The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 1950 3100 on an S10 xtreme

Hi fellas I have a 1950 3100 I'd like to put on an s10 chassis. I've read up on frame lengths etc and read through a few builds. A '99 S10 Xtreme ext cab has come up in my area for sale. Just curious if anyone has used one of these in a swap and how it looked. I know the xtreme trucks had a pretty good suspension and were lowered 1.5 inches so I'm thinking that other than having to shorten the frame a bit it seems like a good donor to put the '50 on. Thoughts? Also I'm just outside Red Deer and if anyone has a truck around that has done an s10 swap I'd love to see it or at least talk about it. Cheers

Of course you would. Like a Chinook wind, the S10 conversion craze apparently has now spread from the impoverished deep South US all the way up to central Canada.

Having built both stock frames with MII conversions and S10 chassis swaps I still fail to understand the lemming rush to do S10s. Yes I do: somebody did it and posted a step-by-step how-to online, complete with measurements and motor mount blueprints. Now everybody reads forums and follows the crowd. Instead of building an S10 conversion why not just buy one of the 10,000 partially finished units for sale online?

You'd probably appreciate this S10 Swap How-To forum, and they would appreciate you and have all the answers you need: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=632686

Having built both stock frames with MII conversions and S10 chassis swaps I still fail to understand the lemming rush to do S10s.

Jay Zed it sounds like you are a fan of the Mll conversion. I was initially leaning toward this as I would actually like to use and preserve as much of the truck/frame as I can. Believe me I'm not some punk [censored] hood rat that just found grandpas truck in the weeds and want to slam it and put a turbo and nos on it. I am very nostalgic about old vehicles.
In my initial assessment of my truck upon getting it home and in the shop is this- parked since 65, 216 may be seized, front steering components are worn, brake lines are broken,
I want to make this truck fun to drive with a small block Chevy(283 or 327) with a turbo 350 or maybe a 700r4 trans.
The truck needs all suspension/brakes/steering components replaced. I found a 99 xtreme s10 for $1000 with 94,000 km 10 miles from my farm so I thought it might be a good route to go being that the chassis has low miles.
I was looking at it purely from a dollar point of view, whole chassis for a grand or buy a m2 front end for more and still have a bunch of brake work and suspension to fix.
I want it to be a period correct hot rod type truck, a bit of an oxymoron i know when talking about putting it on a a newer chassis.
So I guess my question to you is what would you do If you were to do it again?

Having built both stock frames with MII conversions and S10 chassis swaps I still fail to understand the lemming rush to do S10s.

Jay Zed it sounds like you are a fan of the Mll conversion. I was initially leaning toward this as I would actually like to use and preserve as much of the truck/frame as I can. Believe me I'm not some punk [censored] hood rat that just found grandpas truck in the weeds and want to slam it and put a turbo and nos on it. I am very nostalgic about old vehicles.
In my initial assessment of my truck upon getting it home and in the shop is this- parked since 65, 216 may be seized, front steering components are worn, brake lines are broken,
I want to make this truck fun to drive with a small block Chevy(283 or 327) with a turbo 350 or maybe a 700r4 trans.
The truck needs all suspension/brakes/steering components replaced. I found a 99 xtreme s10 for $1000 with 94,000 km 10 miles from my farm so I thought it might be a good route to go being that the chassis has low miles.
I was looking at it purely from a dollar point of view, whole chassis for a grand or buy a m2 front end for more and still have a bunch of brake work and suspension to fix.
I want it to be a period correct hot rod type truck, a bit of an oxymoron i know when talking about putting it on a a newer chassis.
So I guess my question to you is what would you do If you were to do it again?

oh and I read through that whole build last night and it looks like a ton of fabbing.

Some of the more well known Speed Equipment suppliers sell kits specifically to put AD trucks on S-10 frames. I know some, years ago, advertised you could do it in a couple of weekends with help from a couple of buddies. There is one specific S-10 model that has the same wheel base as the AD. Sorry I don’t remember which one it is.
This is the HiPo Forum and this is where we discuss these modifications. The purists will just have to close their eyes and ignore us. Hope you find the info your looking for.🛠

Extra cab short bed.

I'm not a purist. Just tired of cookie cutter S10 conversions.

Check at Mongos Garage a very active member here.A start.

Thanks Jay, I need to make note of that model. I plan on doing one in a few years. That is if there’s any S-10 Extra cab short beds left in North America.🛠

I tried the S10 route long ago (before my fab skills, patience and budget were higher!) and I sold it like Jay Zed mentioned. I’ve stuck with more original components and it has been very enjoyable my second time around. However, I still have interest in this idea and think you would like this link.

http://www.code504.com/1949-1955-1-...-frame-swap-chassis-swap-conversion-kit/

The frame that is an exact fit is the REGULAR cab long bed. We probably did a dozen S10/AD swaps but I also think the MII is the way to go---much less work. If you combine the MII IFS with ladder bar/4 link/coil over rear suspension you get a set up that rides and handles way better than the S10 route. There is a myriad of info on both the S10 and MII conversions but if anyone has specific question I probably have detailed pics or even a few weak thoughts from an ever increasing foggier brain. The CORRECT S10:

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/GThtt69T/S10-011.jpg[/img]

Thanks Evan

Why build an S10 chassis swap when there are dozens of unfinished ones for sale? Obviously it's a much bigger project than some assume:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1954-Chevr...202614843:g:DXYAAOSw5Bpc9GxL&vxp=mtr

I assumed and it made a posterior out of me. Will it do it to you? 😉

I'm in the process of building a 1950 Chevy 3100 also. I'm going with the original frame...had it sandblasted and covered with Chassis Saver paint. This past week I hung a 1981 Camaro 10 bolt rearend on it with 3" lowering blocks. I'm pleased with how the stance looks. Being 60+ years old, I had to replace the rear spring shackles and bushings...the leaf springs tended to sway in the gentle breeze! Next, (when mama's not looking at the Mastercard), I'm going to put a bolt-on Mustang II on it. I paid $200 for the 10 bolt...it is a nice one. I think the Mustang II will run me about $1500.

I'm working on an S10 frame swap for a 50' 3100 for a friends truck. It's a Code 501 kit, while the kit is very complete the instructions are pretty vague. It's a lot more involved than I would have chosen for my own truck and you do lose a lot of the originality as well.
I would have voted for a MII front end if I was going away from the straight axel. I still need to work our the motor and trans mounts, 292 and T5 in a 95' frame with a 50' body. Lots of work ahead

I just started on my 51 Long Bed to S10 swap. I weighed all the option of building the original chassis or to do the s10 swap and opted for the swap. i bought the EZ Chassis swap kit and communication with Ed the owner has been GREAT! As with any build you need to have some fabrication skill. I bought a Ex Cab 97 S10 being I am building the long bed, but as someone else said Regular Cab long bed is what you want for the short bed AD. I have gotten my s10 stripped down now to the chassis and plan to begin the cutting and mocking up of the EZ Chassis brackets. Good Luck and do what you want to do with your truck. I get a lot of flake for my sway being I am taking away the 3/4 ton ability of my AD... to me these are hot rods and will only be hauling Butt, ezups and ice chests to the local show. I bought a Newer GMC 2500HD for my hauling needs.