1st Gen Bigblock Installation

[tlambert]

1st Generation S-10 Big Block Installation



Frame Fabrication

Early style big block Chevrolet motor mounts were used to mount the engine to the cross member. Extensions were welded to the front edge of the cross member and brackets were fabricated for the motor mounts to bolt to.

The front cross member was cut at the back edge approximately 3" and then boxed in. This allowed room for the engine oil pan to clear and so the engine could be mounted low. The right side of the cross member was cut at the starter location allowing enough room to install a GM full size starter although a mini high torque was used.

There were no modifications needed to the frame for the fuel pump to clear.

The frame on the left and right side was cut along the top inside edge and reshaped into a cup shape to give more room for the exhaust pipe to clear.

The front tips of the frame rails where the radiator mounts were cut downward into a U shape, boxed and welded. This allowed room for the height of the radiator. The radiator support mounts on the frame were cut and moved outward to allow room for the width of the radiator.

A stock S-10 two-wheel-drive automatic transmission cross member was used but it was cut, reshaped and welded on the left side to allow the exhaust pipe to pass through it aiding in ground clearance.



Sheet Metal Modification

A section of the firewall was cut out around the steering column and moved 1" toward the driver’s side of the truck. This allowed clearance for the steering column at the head of the engine.

The flange where the transmission tunnel and firewall meet had to be hammered up to give some clearance for the transmission to clear.

Where the right exhaust manifold meets the firewall of the truck, it had to be reshaped at that point to allow room for the studs, flange, and the pipe to clear.

The radiator support was trimmed approximately 2" at the top, in the boxed area, to allow extra room for the height of the radiator.

The 2 supports on each side of the radiator were moved outward, trimmed to fit over part of the headlight bucket area and welded. This allowed room for the width of the radiator.

Since these areas were moved outward, the radiator support mounts on the frame were moved outward also as described in the frame fabrication.

The radiator was moved forward into the condenser location and the condenser located to the outside of the support.

With the relocation of the radiator and condenser, the hood lock support will need to be cut off just below the lock mechanism. Once this is done, another lock support brace will have to be fabricated to clear the condenser and to support the lock. If a support brace is not made, the hood will shake during driving.

The safety catch on the hood lock was also cut because of interference with the condenser. Some type of safety catches needs to be fabricated for the hood lock in case the lock should fail.

The back of the 1984 grille will also need to be trimmed to clear the condenser.

The filler panel between the grille and the bumper will also need to be trimmed to clear the condenser.

(If a later model grille is used there may not be any or very little trimming needed.)

The stock S-10 hood was used. The under hood reinforcement just above the air breather was trimmed to clear the breather. All of the adhesive attachment points were maintained.

The breather used was a dropped base breather allowing more room to help clear the hood. The stock hood insulation was used and flexes enough to close over the breather.

(Hood Insulation) GM # 15659223



Cooling System - A/C

A GM radiator was used from a 1979 Chevrolet van w/small block 400 4 flu.

The radiator filler neck was relocated to the side of the tank instead of the top. Changing the filler neck to a 90-degree bend allowed it to come out past the radiator support thus eliminating cutting a hole in top of the support for the factory filler neck. The radiator shroud is for a 1979 Chevrolet van w/small block 400. It was trimmed 2" and then cut in half horizontally. It was also trimmed near the p/s pulley.

A GM short style aluminum water pump was used. GM # 14058915

An 18" flex fan was used and there is very little room between the fan bolts and radiator. The fan shroud was cut in half and two brackets on each side were made to hold the two halves together. This allows for removal of the top half of the shroud and the removal of the water pump.

The water pump has to be removed with the fan and pulley as a unit. Once the unit is removed it will allow enough room for the radiator to be removed.

(Shroud) GM # 14052540

The thermostat housing was used from an early Chevrolet. The thermostat used is a Robert Shaw 160 degree.

The top and bottom radiator hoses were trimmed to fit on each end.

Radiator hose upper Gates # 20983

Radiator hose lower Gates # 21262

A transmission cooler is mounted between the frame rails in the front just under the radiator shroud.

The A/C compressor is a Sandon 508 134A system. The a/c hoses were custom made using a combination of angled fittings at the top and the factory S-10 fittings at the condenser and drier.

The evaporator and condenser are stock S-10.

The A/C evaporator box was cut and reshaped to allow room for the engine valve cover to be removed.

The A/C condenser was moved to the outside of the radiator support just behind the grille. Two brackets were welded at the bottom of the support to hold the condenser and two straps were made to hold the condenser at the top.



Steering/Pulleys/Brackets

The steering shaft was custom made using 3 universal joints to work around the exhaust manifold and 1 heim joint to support the shaft to the frame. The steering box is the stock S-10 unit.

The shifter is on the column and a B&M shifter cable was used with a custom made bracket that attaches to the end of the column. B&M # 80605 or PA 5020808

The power steering brackets, pump and remote reservoir came from a 1968 SS Chevelle B.B w/short water pump. The P/S pulley is the flat one – GM # 3925537 P.

The P/S lines and line fitting for the back of the pump are from a 1990’s 4.3 S-10. The lines had to be reshaped to fit this application.

The a/c brackets are Alan Grove 118R made for B.B. Chevrolets w/short pump. These use the Sandon 508 compressor.

It came with a double groove pulley and matches with the other pulleys.

The alternator brackets are from a 1968 Chevelle B.B. and the alternator pulley used is a small one.

The water pump pulley is GM # 3905989.

The inner 2 groove crank pulley is GM # 3874418 BS.

The outer 2 groove crank pulley is GM # 5525.

Alternator belt – Gates # 7555 XL

P/S belt – Gates # 7500 XL

A/C belt – Gates # 7603 XL




Front Suspension

The truck uses the V6 springs with a half coil removed and Bell-Tech 2" dropped spindles. There was no modification to the lower control arms. The front sway bar is also stock S-10.

The front brakes are stock S-10 and they seem to work well and so far there have been no problems with stopping and with the added weight it seems to ride good and steer fine.



Exhaust

The exhaust manifolds are stock GM # 3994045 left

GM# 3989310 Right

The exhaust on the left manifold exits at the back and turns in close to the oil pan.

The exhaust on the right side exits out at the back toward the firewall of the truck.

The firewall of the truck had to be cut, reshaped and welded at that point to allow room for the studs, flange, and the pipe to clear.

The right upper control arm was cut, reshaped and welded to allow more clearance for the exhaust manifold.

The exhaust pipe that was used is 2 ½" aluminized. Clearance at the oil filter was a little tight since more ground clearance was needed because of the truck being lowered.

The mufflers that were used are Flowmaster 40 series # 942542.

The mufflers were placed under the cab and above the frame line, and there is clearance between the cab and the top of the muffler.

If the frame were stock in the rear of the truck it would be better to place the mufflers past the cab to cut down on interior noise.

Since this is a Pro Street truck, the narrow frame limits the placement of the tailpipes, so they were placed high by the frame then turned down in front of the rear tire just showing very little of a chrome tip.

This sounds like a lot to deal with but a very good muffler man makes all the difference.




Just Thoughts of What I Did

Everyone always ask, "How fast is it"? For me it wasn’t about how fast it is, it’s the fun of drivability. The engine is not that radical. I used a 454 engine and a 350 automatic transmission. When I was building the truck I wanted to be able to cruise around town and travel to some shows out of town without the fear of breaking down. I looked for all stock type parts that I could, like belts and hoses incase something did go wrong replacements could be found at just about any local parts store.

As far as fast, a good built small block could surely out run this truck. Having the Big Block in it is fun for me when we go to a cruise-in or car show because most people don’t believe that there is a 454 in it. They think that everything in the truck has to be gutted and cut up to get the B.B. installed. I like cruising out of town with the a/c on, cruise set and listening to tunes. So far the truck has a little over 6,000 miles on it and everything seems to be doing well. I’ve driven it through the mountains of TN and to the coast of SC.

The BIG question that everyone wants to know is "does it run hot"? It depends on if you are in stop and go traffic. In town on a mild day it might run 180-195. On a hot day driving around town it will run 200-210 with the a/c on. When we have been traveling on the highway with the a/c on at 70 mph it would run about 190-200 depending on the heat.

I was asked the other day what would you do differently? The first thing is I would have had an aluminum radiator in it. I believe that it could possibly cut the temp by 5-15 degrees. When I built the truck I really wanted to keep the stock hood on it with the Big Block so that it would make you wonder what motor might be in it. I think that might have bitten me in the butt.

There is very little intake area at the front of the radiator support although I did cut the area out to match the cooling area of the radiator. Having the bumper and the bumper filler panel there blocking some of the airflow and having a closed hood with not a lot of area to blow the hot air out it seems to hold a lot of heat in the engine compartment. Keep in mind to how low the truck is to the ground and how much heat is coming up from the road also. I think with a cowl induction hood on it that is open at the back it might also help lower the temperature.

The second thing I would have done differently is not have did the Pro-Street thing. It’s cool to see the fat tires under it and sweet to roast them but it’s not easy to drive in the rain. I had the Mickey Thompsons on it before they come out with the Hoosier Radials and at about $300 a tire I’ll have to wear these out first before they get changed. A good 10" street tire would have looked good and been easier to handle in wet conditions plus they would be a lot cheaper to replace.


There was a good bit of cutting and welding involved and this is not something you can do in the driveway but mine was done in a single car block-building garage. I’m a Collision Repair Tech. and have some mechanical and MIG welding experience although I’m not a mechanic or certified welder. I don’t want people to read this and think that I think I know all there is to know about installing a Big Block in an S-10. I read an article years ago on a BB S-10 and liked it and wanted to do it. I also had a friend that did it before I did and gave me a lot of help with issues I had. "He’s my hero". That’s for you Eddie!

I’m sure there was some things I may have left out in the description of the install if so e-mail me and I will try to help. I like seeing what everyone is building.

See Ya, Tim

[tlambert]

I will post more of the frame fabrication later.
This is the finished project.

[tlambert]

Thanks to Rich / AKA Small Block. He got me to type this up and with his help it was originally posted here http://www.v8s10.org/

The same article is here http://www.v8s10.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5642

Please read the article first because alot of your questions may be answered there.

If you are interested and are serious
about doing a BB swap e-mail me at
bigrats10@yahoo.com and I will try to help you
any way I can. I'm not on here very often
so e-mail will be the best with questions.
If there are alot I will post them here.
Here are a few pics I do have.


I tried to make it look like It was bought with the BB. Alot of ideas were used from the BB Chevelle.


And yes we do drive it,.......not on a trailer.

[JROD Jr.]

should be a sticky and how-to.... exellent man

[onehotchevy]

I like it

[tlambert]

Thanks guys!

[downtoearth]

Excelent write up!

[suicidal]

that truck is Sexy!!!

[zerogravity58]

just a question cuz i know someone else will ask....what rear is in it and by the look of it is it tubbed or minitubbed?

[downtoearth]

Somebody Make This A Sticky!

[flyinfinn]

WOW! great job!i know this is kind of off topic, but where did you get that rear bumper?

[fetuss10]

thats one clean looking truck

[suicidal]

Quote: Originally Posted by flyinfinn

WOW! great job!i know this is kind of off topic, but where did you get that rear bumper?

Thats a first gen blazer bumper.

[lowxpectationz20]

beautiful truck. I found my new favorite first gen actually. The pic driving landed a spot on my wallpaper. For your side exit exhaust did you just run it through the leafs? or is she 4 linked?

[pursuit S10]

Quote: Originally Posted by tlambert

Thanks to Rich / AKA Small Block. He got me to type this up and with his help it was originally posted here http://www.v8s10.org/

AKA: Pursuit S10

Very Nice write up if i do say so myself.

[jameskirk1]

I second the sticky idea....Awesome truck man, congratulations!

[flyinfinn]

Quote: Originally Posted by pewter04blaze

Thats a first gen blazer bumper.

thanks, no rollpan for me

Quote: Originally Posted by lowxpectationz20

beautiful truck. I found my new favorite first gen actually. The pic driving landed a spot on my wallpaper.

no kidding. i love it!!!!

[DevilDriver]

gorgeous truck and well laid out post. sticky'd.

[bluedragonx]

Damn, I love it. That's such a kickass truck!

[Brandon H.]

WOW that is very nice, what kind of gas mileage you get now? :-)

[BlackEsDime]

wow, nice ass truck. and that BB looks like its supposed to be there

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by zerogravity58

just a question cuz i know someone else will ask....what rear is in it and by the look of it is it tubbed or minitubbed?

Not sure what you mean by mini tubbed. It was cut off behide the cab and a 2x4 rear frame section made. It has a 9in.ford rear axle with 350 Richmond gears.

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by lowxpectationz20

beautiful truck. I found my new favorite first gen actually. The pic driving landed a spot on my wallpaper. For your side exit exhaust did you just run it through the leafs? or is she 4 linked?

Since the frame is raised 3in higher than stock the pipes actually run right under the frame were it begins to raise then makes a sharpe turn downward. Excellent exhaust guy, the only problem is that it blows up alot of dust. There wasn't enough room to run them behind the rear tires like the 67,68 Camaro and Chevelle.
The truck has S-10 leaf springs.

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by flyinfinn

WOW! great job!i know this is kind of off topic, but where did you get that rear bumper?

I sent you an e-mail on the rear bumper. Hope it helps.

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brandon H.

WOW that is very nice, what kind of gas mileage you get now? :-)

Who knows? BB 2800 at 70mph. That wasn't an issue but I wish it had a
700r OD.

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackEsDime

wow, nice ass truck. and that BB looks like its supposed to be there

Thanks thats the look I wanted and thats the response I like to hear.

[lowriderbowtie]

thats an amazing truck..i cant stop looking at it awesome work

[flyinfinn]

Quote: Originally Posted by tlambert

I sent you an e-mail on the rear bumper. Hope it helps.

i got the e-mail. very detailed. even sticky-worthy! thanks alot for the help

[BlueNoma SKVP]

OMFG ! I just nutted myself !

Throw up some pics of the rear end and suspension too.

[cruisinlows10]

Freakin Sweet Man

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlueNoma SKVP

OMFG ! I just nutted myself !

Throw up some pics of the rear end and suspension too.

Easy does it pull back on the raines!

[8Duece]

Oh Yeaaaaah!
soooo nice TL, excellent work.
my favorite/best I have seen.
Have you had any articles in any magazines yet?/do you plan on it?

My project is underway.
I will be sending you an email with a few questions.

If its not a big deal for you...
do you mind posting up a pic from the front view and back view (would like to see how the tires look from a straight rear view)
and some INTERIOR pics would be great, curious to see what you have done with the inside.

Very nice post, great!

[downtoearth]

Thanks for sticky punk!!

[kevdog]

Beautiful truck! You all did an excellent job with the install of the BB.

[rolledone]

once again the first pic i saw, and i was like damn that motor looks like it was meant to be there

[orangesonoma]

holy shit...that is beautiful!

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by 8Duece

Oh Yeaaaaah!
soooo nice TL, excellent work.
my favorite/best I have seen.
Have you had any articles in any magazines yet?/do you plan on it?

My project is underway.
I will be sending you an email with a few questions.

If its not a big deal for you...
do you mind posting up a pic from the front view and back view (would like to see how the tires look from a straight rear view)
and some INTERIOR pics would be great, curious to see what you have done with the inside.

Very nice post, great!

Nothing in the Magazines and that would be left up to them, I'm all for it if you know someone that could get it done.

I went to a Super Chevy Show and intered in the Prostreet class. I got second to a BB 69 Camaro that looked like a racecar and come out of a trailer. We drove the truck from SC to TN in the pouring rain on a Friday and had to clean it the next morning before the show on Sat.
Drove it that night to go eat, got stopped by the local PD, told me the exhaust was too loud, they must not have Harleys there huh! BTW the truck has manifolds with flowmasters and tailpipes..??

Sunday we cleaned it again along with unloading all of our possesions of the weekend. Most people acted like it was common to see a BB in an S-10 that was a street truck. I didn't really care about the second palce or trophy, for me its about being acknowledged for the work it took to do the installation.

I hoped it might at least make the Super Chevy Magazine form show coverage ..... no chance they love their Camaros too much. (I like them too).
I think most of the people didn't think we drove it, because there were so many cars trailered there.

I guess I will have to be at the right place at the right time. My luck is when it was sold to someone then it would be in the mag. and the new owner would get the credit for the build.

[tlambert]

Thanks again for all of the props!

[AssDragginSdime]

thats badass.. allthough ive seen a few people who did bbc swaps using sbc block mounts, and no mods to the frame or firewall. Anywho, i think its badass and clean as hell.. good work. i also like how you kept the stock hood. Alot of people just throw a cowl on, and call it a day.. and personally i think stock hoods look 10000x cleaner.. plus alsmot every fiberglass cowl ive seen doesnt line up perfect.

[itsalifestyle]

Quote: Originally Posted by orangesonoma

holy shit...that is beautiful!

werd, one of the cleanest 1st gens iv ever seen

[fiveinchbodydrop]

nice mang! very nice!

[blackLS1]

That is a sweet S10.

[tlambert]

Sorry guys that I haven't got the pics of the frame section up yet I've been kinda busy. I need to do a little shading on the pics to show were the cuts were made then I will get them posted.
T.

[Stretch454]

Tim,
THAT is one of the sweetest installs I've seen! I'm not just talkin dimes here. It's better than the Regal/Northstar which did get a feature after I saw it on Power Tour 2000. And the write-up was very detailed! WOW! Good job on the beast, man!
I'm sure somebody on here has a girlfriends brother's bosses uncle who knows a guy that golfs with one of those important mo-fos at the mags. That truck needs a feature; it ain't done everyday, and second behind a doorknob camaro is something to be proud of! Most of the punks probably didn't check it out at the show cause they thought it was another mouse in the bay.
Mine's a force it in sort of deal, but all solid as I'm more into racing the thing, but you've definately made me want to clean things up some more.
Just my 12 cents bro. Good on ya!
Stretch

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by Stretch454

Tim,
THAT is one of the sweetest installs I've seen! I'm not just talkin dimes here. It's better than the Regal/Northstar which did get a feature after I saw it on Power Tour 2000. And the write-up was very detailed! WOW! Good job on the beast, man!
I'm sure somebody on here has a girlfriends brother's bosses uncle who knows a guy that golfs with one of those important mo-fos at the mags. That truck needs a feature; it ain't done everyday, and second behind a doorknob camaro is something to be proud of! Most of the punks probably didn't check it out at the show cause they thought it was another mouse in the bay.
Mine's a force it in sort of deal, but all solid as I'm more into racing the thing, but you've definately made me want to clean things up some more.
Just my 12 cents bro. Good on ya!
Stretch

Thanks I appreciate it!
I wish it could happen before someone else owns it.

[dropped94]

you have any pics of it headon very sic truck

[steveman525]

you don't need a wiring harness if you a carbureted correct just an ignition box?

[T Man 383]

I dont know if it has been asked or not, but where did the 3rd brake light come from? I like the install of it.. I have a 454 in my suburban, and cringe everytime I look at it trying to power**** it into the engine bay of the old s10.

Big Block S10's = SEXY

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by dropped94

you have any pics of it headon very sic truck

There are several pics people want to see. The weather was bad here this weekend and the truck is parked outside so the pics wouldn't have turned out good. I will get them as soon as possible.

[tlambert]

Quote: Originally Posted by steveman525

you don't need a wiring harness if you a carbureted correct just an ignition box?

The truck is an 84 non computor. It was a 2.8 carbed engine. Everything worked from the original harness, located what the wires went to and lengthened or shortened the wires as needed.