has to be channeled in the trunk because it kicks up and stays fairly flat. The track is on the narrow side - you need a 4x4 rear end for the tires to clear the inner wheel wells. The one guy on this board who's done that swap says he wouldn't do it again.

I myself tried a 51 coupe on a '79 GM fullsize frame and floors. If you use the floors it can be made to work but the front track is way too wide. You can't turn the wheels without them hitting the fenders, at least not with the stock rims for that ch***is. Also, the full size GMs have several wheelbases - one is 115" (Chevy Caprice, Pontiac Parisienne), another is 119.5" (Buick Electra, Olds 98, Caddy) which happens to match 49-54 Pontiac.

Also, these late model frames have a lot more flex and are much weaker than the stock frame was. With the floors on a late GM car frame has a bunch of flex that a bare stock Chevy frame does not have. The S10 is a little stiffer, but still not as tight as stock early Chevy.


I've said it before and I'll say it again - a ch***is swap is not the easy way out to modern brakes and suspension for these cars. While I understand your desire with no original to work with, it should be pointed out in all of these posts that you'll spend just as much time and money trying to make some late model frame work with results that may or may not be desirable, as you would taking a stock frame and doing the easiest upgrades to it. Some of these upgrades are easy enough and cheap enough that if you drive the car and aren't happy with it, you can save your pennies and go to the next stage - and still at least have a car you can drive.

 

If I remember correctly, the first gen Montes are the right wheelbase. 1970-72

 

The original question in this thread is more than five years old...

The update I'd like is to learn what yngrodder did with the '50 Chevy.