The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Body swap

First post here. I've a '46 1/2-ton that has a very straight body and had been parked for probably 30 years, judging from the tires that were on it. It is a complete truck I got for my oldest boy (13) for his birthday as a project. Got to keep him busy, you know.

Some of you are probably going to go "aw, crap!", but here's what I'm wanting to do. Swap the '46 body onto an S-10 chassis. Not having an S-10 to reference for measurements, is this a fairly straight-forward swap? Is there a kit for the body brackets and such. I've also heard about a '78-'86 El Camino frame will work, too, but I've never seen one done. Any experience in this? Once this is done, there will be a complete '46 rolling chassis for sale. I'm wanting to rod the truck. I've restored enough already!

I just went through that question myself. I went and got an s10 chassis and parked it next to mt 38 1/2 ton. I found one problem with the s10 was that it is a front steer which creates problems with the rad cradle and steering linkage. Another problem was that the s10 was too wide where the front of the cab mounts to the chassis. #3 is the rear of the s10 frame raises for a kick over the rear axle and stays at the raised height to the rear of the frame. I looked at this and considered what modifications must be made and decided to repair my origional frame. I have heard of people doing this but have never been told how much work it took.
If you go that route I wish you a bunch of good luck. Let me know what decision you make.
Len

Patrick66,

GREAT to hear you're sharing your interests with your son! Personally, I believe you'll be helping him build his character and learn to work towards guidelines and goals to finish a project. Plus, you'll be keeping him at home and away from all the trouble kids today can find out there.

Now, on to your chassis question. First, the S-10 might seem like a close match. However, as mentioned above, the S-truck chassis has a very unusual shape to it, in that looking at it from the side, you can see that the frame rails "dip down" in the middle for the cab to sit lower to the ground. Also, the steering and front frame rail configuration WILL make life difficult for radiator/front sheetmetal/front bumper mounting. This being said, several individuals have done or are doing this swap under the newer Advance Design pickup. Check over in the "Hi-Po Shop forum for some good links to online information.

As for the GM midsize car (El Camino) chassis, two words- FORGET IT! It is totally the wrong shape to fit under your truck. The GM midsize chassis is what's called a "perimeter frame" design, where the frame rails in between the front and rear axles spread out to the full width of the car and run along the inside of the rocker panels. In other words, were you to put your truck on one of these, your frame rails would be sitting under the outside edge of your running boards.

Probably the best option of all would be the tried and true upgraded (Mustang II) crossmember and rear leaf spring suspension on your stock chassis. Just go over it carefully to check that it's in good condition. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Wannabe

The Mustang II swap seems to be the most cost-efficient, so far. I'm looking at a Mopar 8-3/4" or **** 9" for the rear axle (have one of each). The NSRA Street Rod Nats were in town this weekend and I got a few ideas from several '41-'46 trucks running around. It seems the stock frame is definitely the way to go on these trucks. Thanks for the input, guys!