The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - My Project: 46 GMC on S10 Chassis with LSx Engine

shaunatk · 11-19-2010, 12:31 PM

Just a quick update:

Didn't get a ton done this last weekend, not only is my wife having our first child, it seems like everyone else we know is having a kid, so my Sunday was spent at a "couples" shower for some friends of our's...

Anyways, on Sunday we put the truck on the lift so we could finish welding the frame and, and did a lot of cleanup work on my terrible cutting job (from when I removed all of the stock S10 brackets from the frame).

Now that the frame is shortened, we are going to mount the bed. The bed has a 100% original steel floor, which hasn't rotted at all. It even still has some paint left on the bottom of it. Problem is, it is bent a bit, and the metal is stretched, so the floor has to go. I was hoping it would be easy, but of course, it is not. The floor is spot welded to the bed sides, every three inches. The snap-on spot weld cutter I was using broke on the fourth spot weld.

So, Saturday I hope to spend the day getting the bed taken apart. I have already purchased a new tailgate and a new front panel for it, and we welded a support in the middle to hold it all together temporarily. What I am wanting to do is install a wood bed floor, using natural maple with chrome strips, but that will be a while. We can mount the bed without the floor.

HOPEFULLY....emphasis on hopefully....we will have the bed ROUGHLY mounted on Sunday.

Then comes the running boards, which HOPEFULLY won't be a big deal, just get them in place, cut the original mounts, and weld them to the frame.

I am excited as hell to see this thing roll outside with every body piece mounted on a frame. It will be the first time, even when my father bought it it was in pieces.

Here's some pictures:

Up on the lift (yes, the barn is a mess. Three project cars not including mine, equipment to maintain 5 acres, enough tools and parts to build a few cars, or a house, a giant heater that burns used motor oil, and a big tank to hold the oil, etc.):

Front passenger cab corner, one of two spots on the truck that needs metal patching (excluding fenders, those are a little jacked...):

Drivers side front corner, the other spot that needs metal patching. You can also see the front cab mounts:

Here's how the rear cab moutns are designed:

Here's where we cut the frame, after lots of welding and grinding. We will also be plating the sides where we cut through the frame:

Here's the bottom of the bed floor:

And another picture of the frame work:

Random picture of my custom transmission crossmember undergoing modifications after I chose to switch to the LSx (old picture, it's since been finished)

11-19-2010, 12:31 PM	#6
shaunatk Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Franklin, OH Posts: 60	Re: My Project: 46 GMC on S10 Chassis with LSx Engine Just a quick update: Didn't get a ton done this last weekend, not only is my wife having our first child, it seems like everyone else we know is having a kid, so my Sunday was spent at a "couples" shower for some friends of our's... Anyways, on Sunday we put the truck on the lift so we could finish welding the frame and, and did a lot of cleanup work on my terrible cutting job (from when I removed all of the stock S10 brackets from the frame). Now that the frame is shortened, we are going to mount the bed. The bed has a 100% original steel floor, which hasn't rotted at all. It even still has some paint left on the bottom of it. Problem is, it is bent a bit, and the metal is stretched, so the floor has to go. I was hoping it would be easy, but of course, it is not. The floor is spot welded to the bed sides, every three inches. The snap-on spot weld cutter I was using broke on the fourth spot weld. So, Saturday I hope to spend the day getting the bed taken apart. I have already purchased a new tailgate and a new front panel for it, and we welded a support in the middle to hold it all together temporarily. What I am wanting to do is install a wood bed floor, using natural maple with chrome strips, but that will be a while. We can mount the bed without the floor. HOPEFULLY....emphasis on hopefully....we will have the bed ROUGHLY mounted on Sunday. Then comes the running boards, which HOPEFULLY won't be a big deal, just get them in place, cut the original mounts, and weld them to the frame. I am excited as hell to see this thing roll outside with every body piece mounted on a frame. It will be the first time, even when my father bought it it was in pieces. Here's some pictures: Up on the lift (yes, the barn is a mess. Three project cars not including mine, equipment to maintain 5 acres, enough tools and parts to build a few cars, or a house, a giant heater that burns used motor oil, and a big tank to hold the oil, etc.): Front passenger cab corner, one of two spots on the truck that needs metal patching (excluding fenders, those are a little jacked...): Drivers side front corner, the other spot that needs metal patching. You can also see the front cab mounts: Here's how the rear cab moutns are designed: Here's where we cut the frame, after lots of welding and grinding. We will also be plating the sides where we cut through the frame: Here's the bottom of the bed floor: And another picture of the frame work: Random picture of my custom transmission crossmember undergoing modifications after I chose to switch to the LSx (old picture, it's since been finished)