Dragon***....you are basically asking why hot rod a vehicle. Why cause it makes it better. My truck is my daily driver. I do not own another vehicle besides my hot rods. I tow a trailer with my truck. I drive it in the snow. I built it to drive! That's why. Why go through all that work. I would say the swap is just as easy and probably cheaper than making the original safe and reliable. Is it for everyone...maybe not. But I like it. Clark
Ok, I wasn't going to respond, but I have to say, if you had a good time sticking with the original running gear, steering, brakes etc WAY TO GO!... on the other hand, notice the history behind us... why did anyone ever put juice brakes on a car that came with mechanical brakes? Why did anyone ever put a model A on a later frame? Why did they swap out flat fours for flathead v8s, hemis and any other overhead valve engines? Why did anyone put a later ****** or rearend in an early car? If you add up many of the "traditional" rodding steps it makes sense that if a straightforward swap where in an earlier body is set up on a later RUNNING and DRIVING ch***is that has far superior handling, braking and engine capabilities, then well that's a personal choice, but I think it makes sense. Talk about "all that work" in digging into an old junker that's been sitting for **** years, now in my experience, that's a lot of work this weekend, next weekend, all week long before you plan to drive it any distance, and then again all over again when you least expect it. Just my $.02. To each his own, don't ever think I don't value anyone else's opinion, just don't tell me I'm wrong for having mine. Tombat
i never said anyone was wrong.... you guys dont understand what im saying, so i shall say no more of the subject. sorry to waste bandwidth.
using a s10 frame on a early 50s chevy truck? wheelbase works out great. You have to use a long bed s10 for the easiest fit. The rearend has to be swapped out and the front needs spacers to bring the tires out. There is a great tech article in the tech archive.
i`ll try to answer your question. all that work for me wasn`t really that much work.i basically used what i had around. the s-10 has been small-blocked and bagged for about 3 years and i drove it almost everyday. i wanted something i could rely on. my freinds drive their **** 100s of miles. i care how a vehicle rides. if i wanted to sit in a parking lot and look cool i woulda left it original. thats not my plans. i want an old car that rides like a new one. if you aren`t down with me, i`m fine with that. you are still more than welcome to take my truck for a drive if you see me at a show.
been workin on mine again lately. got the V8 and trans put in and got alot figured out on how i'm gonna do a few other things. for me the S10 frame was the way to go. i want airbags cause i like em LOOOOOW. . i also like the updated steering, IFS and disc brakes. dropped spindle are easy and cheap and lower blocks and dropped coils too. lots of options if you want it low. not easy to get that straight axle and the original frame very low without major surgery. there are countless reason to do the frame swap. but hey, if you like the original setup them fine. i'm not gonna talk you out of it. good for you in fact. it was just the way i wanted to go with my truck for more reasons than i even bothered to mention.
Hey stinkity stoink! nice job your pic goes up on the wall of inspiration! Thanks, it looks just the way I imagined mine. how far off the frame does the cab sit?
Thanks . The cab sits about 3 1/2 " off the frame. That gives me about 4" of clearance from the ground to the bottom of the fenders and boards. I am at about 500 miles now on Jersey roads and city pot holes and haven't wrecked the bottoms of the fenders yet.
Anyone use a 4x4 s10? Seems like the wider stance might look good, plus I could use 4by when it snows. Seems like you could still get pretty low. I wouldnt want the 4x look,, just the all wheel drive part.
If you want the 4X4 drivetrain you might look for one of the AWD Chevy or GMC minivans (yes I said the "M" word). It's supposed to be the same as what was used in the Syclone and Typhoon (minus the powerplant though). Or so I'm told. I don't know for sure but the wheelbase looks the same on the Mvans as the Longbed S10. I think Summit built an AWD Deuce with that running gear a while back. With lots of other High $$$ parts to showcase their inventory though.
I seen in your pics you used a s10 longbed and I knew that will work fine..how about a s10 extra cab shortbed? Is the mounts way off? more modifications? Anybody know..( I have a couple extracab trucks! and a 49 and 53 chevy to build)
hey flipper is that your build on hot rodders bulliten board? your avitar looks like it cool build if it is. if anyone has driven a stock AD truck for any miles at all upgrading the running is a welcome addition. cool thing is pulling a dead truck from a field and bringing it back to life.
Wow, so many people are inspired by clark and others to make a cool hotrod, yet so many others hate. Isnt the whole point to hotrodding to make your own statement, do what you think is cool and have fun. I doubt that anyone on this board has liked every hotrod he or she has ever seen. The dudes that are ******** are just that, and thats great, it totally preserves the history of the hotrod. But dont hate because people do things different, it aint right.
this type of swap demonstrates hot rod ingenuity and creativity at its best. All I can say is "great work!!"
I got a neat idea: how about putting a '32 Ford frame under a '27 T body? Gosh, I think it'd be swell! Whatcha think?
Ill have to measure..we have a small salvage yard and LOTS o' parts..always was my dream to build a rod using parts onhand..just a cheap redneck at heart!!
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