Chop Top V8 89' S10 - Scrap Pile

Hey everyone, new here and new to rat rodding.... new to just about everything this project will consist of actually

Let me start by saying if this truck doesnt belong here - aka is too modern and new, let me know and I'll take the thread down... With that said, I present to you, my dream and my nightmare. This thread is copy/pasted from another site so if some things don't quite make sense I apologize

I'll be posting updates on my 1989 piece O' **** Chevy S10.
A little info on it - I am the third owner. First owner was an old guy, drive it normal up until 80,000 miles. He let it sit for a good amount of years then decided to sell it, the second owner tore the motor apart and rebuilt it just for piece of mind. He drove it for 3,000 miles until his other car needed a clutch, to come up with extra he decided to sell it. I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket and had decided I wanted a truck and something to make into a bit of a rat rod, when I stumbled upon this on craigslist I made a few calls, found a ride down to CT and picked up it that weekend for $850. Aside from a rotted floor pan and rocker panel this truck was mint and a steal for how much he wanted. I drove it home and loved it! A little 2.2l 4 cylinder with a 4-speed t5 transmission. I knew I wanted to chop the roof but did not know how. Without the knowledge and all the negativity I got from friends and the local traditional hot rodders that only fueled my flame to chop it and at least attempt something to prove to myself I could do it.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking - These first two are the day and day after I brought it home.

That weekend I had the rest of the VTStance crew over to take a look at one of the projects we'd all be getting into over the winter - After they left and I had done some research between the internet and talking to a local rodder from up the road I dove head first into the chop portion of the build.

I'm waiting for at least one of you to tell me how I NEEDED to brace the truck before chopping.... Sorry I hurt your feelings

Since I knew I wasn't going to use any of the stock glass I was a bit rough with it for ****s and giggles...

I decided to chop 10" out of the roof and in the second picture am making my first cuts into what was a perfectly good and innocent truck. I was pretty nervous about it but I bit the bullet and dug in.

My buddy's Nate and Pat were over that night for moral support and an extra set of eyes and brain power for things I may not have thought of myself.

After three more cuts the roof was off!

Before I did anything else Olson (will be all I say of his name), a traditional rodder, and builder who has made it into Rodder's Journal told me he wouldn't give me any more pointers until I showed him I had a donor roof. The roof will be used for quartering which you will see later on. Olson completely hates this project and will only give me advice after about an hour of mockery!

After I found one at a local junkyard I kept up with the progress by cutting my original roof into 4 quarters (unfortunately have no pictures of this...) then beginning to line up and tack on the corners.

Here we are with all four corners tacked on and my donor roof was cut into slices made to fill the gaps as you can see. Blue was original and the red slices fill the gaps to I can keep the same width of the cab and not bend pillars.


This roof chop took me a little over a month to do and while I was in the mindset of it that's all I did. While at work I would make lists in my head of what may work, what could look good, be easier and better and what wouldn't work. I'd come home, eat and head straight into the garage even if I only sat and looked at what I had done so far and what step I will be doing next. The day finally came and my roof was fully tacked on, I pulled the truck out of the garage and up to my blue wrx to see how the roof line measured up.


NOTE: I could not have done any of this if it weren't for my friends and girlfriend. While some helped me physically others helped me mentally and kept pushing me during the nights when I had lost motivation and didn't think I could finish it. This chop is far from perfect and I'm at ease with that, it was my first one, in a small garage with very minimal tools.

My buddy Pat who had the welder we had been using went away to school which brought the chop top part of the project to a screeching halt. Although the roof was low, the truck was not low enough for my standards by any means. Also the truck looked way out of proportion with such a bulky front and rear end compared to the cab, it was time to start changing that.
First my buddy Peter and I pulled off the cap and the bed.

I have plans to either make my own bed with the help of a friend/carpenter or buy an old chevy stepside bed and take off the fenders to keep with the low profile look, ratty and open wheeled look.
After the bed was off the rear leaf springs were very easy to get to so Pete and I took out two of the five in each pack.

This along with 3" drop blocks and I figured it would be getting a little bit more acceptable.

We threw it all back together and pulled it back out!

This is when the posts start to slow and you are all up to date on how the truck is sitting and what's coming next - I ended up lowering the front a few inches more and pulled it back out to the side of the garage where it is currently sitting.

I'm away at school on weekdays and working on weekends. All work and no play leads to a lonely truck but a wallet that's slowly accumulating some spending money. At first I was going to save for air.... then I realized that this cannot have a 4 cylinder in it. That air fund quickly changed to a V8 swap fund and parts were being bought. I went back to the junkyard where I found my donor roof in search for small block chevy motors. Knowing which motor I already wanted made me picky and I didn't find what I was looking for. On my way out I stumbled across an old keg, or maybe... my new gas tank.

I got a spare key made for the truck and bought a screwdriver too... Use your imagination.

After craigslist hunting for a week or two I found a nice th400 transmission with 35,000 miles that came out of an old mobile home. I picked this up just a few days ago and it was just enough to re-light my fire and keep me motivated!!


That's all for now, everyone!!

I am currently looking for a carbureted sbc 350 and doing my research on what I want to do for a driveshaft and rear end. Stay tuned and let the feedback roll!

-Joe

Ordered some frame and motor mounts tonight, just stupid stuff to keep me motivated on this project.


Got a question for you fellas!
I have a carb'd sbc 350 at my dads house that needs to be rebuilt. But I don't really have the time to rebuild it so I was just gonna buy a new running one.

A. Rebuild current 350 with bigger cam?

B. Just buy a running one and throw it in?

Update:

Bought a motor last night - so now I've got most of what I need! Small block Chevy 350, th400 trans, a few driveshafts laying around in hopes that one is long enough and can be modified to work, motor mount kit



Over this Thanksgiving from break I'll hopefully have time to start pulling the motor, trans, etc...

Only thing I will say is I probably wouldnt have been so angry with the windshield. Coulda had it cut down. And your small block before you try to crank it, pull the plugs and roll it a few times to get any oil out of the cylinders that may have made it's way in while laying on its side.

First off, welcome to the site, we're not real picky about year and model. Neverdone gives good advise, you'll need at lease a windshield and an old one is good to learn bow to cut glass. Things are looking good and i'll give you props for jumping in with both feet. Keep at it and keep us posted. [cl ah to be young.
Where are you from and what are you studing[S

Don't worry about your build being on this site. If they let me on they will let any one on.
Also agree with the posts about the windshield unless you don't plan on cutting one down.
You never need a part until you need a part and it's the one thing that you destroyed taking it off.......
Just my 2 cents................[P [P [P
Torchie.

I can appreciate your vision, but HTF are you going to be able to drive it with big a chop? [S I had a couple of s10's, and I'm not that tall, 5'11", and I never had enough leg room in the standard cab. I'd be curled up in a ball, even sitting on the floor!

Hope it works for ya. We like all kinds around here, from us old[er] farts to young whippersnappers, rusty rides to shiney stuff, just as long as it's built safe, anything goes! [cl

I'm a sucker for a heavy chop......so you know I'm diggin' it!

Welcome to RRR! Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5nm48pYFc

Get the windshield cut down and work on that while you don't have a welder. It's not impossible and S10 glass is everywhere. The side windows can't be cut, so forget them.

I think you should use the bed and the topper - chop the topper to match.

Sam_Fear said:

Welcome to RRR! Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5nm48pYFc

Get the windshield cut down and work on that while you don't have a welder. It's not impossible and S10 glass is everywhere. The side windows can't be cut, so forget them.

I think you should use the bed and the topper - chop the topper to match.

Click to expand...

^^^^ Yeah !!! That would look cool as heck! I'm diggin' it. [cl

Holy ****..... did not expect all this positive feedback from you guys, the previous forum I shared on was not so accepting haha I'll try to respond to everyone!

@Neverdone - Yeah I am now regretting bashing the windshield... but at the same time it was fun!! There are a few 1st gen s10's at the local yard so I will grab a windshield from there

@Soltz - I am from Southern Vermont and studying surgical technology

@Torchie - You arent kidding... oh well I'll get one soon, my buddys father owns a glass cutting company so he's got some experience he will share with me to make it a clean cut

@bamamav - Fitting in this stupid thing is a bitch!! hahaha i wouldnt recommend this chop to anyone, maybe a 7" would be more reasonable, but i like how it looks so screw it - I'm 5'11 as well

I was thinking (obviously) normal s10 windshield cut down to fit, then for the rear glass and maybe sides i would do yellow plexi/lexan much like gassers do. I havent decided on what color i want to the "truck" to be yet

@EVERYONE - Thank you for the warm welcome, I'm really enjoying this site and looking at everyones awesome builds!!

Yeah, everyone around here gets along pretty good.

Go for it!

Lookin' good. The chop is daring, to say the least. If you haven't found it already, there is an S10 V8 site with a lot of great information. I studied on it for a long time before starting my 38 Ford PU on an S10 chassis project. For the 38 cab, I didn't need the motor mount kit, (actually had to move the engine forward a bit) but it seems essential for the stock bodied S10.

Remember to be good to your hot rodder neighbor. He might be a bit gruff, but he likes what you are doing. Even if he doesn't approve of your choice of vehicles.

Skip said:

Lookin' good. The chop is daring, to say the least. If you haven't found it already, there is an S10 V8 site with a lot of great information. I studied on it for a long time before starting my 38 Ford PU on an S10 chassis project. For the 38 cab, I didn't need the motor mount kit, (actually had to move the engine forward a bit) but it seems essential for the stock bodied S10.

Remember to be good to your hot rodder neighbor. He might be a bit gruff, but he likes what you are doing. Even if he doesn't approve of your choice of vehicles.

Click to expand...

How hard was it to put an old body on an s10 frame?? thats an option for down the road for me if I keep this longer than a year haha (I have that problem)
I'm nice to Olson, him and my old man are good friends so I've known him since I was a wee lad
Thanks Skip!

To make room, drop the floor pan where your feet go and firewall (to move the pedals down too) on the drivers side to the bottom of the frame rail. If you can, bump the firewall right there forward a bit too.

If you get this chop right, find a different doner frame for a frame. Few frame swaps are anything less than major surgery. Some are just more major than others. [S

Keep in mind on the windshield - you might have to go back and reshape the opening a bit to fit the glass because eventually uneven or high spots could cause a stress point. It might be a little bit of work that you don't want to redo, but it will be worth it.

Some new cars have laminated side glass - it is possible you could find something with the right curve to cut your sides from. The back flat glass is easy - just plain ol flat laminate.