86 s15 v8 corner carver

i chipped all the shitty paint off the rearend, cleaned it up where it needed it, and repainted it. this morning i went and got some custom u bolts made (theres a place in mesa, az that makes them while you wait to your specs). got all that painted and installed the rear end. also cleaned and painted my rear lines, the fuel return was almost solidly blocked, so i cleared that out as well.

some close ups of the chassis coat





poly bushings installed








2 3/4" id  9/16 thread 8" long for $10 a piece with tall nuts and super thick washers. theyre a little long but will allow me to lower it more if need be to level it with the front, ill cut them to length after the truck has been on the road and settles.




scotchbrite pad

Your chassis paint looks better than the paint on my truck's body panels! 

Your chassis paint looks better than the paint on my truck's body panels!

thats funny because my body paint is going to look like shit, intentionally. i hate taking care of and worrying about good paint, besides it attracts attention.

Is that powder coat or was it sprayed? Chassis looks really good!

thanks. i sprayed it in my driveway, see bottom of page 1. my first time ever using anything but a brush or rattle can.

i broke the little bitch fuel line separator clip POS thingy that comes through the frame below the motor into the engine bay into 4 peices, it was all brittle. i went to the pickapart near me to get a 13.2 gallon tank and a new bitch clip. i broke the first 2, got the 3rd one out in mostly one peice and broke the 4rth one. i exhausted the whole yard of s10 little bitch clips. it took 2 hours to get one(1) with the "retainer fingers" snapped off. then i discovered all the tanks had holes punched in them after finally finding an injected first gen 13.2 gallon truck tank, after laying on the ground for an hour under various s10s. pickapart pisses me off sometimes.       enough bitching





i redid the rear harness






prepped and painted the firewall

before





i primed the areas i thought the paint might have trouble sticking to with self etching. like the fiberglass and plastic evap housing.




more chassis coat black, just sprayed

i think it turned out well




anybody know if there is a better booster than the stock one i have? this truck always had horrible brakes, very high effort. i think a lot of it had to do with a 250k 2.8 that probably had little vacuum. but if there is something better, i need it.

With good vacuum, my booster seems to work quite well. I did not have good vacuum when I bought the truck and the brakes were quite hard. The only good upgrade IMHO is hydroboost, or going full manual with a big master cylinder.

try new pads.

sean it looks great !

thanks torq!

i took the day off yesterday and spent all day cleaning the bottom of the cab and getting it back on the frame. when you work 100% alone, its a 2 hour job to drop the cab back on the frame. the main hoop mounts "pulled in" when i welded them since they dont line up now, everything else fit like a glove. i got this truck completely stock, and then promptly lifted it, so this is the lowest its ever been. itll drop more with the bed and drive line obviously. im getting so excited.

before


this is after 3 hours with a wire brush . i am so ****ing done with wire brushing. i never want to see one again. i gave it a sponge bath afterward since it was stuck in my garage on sawhorses and i couldnt use the hose.


i made a block off plate for the old ecm harness hole


quick pic of the frame before it meets the body for the last time

Nice! Very well documented, keep up the good work!

thanks boredom

i got the front suspension on today, and bolted the roll bar to the frame. i welded those stupid little tabs on the upper mount bolts and painted them.

Awesome progress!  Looks like you and I are doing pretty much the same things to our trucks.  You spent more time prepping your frame than me though, i'm happy with mine, but a little jealous of how smooth yours came out.  Keep it up!

Just re-read the thread, great work man! I can't get over how well the frame came out, it looks immaculate even before you cleaned it up though. Damn southerners!

I'll be following some of your steps when doing my chassis, thanks for the great documenting and details!

neat masking pattern



i painted the rotors, repacked the bearings, new seals, and mounted those.

i removed the brake pedal to move the pin to the hole that provides a 6:1 ratio for manual brakes.

before


i ground the pin flat on the back side, its swedged in. took a hammer to it, nothin. i put it on the 20 ton, it took quite a bit of effort to get that bitch out.




chamfered for welding








i cut the rod out of the booster, turned on the lathe and welded it together with the front pin that goes into the master. it turned out like shit and isnt adjustable.





the metal from the booster rod is filthy with impurities. welds worse than cast iron. chinese boosters, chinese metal.




so i ruined a perfectly good booster and started over




tapped and turned down, then mounted in the mill






back on the lathe for final shaping






i also got my lokar throttle cable installed. i discovered the s10 uses a little plastic round clip with a ferrule on the end of the cable being held by it, that looked to be similar to the lokar. it comes with a clevis that i removed.





the worst part was getting the nut on and tight by myself






had to use a large fender washer to cover the hole

looks good man, that new booster rod looks pretty nice.

i finished the pedal assembly.

i had the lengthen the redundant "rod keeper" thingy, so that it still actuated the brake switch.



i need a sheet metal brake, but i dont have the room








finished assembly




mounted with the new master and block off plate




the diamond plate wasnt going to work out with the raised diamond, so i found some 1/8" almuinum, and hit it with chassis coat, and mounted the master and prop valve to the firewall. i had to enlarge the holes in the master for 3/8 bolts, looks like they were drilled for 5/16" or m8. i had to do the same to the firewall and pedal bracket because the mounting hole spacing is about 1/8" wider than the master.



i bent the conversion lines and installed them. i usually use a coat hanger to plan it out, then bend the lines, i forgot and almost screwed these up.





attached front and rear lines to the prop valve





i also got my drums together. the proper tools make a huge difference when doing drums. i stole these snap-on drum tool from my dad years ago. coffee is highly recommended as well.




new hardware kit




new wheel cylinders, i dont have the factory hardware, so gold grade 8 will have to do.




they are a different thread than the old cylinders, so thats more lines ill have to buy and bend. i should invest in a flare kit.

new shoes, etc

Looking great!  That's so cool that you have a lathe and several other tools I wish I had and that you know how to use them!  Keep it up, this thing is going to be sweet!

thanks man. stuff like this is the reason i bought them when i had the chance. its so nice when you hit a snag and say, only if i had a lathe.. oh wait i do!

and no one noticed i installed my shoes backwards?