A couple s-10's

Hey guys, just thought I would start up a project thread here to share some of that I've learned and learn some things from all of knowledgeable folks around here.

this is a continuation from s10 forum, here is the original thread - http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f30/83-and-84-s10-dad-and-son-projects-404743/

Just going to pick up from where I was at in the last week

some new parts


starting off with the smaller stuff,
-door pins and bushings for the blazer
-control arm washers
-power steering pump mod spring, changing the valving should really make the steering crisp


flaming river u-joint


energy suspension cab mount bushings as well as everything for the zq8 bars minus the end link bushings


Power performance steering linkage kit and ball joints


tie-rod sleeves


5-speed rebuild kit





cut the rag joint off that shaft we got this morning,


also got the front end back together minus the linkage, yea the drop is way to much....   


So tomorrow I've got to take it all back apart and decide what to do.


I picked up these zq8 coils from the junkyard expecting an 1 1/2" - 2" drop but realized afterwards they had been cut with a torch equating to a 4"+ drop on top of the 2" spindles.

I have maybe 1 1/2" of suspension travel before everything starts bottoming out and hitting. also there is no bump stops on the arms at all at the moment,

ridiculous rake





  The skid plate is 2 3/4" off the ground. I don't even think I could roll it out of the garage the way it sits now.  shucks...

 The plan now is to put the coils my dad got for '83 in it and see where it will sit. They are for a truck with no a/c reg cab etc. They are they same height as the stock ones for the '84 but are 20thou smaller.


so one last look and then back to work.


all back apart,


you can see the where the coils were torched. Taking them back to the yard tomorrow.



now onto the u-joint,
end cut off


mounted up but wait there's a problem


it's to long?


it took about 30 mins of head scratching to figure this one out. I just could not wrap my head around how I gained 3/4" in length. It was obviously the u-joint but then I was saying how did this work for everyone else? I checked my part number, went and looked it up online and still left clueless. Finally I just said well to hell with it and went about reinstalling my old shaft with the rag joint. I then realized my old shaft would telescope in and out. The one I pulled from the yard was just very rusted and seized. So that was the problem. After about 20 mins of constant penetrating oil and hammering it back and fourth I was able to work it loose enough to move by hand and it was a very easy bolt-in.


sway bar installed


my dad suggested doing this. My alignment was going to be way off with the new tie rods. So we put all of the old linkage back on and tightened it up. Then we set the steering wheel dead straight and let it back down. Now all we have to do is adjust the tie rod sleeves so that everything will just slide and drop down into place and the alignment shouldn't be all that far off from where it was.
so old linkage back on


let it back down


old linkage back off,


new linkage on minus the drag link. Just waiting on some seals.


random picture to cap off a good weekend




So right now I'm just waiting on some seals from mcmaster carr to put on the drag link. I'm kind of leaning towards some qa1 coilovers for the front. I've always wanted some and now that I would like to drop the front 1"-2" more I just hate to spend another $100 on some drop springs only to want something better for a little more. I've read that it's ok to run their coilovers with stock lower controls arms but not ideal. Anyone have any experience with this that can maybe speak on the subject?  I'm a little worried the lower won't be able to take the stress of all that pressure on just the 2 mounting bolts.

You could just get whatever rate springs you want from speedway with one of their coil spring adjusters so you can set your ride height where ever you want it then lock it down.

you couldn't got a jeep steering shaft that would have the borgenson joints at both ends and goes right in with no worry some set screws to back off and make you loose steering.  most the time you can get them for 15 at the yards around here and on ebay from time to time for a decent price as well.

love the truck by the way.  nice and shiny! 

you couldn't got a jeep steering shaft that would have the borgenson joints at both ends and goes right in with no worry some set screws to back off and make you loose steering.  most the time you can get them for 15 at the yards around here and on ebay from time to time for a decent price as well.

love the truck by the way.  nice and shiny! 

I did some reading on that, but unfortunately jeeps around my way are a lot less common then s10's and when they are at a yard they get picked over very quickly. I took a look at a few of them and everything was gone.  Thanks for the tip though.

You could just get whatever rate springs you want from speedway with one of their coil spring adjusters so you can set your ride height where ever you want it then lock it down.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up just going with a pair of eibachs. How exactly would the adjusters work? Wouldn't they be in the way of the shocks?

I've been pretty busy lately, I'll try and sum things up real quick.

picked up some spin tech stuff,


got some zq8 leafs,


disassembled, blasted and painted them, replaced all the bushings




got some eibach 1.4" front drop springs and that got the drop to about where I wanted it.



the back will eventually be about 3/4" lower

got an alignment done, my eyeball job was decent


found a Fageol supercharger.



it is designed to run the original rochester 2 barrel but I thought it would be fun to run the holley 4 barrel I currently have so my dad and I set about making up an adapter plate,








final product,



I decided to swap from the old v-belt set-up to a serp to run the supercharger.


This is a bit more involved then I expected. I got all the brackets and pulleys I thought I needed off an '87 2.8. Then discovered the water pump is different, so I bought one. Then quickly realized the timing cover is different, which then leads to the oil pan. So the motor is coming out to change the pan, timing cover and water pump.



also doing an a/c delete while I'm at it,




decided to run a firebird alternator bracket. It's completely independent from the exhaust, unlike the s-series brackets. So I won't have to worry about spacers and dealing with the headers.


v-belt
serp
firebird


also picked up a hurst quick shifter,


turns out the hurst "quick shift" is identical to stock and you have to install a shorter shifter arm to get the quick shift. So it was pretty much useless as it was.



So we extended the shaft down and my dad made up a bigger bottom adapter,





I'm going to weld the shifter arm to the shaft. The 2 bolts holding it on just make it feel awkward and cheap no matter how tight they are.


here is a quick comparison of the hurst shifter before/after



We extended the shaft down 50% more then it was, something like 1.3725" This equated to a 50% reduction in throw and it's still comfortable at the same time.

and a quick video, the gif doesn't really do it much justice
http://www.vimeo.com/14532768

You and your dad do some great machine work.  Those pieces look awesome.

Bypassing the A/C on the serpentine setup is a matter of getting a different belt, but I believe you still have to bypass the AIR pump, since all the serpentines had one.

This article has some good information about the AIR pump removal.  I've done it as well if you have any questions on what parts and where to get them.

http://members.shaw.ca/betterthanyoutoo/how-to/airremoval/airremoval.htm

^ thanks, but in all honestly it's 99% my dad. I try and help and take in everything I can, but he has been doing it for 35 years and I'm the epitome of an amateur machinist.

Yes the a/c is just a matter of a different belt. However if I was running it I would have to run a different belt regardless because of the supercharger. The air pump delete is very simple for my current set-up. I don't have one, and am running headers. So basically all I have to do is not bolt one up. Thanks very much for the article though. I definitely appreciate all of the extra insight I can get.

here is a rough idea of how I'm going to run the belt,


I'm still unsure if that will be enough wrap around the charger pulley. If not I'll have to run another idler pulley just below it. Is there a rule of thumb for wrap? something like 1/3 or more?

what wheels are those? i like the center caps. could you measure them, or take some detail pictures and measurements of how they mount for me? if theyll work on my mustang wheels, and are reasonable to purchase, ill do so.

michael

They are AR torq thrust m's.
I believe these are the center caps - http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=wheelCloseUp&wheelMake=American+Racing+Authentic+Hot+Rod&wheelModel=Torq-Thrust+M&wheelFinish=Chrome+Plated

I believe they just push on. I'll try and get some pictures and measurements next time I'm in the garage if I can remember.

edit* just click the "optional hardware" tab for pricing

nice work!

Those superchargers are rare as hell and those machined parts look sweet.

Looks like a LOT of work, but very cool, are you going to machine a pulley for the supercharger so it can run directly off the serpentine, or are you going to run a secondary cogged belt?

nice work!

Those superchargers are rare as hell and those machined parts look sweet.

Thanks, I was really excited when I found one brand new with all the extras.

Looks like a LOT of work, but very cool, are you going to machine a pulley for the supercharger so it can run directly off the serpentine, or are you going to run a secondary cogged belt?

I was able to get a pulley from Vortech that fits almost perfect. We just need to take a couple thou off the back and it will line up just right.

a bit more progress since the last update,

Well the serp conversion turned out being a bit more work then I had anticipated. The changed water pump led to changing the timing cover which then meant we had to change the oil pan as well.

so motor pulled,


got some new parts,



the vortech pulley,



I replaced the tulip joint,



the shifter had a really loose feel to it,


You can see the stick has grooves so it has some "grip" on the shift pin. Even with the screws crazy tight it still had some play from front to back. I wanted to weld the shifter to the pin but my dad came up with this idea which is so much better.



no play at all anymore,
made up some copper washers for the blower,


changing gaskets,
http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd164/kyboshh/2010/?action=view&current=DSC_2340.jpg

started to do a mock up




had to go back to the 87+ alt bracket



cut down my air cleaner a bit,




my dad made up a idler pulley bracket





almost done, just need to drill a hole for the shaft and put a shoulder on it

got lines and fittings and a couple other misc things,

whoaaa expensiveeee
nice!

nice work as always! 

I have a feeling the new carb setup won't fit under the stock hood, you got any plans for a cowl induction hood?

Thanks guys, I'm itching to get it back on the road.

^ yea a lot of thoughts on it, but nothing I like lol. I 'm just not a huge fan of any of the cowls on the market. The only one that has sort of caught my eye is this one form cervini's

http://www.cervinis.com/product.aspx?car=1&id=1130#128

I can't find a picture of it anywhere though. What is bugging me about it is the dimensions of the cowl,

Front of cowl width: 21". Rear of cowl width: 27".

I need to see a picture of it on a truck before I can make up my mind. The other thing is 3" is way more then I need. I gained about 3 1/2" in overall height. I cut my air cleaner down roughly 1/2" maybe 3/4" at the most. It has a 3" element in it. So if I ran the modified cleaner with an 1 or 1 1/2" element I would only need about 1" maybe a little less of additional clearance over stock.  
I've looked into maybe running a low profile plenum and a cold air intake but can't really come up with an idea of where to get the air from that I'm dead set on.  


As you can see there are lots of ideas flying around but that's about it. If I get the motor back in and I can drive it before it snows. I have an old hood in the backyard I'm just going to cut a hole in and make do with it for the last month before winter.

The one idea I had which I really liked was modifying a stock hood. Ideally I would cut it down the body lines and raise it up the needed amount, then cut 2 filler sheet metal pieces and weld them into place. Then I would have to modify the stock bracing underneath.  Here are some quick chops of what I had in mind.






it would be a subtle change,



here is today's progress, my dad finished up the idler pulley bracket,


he made up a stainless shaft and the plan is to put to snap rings on either side of the shaft to hold it in place,




should be sufficient wrap on everything essential,


started to mock up the e-fan,


errrr, whoops,


Got the fan the fits the 4.3 rad, which turns out to be about 3 1/2" wider the 2.8 rad. Hmmmm.
My first thought was to return it. I would eat the cost of shipping both ways which would be about $80 though, shoot.  Thought about swapping in a 4.3 rad but the inlet/outlet is completely opposite of the 2.8. Read something about maybe a northstar caddy rad. Pretty much everything was going to cost a good chunk of money more.
So sticking with the buy nice, not twice motto. I've decided to just get a 31"x16" griffin rad and retro-fit a 4.3 shroud.

If anyone has any suggestions on the hood please speak up. Basically what it amounts to from my calculations (assumptions lol) is that the top of the carb will be abot 1/2" - 3/4" from the hood bracing.

I've seen a hood cut up the body lines before, I think they look quite nice, though his was a bit overdone, doing this 1-2" I think should look nice, especially if you ramp it nice and evenly.

I agree, that hood modification would be well, perfect. 
It's so subtle that no one normal would ever notice it. I like that idea a lot.

ArtosDracon, if you see one again please save the picture. I have yet to see one.  agree if you went 3"+ it just wouldn't look right. Where 2 or lower could fool some into thinking it was stock. Only if it was done right.

I agree, that hood modification would be well, perfect. 
It's so subtle that no one normal would ever notice it. I like that idea a lot.

I've just got to find someone competent enough to make it for me now.

I finally found a picture of a truck with the above cervini's hood.


might be one of the baddest baja's ever,


That hood is growing on me. It's $245 for the lift off and with the additional loss of weight up front I'm leaning towards that route. I wish the bolt on one wasn't so expensive ($500+)

we've been keeping pretty busy,

got all the billet pieces anodized,



painted the intake and also took some material off the back of the vortech pulley so it would line up a bit better,


after going back and fourth on what to do about the rad/e fan dilemma I opted for an aluminum rad. I'm just going to run the stock rad and clutch fan right now and work on a custom mounting the new rad and e fan over the winter,



some random pictures,




right now it's just a bunch of little things. Re-routing lines, making spacers, etc, etc.
got the oil lines made up,



my dad made up some castle nuts for the adapter. We're going to run safety wire through all 4 nuts to make sure nothing falls down into the blades,


finally back in,


definitely going to need to run a cowl of some sort,



started stripping an old hood laying around, I'm going to cut a whole in it just so I can drive it for a few weeks before it snows,


a guy my dad works with welded up a bung into the collector of the pass header for an 02 sensor,




just sorting out the vacuum lines right now as you can see.


The alternator seen above is just for mock up purposes, new one on the way.
Need to get some bigger vacuum lines for the back of the adapter and hopefully we can fire it up tomorrow morning and find out what's going to leak...

black anodize is classy and looks awesome

I can't wait to see the truck all back together.

that thing is SUPER clean man, love the stance and everything about it..


what kinda of numbers should the blower put down?