Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

[MadPSI]

I've finally become sick of driving around in my stock-ish faded black Sy while my beautiful newly-painted blue Sy sits in waiting. My black truck is completely functional, where as my blue one is totally gutted (no motor/trans/dash/wiring/etc., just axles and steering..). My desired final product is to have a driveable blue Sy in the next couple weeks. Do I:

a) Take everything out of black truck and install it on the blue chassis?

or

b) Leave drivetrain in black truck and swap all body panels, including the cab, onto it?

This idea is also assuming that when everything is disconnected, the cab can actually be removed from the frame (I'll use a crane for this if need be).

Any ideas or past experiences are helpful.

 

[JSM]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

I think finish blue truck leave black one alone.

Otherwise you will have 2 trucks in pieces.

 

[MadPSI]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

I think finish blue truck leave black one alone.

Otherwise you will have 2 trucks in pieces.

SILENCE, INSOLENT FOOL!!!

...the one that runs can technically be classified as "in pieces" anyways...

 

[JSM]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

I speak from experience. Ask those that have been to my house.

I have 1 sy aka the "Rat" which is missing cladding, black paint has a white tint to it (i think called oxidation), but runs good.

I have 1 ty with thousands of dollars in it, in MANY pieces. Hasn't moved in 4 years.

We are on the same team, trust me.

 

[Nova67ss]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Mee to, the nova is possible to be puched on its own wheels but thats all, sins 13 years.. :C

But NEXT summer (been said that for the last couples of summers now) I´ll be D**** if it wont run on the streets so I can drive Jeff around town, eyeballing all long, cute, blod swedish girls

 

[Syborg Twin Turbo]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

what do you need to finish the blue truck ??

 

[MadPSI]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

what do you need to finish the blue truck ??

To get the blue truck back to stock would cost probably 3-5 thousand, but to do it the way i want, multiply that by 10 and add a couple more years...

The truck is as stripped down as one can imagine, if it's not made of metal or welded to the frame, it's not there anymore.

I should also clarify that I'd love to keep both trucks, but I need to get rid of one, and I'd like for it to be the one I didn't spend thousands in paint on. With this rediculous boom in housing here in AZ, people are selling left and right in my HOA. Every time someone puts up their house for sale, the goddamn realtors drive down the street calling the cops and I get a "remove or be fined" notice. Every time this happens I have to impose on a friend and tow my shell to various backyards and driveways to sit until they get pissed, then it's on to the next person's place. Storage places around here want $100+ a month just to park a car, and they all have the stipulation that the car has to bee in running order.

It's not so much a matter of wether or not I do this, because that decision has already been made. I'm trying to get it done fast, because my dad uses the black one for his daily driver ever since his Exploder burned down. The plan is to end up with a functional blue truck and sell the black shell within the next month or two, since the guy who's back yard I'm borrowing next won't want it very long either...

 

[Syborg Twin Turbo]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

okay
- black truck runs and drives
- Blue truck is a shell (does it at least have windows ?)

I my opinion sell the blue truck and take the money and paint the black truck blue. There is almost no work involved. And if you only have a month to do the swap you better quit your day job because that ain't that much time. And And trust plenty of things can go wrong in a 4 week period that prevents you from finishing the swap.

If you decided to tackel the project my hat is off to you. - i would say take a bunch of pics but that will cut into your time trying to do the massive swap

ps - Craig Morrison and crew are working on a Vette for Sema and they are just trying to Assemble it and they spent 220 hours on it last week and it's still not done

 

[Quickstop [UK]]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

buy a third truck

 

[sleepy]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Buy a big enclosed trailer to hide your blue truck in, and buy the pieces until you have enough to put it all together. If you must make the blue one your driver, I would transfer the body to the running chassis. Been there done that, but it is a lot of work... especially if you have neighbors that don't want you to work at your place.

 

[kentuc]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Cab and bed swap would be a bit easier. You have all of the parts, no grease and no new oil spills and leaks to deal with. Nick has been lifting weights so he can easily lift the body off for you!

 

[littleblackpsycho]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

I think you should sell that damn stocker, take the money build your stock block matched with nick's trans,pt72, fast, since he isn't using them, and get the blue truck running tens. That or sell both trucks and twin turbo the bel-air.

 

[SY2455]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

I should also clarify that I'd love to keep both trucks, but I need to get rid of one, and I'd like for it to be the one I didn't spend thousands in paint on. With this rediculous boom in housing here in AZ, people are selling left and right in my HOA. Every time someone puts up their house for sale, the goddamn realtors drive down the street calling the cops and I get a "remove or be fined" notice.
...

This is the biggest reason not to live in a area that has a HOA, Those sorry people can't even run their own lives, but they sure as hell want to run your.:rant: I live in one once and I went down to the HOA president house and had a talk with him about life. After that I had no more problems with them. In fact they avoided me to the point that they wouldn't walk on the sidewalk in front of the house. We move out after 2 years and now I have all the parking I need with the room to build my 40' X 100' garage.:tup:

 

[myclone]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Swapping sheet metal is a super easy swap compared to a drive line swap except for the fact you have to get the truck far enough apart to actually be able to lift it. Assuming youre doing this completely by yourself youll need to strip the running truck down at least somewhat to be able to lift it (unless youre freakin superman). Ive swapped sheet metal on another S10 project and its not that bad other than the bed and cab were a huge PIA manuevering by myself.

Front clip is easy enough. With some air tools you can have the front clip off in a couple hrs.

Bed is a no brainer but needs to come off next to make getting the cab off easier. Put a heavy blanket between the cab and bed so that when you pick it up if it should contact the back of the cab it wont hurt anything. Deffinately pick a day thats not windy if youre doing the bed removal by yourself since a complete S10 truck bed weighs nothing but acts as a very good sail even with moderate wind...BTDT.

Cab is a no brainer too with only four main bolts holding it on but there are a ton of other things to hold you up...like the E brake cable thats glued as well as mechanically attached to the firewall, numerous wire connectors/harness clips to remove. Theyre no fun to find when youre in the middle of lifting the cab by yourself so all that stuff needs to come loose...ask me how I know.

The down side to a sheet metal swap isnt the actual swap its the time it takes to get everything to line up (body lines, fender/door gaps, etc) so it doesnt look like you did the job along side the road at night. Everything else should be a plug n play deal if you disconnected everything using some common sense and forthought.

Just out of curiosity why not buy a car cover for the non running truck so it can sit in the driveway? Once covered who's gonna be able to tell if the truck runs or not?

 

[Try Me]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

sell one, use the money to fix up the other. if you want a show truck, keep the blue shiny pretty truck and get it running. if you want a fast truck, sell the blue one and upgrade the other truck. :2cents:

 

[MadPSI]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Thanks for the insight.

It's not too much the HOA that's been giving me grief, it's the damn realtors. All of the times that I got the complaints were when the truck was covered in the driveway. I actually had a talk with the city officials when I had the '57 out and covered, and they were OK with that, but that was before I bought the second Sy. Now I just don't have the space to park everything without making it look like a parking lot (2 cars in garage, 3rd space is the shop, and 3 cars in the driveway), and that's still with the blue sy in my buddy's yard.

I'm going to have at least 4 people with me to do all the heavy lifting stuff, so that's not an issue. It also helps that I know exactly what wire does what everywhere in the truck, since I've been through the harness a bajillion times.

Nick's going to be helping me with it for sure. We spent years at his house building his 10-second Sy despite the militant nazi neighbours sticking cameras under the crack in the garage door trying to fine us for "running a business out of the garage".

After the swap I'll be putting the stock roller up for sale. What do you think would be a good asking price for a Sy sans motor/tranny/TC/ECM/harness? Who here's got a motor built that needs a truck to put it in?

 

[Syborg Twin Turbo]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

i say go for it.

ps i've got an engine

Prepped stock block-
4 bolt, splayed, billet main caps
ARP center studs, outer ARP bolts
Cryo/nitrided crank
.030 overbore
Clevite bearings
Cloyes double roller timing set
Oliver rods
Custom JE Race pistons 8.5:1 CR

Intake/Exhaust/Turbo/Heads-
LB4 castings
ARP Head Studs
Fully ported by Byrd
Fully ported/welded lower intake manifold by Byrd
Stock exhaust manifolds

 

[myclone]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

.
....building his 10-second Sy despite the militant nazi neighbours sticking cameras under the crack in the garage door trying to fine us for "running a business out of the garage".

Those would have been "ass kicked neighbors" or "neighbors that got hosed down with brake cleaner". Why do ppl try to be such wanks :tdown: :roll: .

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Those would have been "ass kicked neighbors" or "neighbors that got hosed down with brake cleaner". Why do ppl try to be such wanks :tdown: :roll: .

amen, Dave if the house next to you ever goes up for sale let me know:tup:

 

[turbodig]

Re: Drivetrain swap vs. cab swap...opinions needed.

Those would have been "ass kicked neighbors" or "neighbors that got hosed down with brake cleaner". Why do ppl try to be such wanks :tdown: :roll: .

Or, better yet... when they stick a camera down there, grab the can of Ether and a match...
Camera flambe'

I live in a racetrack town. I've had Ty's in my driveway for 6-8 months, and nobody said a word. At any given time, there are no less than 6 complete restores going on in a town of 500.
Pretty good odds.