"Gypsum" 55.1 1st series chevy 3100

[joedoh]

I sold a kit to a nice guy and two weeks later he was selling the whole project. so I ponied up and bought it all at a great price considering i made all the mounts. it was a "mostly" complete 55.1 1st series, more on that later. he had just plopped the cab on an ext cab frame and trailered it to me the 70 odd miles from Gypsum, KS. plans are to get the body mounted and the steering and brakes done, if I dont get any takers that way I have a low mile 4.3 vortec with a brand new 4l60e in the shop.

towing it home from the storage in this gas economy meant not hooking up the 14klb trailer to the 8mpg silverado. I tried a different tactic.

the frame was an ext cab 123" wheelbase so I shortened it to 116" in about 4 hours. these 1998+ frames are a beach and a sand bar worse than the earlier ones because of the extra boxing at the factory splice, but stick with it and it gets done.

back together and ready for some parts, I already sold the mount kit because I want to try something new, a version 2.0 of my 47-55.1 mounts that address a lot of the feedback I have gotten in the ~70 kits I have sold. stuff like make it work with different types of bushings is easy, but my running board frame side mounts require some trimming because they are universal parts so guys want a more exact 47-55.1 setup. after a couple prototypes this is what I came up with, a cab mount/running board combo.

tack em on and can whistle through every body mount hole.

next is to tackle the core mounting. my parts are already simple to me, but guys have asked for a simpler setup. i will be working on that the next day or so.

 

[Torchie]

Nice,
[P[P[P
Torchie

 

[Burgerman]

Cab looks to be in great shape [P

 

[BillM]

Well done JD!

 

[joedoh]

today i tackled all the body issues, it needs:

both cab corners and the lower cowl on the drivers side

drivers floor work

both lower fender mounting sweeps on the cab

4 hinges

the drivers fender is rusted at the bottom, and at the part where the inner brace attaches.

by the way i dont have any inner fender braces. or a hood latch panel.


so I dug deep and fixed it all in about 3 hours. I even did a 5 window conversion!

nice guy i just met had everything i needed and more. his name was not Big John sadly.

it has this weirdy seat setup, has a shock absorber single drivers seat and a bench seat that is sadly missing but the brackets are there. uber rare, crazy uber rare 54-55 only parts. if complete it would be 12-1500.

so now i have all the parts for the front clip, tomorrow i will assemble.

 

[Tripper]

Sweeeeet!!!

 

[bob w]

Excellent!

 

[Bamamav]

That suspension seat sounds like a commercial piece. Driver got a softer ride, helper or helpers got the board hard seat! Some companies even left out the passenger side seat to keep from the drivers picking up riders.

I have always liked the 5 window cabs the best. Great visibility to the side and rear. Can't hide nothing with them though! You're in plain sight!

 

[joedoh]

That suspension seat sounds like a commercial piece. Driver got a softer ride, helper or helpers got the board hard seat! Some companies even left out the passenger side seat to keep from the drivers picking up riders.

it is, here is the brochure picture.

the passenger seat is like the 37-46 seats, the back hooks on the back wall then the base hooks to the back and those pins on the floor rails fit in a bunch of holes on the seat bottom, so you lift the seat and slide it forward or back.


got the old cab off, the trailer empty, and the new cab on. if it looks crooked its because i didnt check to see if the shackles were taken off haha

 

[lowbudget50]

Looks like a solid ride!!! I love these trucks

 

[mikec4193]

I look at those pictures of those floor pans...then I look at the stuff in my neck of the woods (upstate NY)...gotta love mid west sheet metal...I have had some in the past and it is always a joy to work on decent stuff to start with...

Cant wait to see how it turns out...

Keep at it...

MikeC

 

[joedoh]

man i feel like i lose half my remaining life doing rust repair.

a nice guy bought a kit from me last year (and a bed) and then had a life problem i dont wish on anyone. would i help him kick his truck project into gear? sure!

i decided to put some adjustment in my stuff.

cab fits!

lots of work with the 5/16 18 tap and a bucket full of 5/16 bolts to get the front end put together.

all the hood bolts were broken, welded some mild steel weld nuts on the stumps and backed em out.

he bought some 3" drop springs and i dont know what the hell they would have dropped 3" maybe an aircraft carrier but he said he barely got it put together and it was maxing out the uppers. i needed a plan to change them because they were seriously sprung in there and there was no motor, not that it would have made a difference, two people didnt even budge them. I jacked it up against the flatbed on my 2500hd, then put a jack under the arms. it lifted the flatbed 5" before the tension was off! when i let the jack out there was still pressure with the arm all the way down, so i threw a length of chain through it so it wouldnt fly out, and pried with a crowbar. it still flew into the yard!

i put a real belltech 3" spring in, it almost fell in.

side by side the red spring was 5" taller than the belltech!

its going to rain so i popped the front on and pushed it inside.

I almost have it trimmed to fit, and the hood is bolted on now too. i want his truck done sat, have to finish the front clip and do the bed, bumpers, and pedals and column too. easy peasy!

 

[Old Iron]

Looks good.
What year frame is that and what spindles are those?

 

[05snopro440]

Looks good.
What year frame is that and what spindles are those?

4WD stuff maybe?

 

[joedoh]

Looks good.
What year frame is that and what spindles are those?

its an 84 frame with 98+ blazer 2wd front spindles. sealed bearings and dual piston caliper 11" brakes. its a great upgrade, I have done it, puts you through the glass.

4WD stuff maybe?

89? up 4wd use that same sealed bearing, good guess! [cl[cl

here is the difference in springs

i looked up the part number, they are indeed marketed as 3" drop springs but the reviews are terrible

 

[05snopro440]

its an 84 frame with 98+ blazer 2wd front spindles. sealed bearings and dual piston caliper 11" brakes. its a great upgrade, I have done it, puts you through the glass.



89? up 4wd use that same sealed bearing, good guess! [cl[cl

here is the difference in springs

i looked up the part number, they are indeed marketed as 3" drop springs but the reviews are terrible

Wow, those springs are tall and seem to have large coils!

That spindle setup is neat! I checked out the brakes available for it as well. I wasn't aware of that setup before. Would you end up with the same track width as the regular 2wd setup?

 

[joedoh]

Wow, those springs are tall and seem to have large coils!

That spindle setup is neat! I checked out the brakes available for it as well. I wasn't aware of that setup before. Would you end up with the same track width as the regular 2wd setup?

same track width, its a bolt on upgrade for most s10. the blazer flex hoses wont bolt to the early hardlines but there are workarounds.

the only drawback is that belltech is the only one making a drop spindle for 1998+ blazer 2wd, and they are $400. if you find another that says it will fit 1998+ its a typo, just belltech 2102.

 

[joedoh]

whittling away on the hood/clip fit. i didnt take it apart and i am pretty sure these parts are from 3-4 different trucks so the deck is stacked against me, but i finally am getting it reasonably close on wheel centering and hood fit.

got the center knocked out of the bed so it can go back on.

i am slightly behind my sunday schedule, fiddling with the front end. more soon.

 

[joedoh]

front clip on is on permanently.

mounted steering column and brake pedal. the shifter peg didnt come off easily so i sanded the closeout weld till it rotated and slid freely on the column and then rotated it to close out the hole I made. thats my 5 degree booster plate, mounts the master at the proper 5 degrees, most gm since 1978 use that.

still some work needed there, need a small piece to close out the original column hole.


running board mounts are now part of the cab mounts so it was simple to install the legs and see how they fit. fit good!

one of the big complaints i get on this kit is that it doesnt come with any bed crossmembers. i would love to include them but SHIPPING 2 50" pieces of 1x1.5 would cost 3x just buying it local. but I am sympathetic, so I decided to modify the bed mounts to use the original bed crossmembers. worked a treat.

would you believe me if i told you, the original crossmembers were within 1/2 inch (both sides) of lining up with the holes in the s10 frame? crazy. but VIOLA!

he didnt bring any rear fenders and those are my running boards, so tomorrow I will finish weld everything and install the bumpers and shes ready to go home.