Well we opened a box there didn't we. I should have specified, I have a
1951 3100. This was my first project and I started when I was fourteen. I
have built this 3100 on a highschooler's salary. It was my first project
and i had very few tools. For the S-10 swap, I do have a three to four inch
gap between the cab and bed. However, I found a junked '52 and with a
portable recipricating saw cut off about 6 inches from the side of the bed.
I am taking that to my Uncle who is a welder and we well try to add it to
the front of the bed. This will eliminate the gap between the bed and cab.
While bumper mounts are easy to fabricate, Running boards are the bridge yet
to be crossed. Though I retained the stock mounts for the running boards,
they will not work on the s-10. So...I am not sure what to do yet, but have
been enjoying driving the beast to much to stop and think about it. Plus
college 9 months a year is kind of getting in the way of this truck project.
(Although no other students have an air compressor in their dorm room!
There are many fun things to do with a compressor at school: potato guns,
popping balloons, etc.). THe S-10 swap can save a lot of money, but it
takes some ingenuity. We had to fabricate cab mounts with angle iron and
wood blocks. To mount the bed, we had to cut the old angle iron out and
weld new angle iron on about 4 inches higher. When making measurements to
determine a good donor, measure wheel base (center of wheel to center of
wheel) front to back as opposed to over all chasis length (bumper to
bumper). However, I paid $450 for the chasis, and nowhere else can you get
power disc brakes, power steering, ifs, a bed mounted gas tank, and easy v8
motor mounts for anywhere near that.
Any way, keep on truckin,
Andy Johns
1951 3100
Roswell, GA
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