The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Front axle centerline dimension needed

Since my '48 3100 came to me without the original driveline (not to mention completely disassembled) I need a dimension to locate the centerline for the IFS I am grafting on from my S-10 donor chassis.

Dimensions from the centerline of stock location to either a cross member, front spring shackle pivot mount on frame, or something. A picture would help when you take the dimension so I can use same reference point.

Thanks in advance

Scott its not really that easy, but the stock axle center line is 7.391 inches behind the two holes in the top of the frame above the trailing edge of the front crossmember.

The reason I say its not that easy is because you are probably changing the ride height as you do this, and the correct visual location of the axle centerline changes as the truck comes down.

Most people feel the rear axle is too far forward to begin with. The front axle looks right at the stock height, but as it comes down the visual center moves forward. I would encourage you to determine your desired ride height, then figure out where you want the wheels to fit in the opening, and set the new centerline to match. You really want to do that at both ends.

Why graft the S-10 IFS instead of doing a full frame swap?

Scott,
The front axle centerline is 20.594" inches back from the front edge the frame. Place a straight edge like a 3' or longer level against both front framehorns and measure straight back, not along the frame rail as they taper to the front.
The factory assembly manual has detailed frame drawings, and would be a good thing for you to have. And it's always good to have more than one reference point like the one given in the previous post.

Thanks all, now time to get marking, measuring, etc. And yes, the rear axle is in the wrong location as well, which will be corrected when I get done.

The full S-10 frame swap requires 2" spacers on the front, vs. my intention on using rack and pinion with a custom cross member will allow me to widen the track to the same as the GM metrics. This way, I keep the stock frame. I did not like the assortment of brackets needed to mount the S-10 frame under the AD truck.

Good news today - found a T-5 from an 84 2.8 S-10. This together with the Camaro T-5 that I located a while ago puts a Hybrid T-5 in the truck - Wahoo.

Further wahoo - may have found the engine for the project.