Hi all, I have Been wanting to build an old fat gendered truck for years.After raising two fantastic kids then getting a divorce I figured it was time to do something I wanted. I came across a 51 One ton from Idaho that was a flat bed farm truck that was in good shape rust wise.I brought it home and blew it apart knowing I was going to change out the driveline and probably the frame.
I searched the net and found bedsides,rear fenders and the longer running boards. I decided on a S10 frame since it’s popular and lots of stuff available and cost.I found a very nice frame from S Carolina. Super happy with this find.i sand blasted it and epoxied it.
I wanted to be different on my choices of engine but ended up going with a LS based 5.3. Was going to put a 4cly turbo out of a cadillac but son said it wouldn’t sound like a hot rod. After some thought I agreed. I found a LH6 5.3 all aluminum with good miles and had a 4L 70 auto trans rebuilt for this project. Then decided on a rear axle assembly. I decided on a Ford 8.8 posi unit with 3.73 gears. I replaced seals and wheel bearings and cut off spring mounts to move them to fit the s10 frame. I chose to go static on the suspension. I like air ride but don’t want to worry about the problems you can have.i put lowering springs in the rear and coilovers with 2” drop spindles up front.
Since I like to build my own stuff and be different I made all the mounts for the body and driveline. I installed the motor about an inch and half to the right in the frame. I did this to help clearance on the steering pump and room for the steering shaft. That worked out great. I have a straight shaft from whe wheel to the s10 box.I cut the S10 front crossmember to lower the motor as far as possible to keep from needing a trans tunnel but still had to make a small flat rise about 10” long. Wanted to keep a flat floor board for comfort when 3 people are in cab. Mainly my future grand kids!
Moving on to the brakes. Wanted larger brakes without braking the bank. Went with 4 piston Brembos off a 15 camaro ss. These are the same as the corvette and CTSV so I know these are common and off the shelf pads. Next I made adapters to fit these on the s10 drop spindles and the Ford 8.8 rear end. The pic is the stock S10 rotors compared to the Brembos
The front brackets were straight forward, The rears required a little more thought.the calipers are non floating so getting the caliper to sit dead center of the rotors took some test fitting but came out nice.
that's the same color I'm looking to do my '50 GMC. Is that the Twilight Blue? and if so, is it pearl or is the "creaminess" in the paint? I'd love to get the paint and codes from you. Gorgeous!
