Custom Mopar ????

[Torchie]

Slow and steady there Torchie.

It's too bad your friend didn't make it over to help you. You know what they say about friends - "A friend will help you move, but a good friend will help you move a body". It fits in your case! )

Thanks gang.
Bill. It’s still a bit up in the air with my friend about helping. He is in charge of 26 auto parts stores and add to the fact that at age 46 he’s expecting his wife is expecting their first child.
Add to the fact that I’m getting to the point in this build that will require a lot of up and down on the floor patterning and making new body mounts for the frame.
I guess we will see.....
Nothing much going to happen today. It’s going to be 85 and the heart just doesn’t like it that warm.
Torchie

 

[Torchie]

Sometimes you just have to test the 24 year old stitches in your heart.[ddd
I toasted the electric winch last fall moving the cars for the winter so I had to resort to the old standby. A come-along.
It's in the shop now.
More bits to remove before I put it under the body.
Keep on keeping on........
Torchie

 

[Bamamav]

Didn't have a riding lawn mower to pull it most of the way?

 

[Torchie]

Didn't have a riding lawn mower to pull it most of the way?

No riding lawnmower, Bama.
I haven’t cut a blade of grass in 21 years.
The last two houses have both been in the woods.
Torchie

 

[soltz]

Your getting there [cl
!![P!!

 

[Torchie]

So now we know for sure.....
In my research I was only able to find one guy that had put a car body on a S 10 chassis.
A 49 Chevy and he channeled it. I can see why now.
Picture 2 shows the issue. The upward sweep of the frame towards the rear.
Last pic shows the body fully down on the frame. The rise in the rear is caused by the upward flow of the chassis.
The only way to get around this is the cut out the floor and drop the body down.
So I guess this will be the ultimate custom after all.
Chopped . Sectioned and channeled. [ddd
Keep on keeping on.
A weary Torchie.

 

[Skip]

So now we know for sure.....
In my research I was only able to find one guy that had put a car body on a S 10 chassis.
A 49 Chevy and he channeled it. I can see why now.
Picture 2 shows the issue. The upward sweep of the frame towards the rear.
Last pic shows the body fully down on the frame. The rise in the rear is caused by the upward flow of the chassis.
The only way to get around this is the cut out the floor and drop the body down.
So I guess this will be the ultimate custom after all.
Chopped . Sectioned and channeled. [ddd
Keep on keeping on.
A weary Torchie.

Lookin' good. If you remove the overload springs and add a set of 2-inch lowering blocks, the frame will (should) sit about level. Or some variation on that. I didn't pull the overload on my 39, but the block gave me the stance I wanted. Almost level.

It also looks like (can't tell for sure) your frame needs the sway bars front and rear. These are easy wrecking yard parts. See my build for the brackets I had to fab for the rear. Easy upgrade. If you need the front one, be sure to leave the mounting holes in the frame when you trim the ends off.

 

[Torchie]

Lookin' good. If you remove the overload springs and add a set of 2-inch lowering blocks, the frame will (should) sit about level. Or some variation on that. I didn't pull the overload on my 39, but the block gave me the stance I wanted. Almost level.

It also looks like (can't tell for sure) your frame needs the sway bars front and rear. These are easy wrecking yard parts. See my build for the brackets I had to fab for the rear. Easy upgrade. If you need the front one, be sure to leave the mounting holes in the frame when you trim the ends off.

Thanks skip

I’ll look into the sway bars .
Not sure Not sure on the front horns yet. That fender isn’t really where it needs to be.
Lowering block( 3 inch most likely ) would level off the rocker. But it would put the top of the tire just about at the upper wheel opening lip.
My plan is to channel it to get the rocket level, then do suspension mods to get it to the correct stance.
Dropped spindles in the front. Blocks in the rear.
The front mount at the firewall is about a inch and a half too high.
So this will be a progressive channeling. More at the rear then at the front.
Add to all of this the fact that I will also be running a higher profile tire .
Some thing like a 800x15.
Torchie

 

[DozerII]

Man Torchie I feel like such a slouch when I watch your progress. [cl[cl[P[P

 

[bob w]

You should be a You Tube star.[cl

 

[Bamamav]

Man Torchie I feel like such a slouch when I watch your progress. [cl[cl[P[P

No reason for that Dozer. You, Torchie and BobW all make me look like a wannabe not getting anything done......which unfortunately, I’m not. Hopefully soon to change that though.....

 

[earthman]

Man Torchie I feel like such a slouch when I watch your progress. [cl[cl[P[P

............X2!

 

[Torchie]

You should be a You Tube star.[cl

Thanks but No thanks, bob.
The higher up the flag pole you go. The more people that see your dirty underware.
Its amazing what you can do when you cut the floor out of a car.
The goal of the channeling is to get the rockers to near level front to back.
That has been achieved.
To get the final stance that I want, I will use blocks( and some spring removal) in the rear and a lowering kit for the front.
A 3" lowering block should get the lip of the wheel opening just at the top of the rim.
The rear tire is now where it should be in the rear wheel opening. It is centered and It's front/back location looks much like the vision quest pic.
The front wheel location has yet to be determined.
I lan on putting in some temporary cross pieces so I can take the body off the chainfalls and then the car off the dollies.
That's for tomorrow.
Thanks for the comments.
Keep on keeping on....
Torchie

 

[Bamamav]

How are you going to center the front wheel in the fender, extend the frame? Or are you thinking about centering the front wheel, then maybe moving the rear springs back to center the rear wheel?

 

[Torchie]

How are you going to center the front wheel in the fender, extend the frame? Or are you thinking about centering the front wheel, then maybe moving the rear springs back to center the rear wheel?

I measured the donor this evening, Bama.
From the front edge of the door to the center of the front hub is 33-1/2”.
On my custom with the rear wheel centered , as it is now, that same measurement is 32-1/2” .
They make axle set back plates that will move the S-10 axle back 1/2 “. Commonly used in S-10 V8 swaps.
So that leaves me a half inch to make up.
Upon examining the set back plates they can be modified the add that extra half inch.
I believe it will work just fine.
And not even sure they will need modifing.
Most car tires of this era don't sit dead center in the openings anyways. See the pic of the stock Dodge Coronet. They sit forward in the opening.
As they are now my rear tire is probably back a half inch from it's stock position.
It's all going to be about how it looks. That will be the deciding factor.
Torchie

 

[kenny c]

Thanks but No thanks, bob.
The higher up the flag pole you go. The more people that see your dirty underware.
Its amazing what you can do when you cut the floor out of a car.
The goal of the channeling is to get the rockers to near level front to back.
That has been achieved.
To get the final stance that I want, I will use blocks( and some spring removal) in the rear and a lowering kit for the front.
A 3" lowering block should get the lip of the wheel opening just at the top of the rim.
The rear tire is now where it should be in the rear wheel opening. It is centered and It's front/back location looks much like the vision quest pic.
The front wheel location has yet to be determined.
I lan on putting in some temporary cross pieces so I can take the body off the chainfalls and then the car off the dollies.
That's for tomorrow.
Thanks for the comments.
Keep on keeping on....
Torchie

I like your plan. I agree with the comment about the flag pole. I couldn't be in the public eye.

 

[zzrodder]

The vision comes together! If you're using lowering blocks, just build the axle offset into them instead of separate offset plates ,maybe?? Just make them from sections of 2x3 box tubing with the ends capped ,weld a rounded bolt in the top for a locating button and a hole in the bottom to sit on the leaf spring.

 

[Torchie]

The vision comes together! If you're using lowering blocks, just build the axle offset into them instead of separate offset plates ,maybe?? Just make them from sections of 2x3 box tubing with the ends capped ,weld a rounded bolt in the top for a locating button and a hole in the bottom to sit on the leaf spring.

That would work as well. ZZ
As it is, the offset plates lower the car about a 1/2 inch.
Lots of little stuff to consider at this stage.
Hopefully some answers tomorrow once I get it on the ground.
Torchie

 

[MercuryMac]

I would like to underline what ZZ said, make your own blocks and offset them the way you want. Here's a picture of my store-bought 3" lowering blocks in an old Dodge. I couldn't find any blocks that were as narrow as the springs so I have to do a little massaging yet on them. So, know how wide your springs or the holes in your lower shock bracket are so the U-clamps don't have to lean. If you make your own blocks then you can make them narrow enough.
Keep on tinkering, Torchie.

 

[Torchie]

One if the nice things about using the S10 frame is the large availability of aftermarket parts,Mac.
I googled S 10 lowering kits and had something like 3 pages of items.
If I had used the original Dodge frame I would have done exactly as you did. Although I think Butch’s Viol stuff may have blocks for those old , narrow Mopar springs.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, gang.
Torchie