It finally starts... another S10 swap...

[av8tr33337]

Thanks Thad. I guess I'll stick with what I have. This way I can still use the stock gas tank and won't have to hump the floor quite as much. I found some beltech 3" drop spindles for 100 bucks on craigslist. From all I've read several guys are going this route.

[Thadious]

Yep, used the stock tank myself... just clears the cab by about 1/2" and I ended up with a 2" trans hump... clears the trans by about 1".

Cheers,
Ted.

[ozzie50]

Well I know your swamped with other requests but I would love to get a chance to get a wiper conversion kit. How much did you end up charging? Let me know but put me on your list. Looks amazing.

[Thadious]

Well, finished the last two nuts yesterday and just getting the instruction sheet together today! For those that got in quick and placed the order, they are ready to ship out within the next day or two (long weekend).



I shipped the first one off to Jeffs51chevy for a trial fit and so waiting to hear back from him on any recommendations before I send the remainder out. His cost for s&h to Idaho (from Victoria BC) was $20 cdn, just to give an idea of shipping costs. I will stick with that price and absorb any differences in the sale. So for the following gents, if you could pm your address, I will respond with some particulars, the instructions and get them shipped off asap. Thanks kindly!

1. 54Jimmy
2. a5Ben
3. Wibas
4. Av8tr3337
5. nomas54
6. rhodog
7. T Hilde
8. MarKist (had a extra set left over)
9. drummin89 (rhodog opted for only 1 - dad sold truck)

Cheers,
Ted.

PS The next batch will be awhile, as there are other projects on the go. I may do specific requests on a 'for trade' basis down the road as getting some parts up here are hard to find, ie. stainless passenger door trim (outside).

[MarKist]

THANKS!... Ted you da man!!

btw PM sent!

[54 jimmy]

pm sent thanks again

[a5Ben]

Pm sent!!

[Thadious]

As we approach the end of the week, those that have approached me / paid for their kits, thanks again, I hope you enjoy them for years to come. For everyone else, I'll open the rest up for first-come-first-served for the remainder on sunday at lunch (PST).

Cheers!
Ted.

[BlueJeep]

If you have extras I'll take one and can PayPal immediately. Let me know, thanks.

[av8tr33337]

I'm going to hold off on buying one for now so feel free to jump in and buy the one I had reserved. I am in no hurry to get one. If a second batch is built sometime down the road then I will jump in. I'm changing jobs so I am proceeding with caution on the money side of things.

[weids]

Ted
PM sent

[nomas54]

Ted sent PM

[kustombrad]

Wow!!! I'm impressed with the build and love the CNC wiper brackets! Very nice!!

[Thadious]

Thanks kindly for the kind words! Honestly, I wish they were CNC'd... these are individually machined, deburred and glass bead blasted after machining marks are removed. T6061 aircraft grade aluminum and free machining steel, heated and oil bathed for some corrosion protection on the nuts. Brass fittings for the pivot points and voila.

The CNC is coming though... my best buddy and I are building one as we speak... designed to do aluminum and also to fit my plasma cutter

Cheers,
Ted.

[kustombrad]

Ok Ted, you are one sick dude! Holy crap that was a lot of work! You are one talented machinest and your design kicks butt on the bracket I made made for my truck!

[LEEVON]

PM very gladly sent!

[jeffs51chevy]

Gentlemen,
For some unknown reason, I was privileged to be included as the guinea pig to test fit Ted’s wiper conversion in my rig. I can only tell you that it was far easier than I could have expected. First off, my truck came as a yard sale; parts and pieces in unlabeled boxes, jumbled all over the place. My wiper system was half assembled or half dissembled depending if your glass is half full or not. So with my assembly manual in hand, I sifted through my parts looking for missing doodads and bobbles. But enough of my troubles.

Ted’s design and precision made the install an absolute breeze. His instructions are spot on and only required minor modifications to tweak a wiper arm here or there. His starting angle put me very close to perfect. The entire install, after locating parts, was around 30 minutes. This thing was a piece of cake. The ajustability makes the bracket easy to align. Get in line and make it easy on yourself.

Jeff

[Thadious]

Well... it's been brought to my attention that I've been amiss in my responsibilities in updating my thread and throwing out ideas on what I've been up to. A fair bit of research, figuring things out and fabricating... so here goes.

I looked at the bearclaw latches and like the idea of them... pretty much fool proof positive lock and easy to deal with. While working on my kid's Jeep YJ, I noticed that they incorporate the same parts... so... during my trip down to Portland last spring, I stopped in at a Pick A Part and liberated a set from YJ half door for the tidy sum of $20 (you guys get the best deals btw... $25 each up here!).

Finally got around to it... and so this is what I did...

First drill out the old countersunk bolt holes...


Make plugs, weld them in and grind flush... don't forget to fill in where the old door latch comes through... start with a clean canvass...



I made a cardboard template of what I wanted to cut out and where the new holes need to go, then trial and fit to get it all just right. I made the new opening centered where the old one was so the striker pin would be centered on the door jamb.


Then trimmed off some of the extra metal on the latches that only seems to get in the way. Ground off the peened end of the rivet on the door latches that hold the pivot mechanisms in place (the ones that unlock the latch), and designed a new piece from stainless... as pictured...


Made a new pin on the lathe (both sides) and re-riveted them back together (probably could have cleaned up the old one and just weld it back in) Then made an extended latch pin to clear the door... used the old washer and spring.


Flipped the door latch handle on the inside (don't swap sides) so the handle runs straight across and level (IMO this is the way it should have been done originally if you look at the way the door was made!).


And finally finish off with a electric door opener (popper) at the bottom... connect the cable and you're in!

I know this seems somewhat complicated, but with a little thought and the tools... it's not that hard... about a days work and looks great IMO.

Cheers!
Ted.

[Thadious]

Well... been a long freeking time since I threw some progress up... I've mostly been fiddling with alot of the fitting of the cab and doors, some other little BS and the wiring... I took a bit of a break from the main truck on an offshoot and decided to build an engine for it.

I debated leaving the 4.3 in and decided that I was tired of always wishing my vehicles had that little more "ooomf" and so the decision was made to do it right the first time... The idea was a SBC 350 mild to moderate build with a tbi on it.

The "donor" truck engine and transmission was a 1988 Chev Silverado with a 5.7 liter 350 small block in it and a TH700R4 transmission that will work well with the wiring from the S10 conversion that I'm doing... after all... a 5.7 liter is the same block as the 4.3 liter with 2 cylinders added (or is that the other way around... =) ). So, after about $700 in machine work and $1.2k in parts and shipping... this is where I'm at...

9.6:1 compression ratio
Bored 0.030" over
Hypereutetictic pistons with coated skirts
Lunati Voodoo cam
Vortec heads with conversion intake manifold
Custom '99 Dodge Inferno red metallic paint job
and a whole lot of polished aluminum accessories... just to make it look "old school"
Before:




After:






Oh, and the end result... hoping it should be around 270-280 HP.... will dyno it later!

Cheers,
Ted.

[Thadious]

The final story I have to tell is for those doing the windshield wiper conversion setup...

Using the rear wipers from a early 90's S10 Blazer was fine and the fact that it only has one speed... I can live with... but I couldn't just settle on On/off... what do you do on those misty days or travelling wet highways, etc? Well... after researching it... I went out and got myself an intermittent wipers setup from a mid 80's F**d pickup. $50 up here, probably $10 in the US... lol.


Now... I was able to get the wipers to work in low and high (same speed) but the intermittents required 3 pulses of the switch to actually make the motor cycle... this wouldn't do!

Having a chat with a friend of mine, he agreed to look at the electronics of it and see if he could send me in the right direction (I'm not that great with electronics!). After a little poking and prodding... we found that increasing the size of the capacitor inside would increase the duration of the pulse! So... armed with a soldering iron and a new capacitor (I opted to remove the 600uF one (the big orange guy) and swap it out with a 3300uF on (it's all they had in an axial capacitor about 1000.) thinking that it would be about 5x the length of discharge and would certainly be enough....)



Notice the massive size difference! You have to make sure the wires behind it are moved out of the way to push it as far back as possible! This involved breaking free the wires from the rubber grommet so as to create some slack. With everything soldered in and re-assembled... trust me... it's a real tight fit but possible!

The trials worked out great... full intermittent from every second to about every 25 seconds (I thought this was way too long sitting at my desk... but my wife's Jeep liberty has a setting for a 23 second sweep.... )

As far as wiring... it goes something like this...

12V (from hot in run on ignition) = Black w/green trace (connector)
Ground = Black on motor and black off switch
Orange from motor + jumper wire = white and black w/pink trace (connector)
Brown from motor = red (connector)
Hot wire to wiper fluid pump = Black w/white trace (connector)

The blue w/orange line on the connector is for the second speed if you find a dual speed wiper motor btw....

Cheers!
Ted.

[Fat Mike]

Your build inspires me alot because of your attention to detail and your ability to use other parts to cut the cost down on your build. No wonder you were able to have the money for all the parts to build such a nice motor. Keep up the excellent work and diffently keep posting pictures!

[kustombrad]

Keep up the good stuff, Ted! The wiper deal is very cool. Didn't want just the on/off and was asking around to figure out what I needed, then you stepped in and saved the day! Thank you!
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[chev3600]

I'm amazed at the imagination and fab skills here. You're doing us all a great service nailing down the particulars with the wipers. Thanks.
Pm sent.

[Thadious]

Thanks for the kind words!

I'm a firm believer in sharing info... if there's anything I research and figure out, I'd prefer for peeps to not have to reinvent the wheel and maybe use my ideas to come up with others... Same as I do from everyone else here!

Cheers!
Ted.

[wibas]

Do you have more info on the ford wiper motor conversion? How about pictures with it mounted up if you have it. I think you are right that 2 speed and intermitten would be better as a conversion. By the way your post is a great read and pictures are great! Thanks for keeping us inspired!