Monday, April 16, 2018

Now It's Gettin' Real

Jason has been telling me that once we get started, the swap won't take very long. Sure enough, a couple hours after we got the S10 down to the shop on Saturday and started prepping for the '49 body, I stepped back, took a look and said "Wow, I guess you were right, Jason!" I was truly surprised at how much we got done.

The S10 chassis swap is fairly popular among owners of the '47 - '54 Advance Design Chevy/GMC trucks like mine, but while most of these swaps start with a completely bare S10 frame, we'll actually be dropping the '49 body on a running, driving '91 S10 chassis - 4.3 liter V6, 5 speed manual transmission, power steering and brakes, modern suspension, etc. At some point in the future we might go with a small block V8, an LS or maybe even a nicely done flathead, just because I've always loved that look. I understand the flathead is not a very powerful motor, but that's never been my focus with this project anyway. I'll be happy just to cruise, do some shows and of course live the lifelong dream of an epic coast to coast road trip.


Big thanks to my friend and coworker Darrin, who came by with his trailer first thing Saturday morning so we could get the S10 down to the shop. He's got a very cool '68 LeMans that he drives to work on nice days, and he's working on some nice upgrades for it. Looking forward to cruising with him.


Jason's shop is just a couple miles from our house here in New Milford, Connecticut. In addition to all the cool hot rod/custom work he does (check out the Facebook page here) he's also an expert mechanic. If you happen to be local to the area and you're looking for someone you can truly trust to handle your vehicle maintenance or repairs, he's your guy. I can also tell you first hand and with complete confidence that he'll be very fair on cost. Proud to know him and be working with him on my dream ride.


Also finished the horn button over the weekend (found on eBay for $13.75 with the contact plate!). I was going to leave it as is, but decided that with the completely restored steering wheel and the plan for a nice freshened up interior, it would look better painted to match the wheels. The paint is Rustoleum metallic paint and primer in one, and the color "Dark Steel." Love the look, especially with a couple coats of clear.

Much more to come, stay tuned! And as always, thanks for stopping by.

See y'all down the road!


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