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89 s10 buildup for rocks

Masiony

Masiony

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 2, 2005
Posts
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Location
Springfield, OR
i have been gathering parts together to build my s10 into a little mean machine. i figured i may as well start a thread to tell about what i have been doing to make this happen. my intent is to build a truck that is more go that show. i dont care about what the paint looks like, or the fact that it pretty much looks like a junk yard dog. what i do care about is how well it works, and how much fun it brings me building it and wheeling it.

this started as a bone stock 89 2dr blazer, complete with 2.8 and t5 with a 231 t-case. i took it out once when it was still stock, and broke one of the back windows, and it just snow balled after that.

here it is stock:
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and here is the broken window that started it all:
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after i broke the window, i decided to go all out, and so i just chopped the top off and removed the doors. i also welded the rear end and trimmed the fenders a little for some 32x10.5 tsl radials. then i proceeded to have a little fun. i ended up breaking a rear axle the first time out and had to leave the truck in the woods for a few days, but soon after i slapped a new shaft in and drove away.

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broken axle shaft:
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so now, i have gathered some parts to make this thing how i wanted to in the first place. here is a break down of what i want to do


front axle:
74' HP 44 housing (ford)
knuckles and brakes from an 8 lug chevy 44
1 1/2" wheel spacers on each side
4.56 gears
detroit locker
behind the axle steering

rear axle:
14 bolt from a van (full float, 70" wide)
im keeping the drum brakes because they are like brand new (plus i will retain the e-brake)
4.56 gears
welded spiders
possibly shave housing for 3" more clearance (shaved ring gear, cut and plated housing)

suspension:
3 link with panhard front and rear
jeep tj coils
square tube link material
poly bushings all around

engine:
flipped air cleaner lid
other than that, bone stock to keep it reliable

gear boxes:
stock t5 trans
231c mated to a 241c w/ D&D doubler adapter
square tube front driveline

other:
38.5x16x15 tsl's
15x10 8 lug black steel w/ 4" BS
rock sliders
probably the start of an exo cage




full galleries can be found here:
http://krazyk5.com/gallery/89-S10
 
on to what i have been doing to make this happen.

i finally got a place to work on it, and it was not where i thought it was going to be. anyways, i have started with tearing down my front axles, i have 3 i need to make into 1. i have a 74' ford hp housing that has open knuckles but drum brakes and a 5 lug pattern. from that i am going to use just the bare housing, and the inner shafts. i also have a (late 70's?) 8 lug chevy 44. from that i am going to take the knuckles and brakes along with the 8 lug rotors. my 4.56 gears are setup in a hp44 third member from a later full size bronco. i need to steel the gears out of that to put into the solid axle housing. i am also buy a full detroit from my dad who happens to have one he cant use anymore (he runs d60's now).

i have torn all but the third member apart. both axles were complete so there is a lot of extra parts.
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now, i have decided to do something a little unconventional, though it has been done before. when i am going to run my steering linkage, it will be all behind the axle and hopefully protected a little better. to do this i needed to flip the knuckles from side to side so they point backwards. this also gets me around needed a "flat top knuckle". the truth is all chevy drivers side knuckles are flat tops, it is the pass side that usually needs one. in my setup, the drivers side gets put on the pass side so i only need one unless i want to run high steer in the future. what this is going to do is run the tie rod under the pinion, and there is little room (but there is room). the only other thing about this is my steering box will have to turn left when i turn the wheel right. think of it like two negatives making a positive. to accomplish this i am going to run an astro van steering box, but with the arm still facing rearward. the other option i had was to flip the direction of the stock pitman arm, and keep the regular box. but this would have put the axle tube under the front bumper, and i didnt want it that far forward.

here are my three axles:
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my tie rod mock up:
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and for those that cant see upside down:
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dont let the last three pics fool you, the knuckles seat higher into the c's and the tie rod will be much closer, i will have to trim a little from the cast part of the pinion support. the only other thing that will complicate this is how i am going to run my lower links, and how close they will come.
 
well, ive done some deciding.

my frame rails are 30" from outside to outside at the IFS crossmember. this is where i am going to hang my axle, right at the IFS crossmember. adding 2.5" on each side for the springs (5" diameter) this gets me at 35" for my spring spacing. this will put the spring seat just over the "clean" spot on the drivers side tube, between the wedge and the pumpkin. this is going to be my starting point for where i place the springs.

i also decided that i think i will run my lower links off the bottom of my frame rail so they will run straight down to the axle instead of at an angle.

the biggest thing i decided was that i will use the brackets i got. i decided that i like how they incorporate most aspects of the suspension into one design.
coilmount1a.jpg

but, instead of running the spring plate centered on the vertical pieces like they are designed, i will run the spring plate forward about 3"+. this will do a few things. first, it will give me room to run my upper links without hitting the spring plate. since it will move the spring just ahead of the axle centerline, it will allow me to run the panhard behind the spring like i want to. i have a neat idea for how to mount the panhard at the frame end, and this will accommodate it. so looking from the front, you will see the springs, then the panhard, then the draglink. its kinda backwards from how everyone else does it, but it will work well i think. i will probably need to watch for oil pan/pulley clearance with the draglink though.

the other big decision i made, was to modify the link design to a certain degree, to allow me to run the tie rod backwards. i am going to run "bent" links. this will probably be in the front only, but i cant say for sure. but what needs to happen for this bracket and my tie rod to get along, is to have my lower links come in from higher, then bend down to meet the axle. this will actually give me better ground clearance at the links, but it will also give it a more booty fab look if i do it poorly. i will also have to run the upper in a bent configuration to clear the lower. this is what it should look like. these are real measurements and are more or less to scale.
front%20links.JPG
 
well, it has really started now. we got the s10 in the garage tonight, after battling to clean and organize it for a few days. we had to put it in sideways, because there was a room built in the back of the garage and it was not deep enough. we also hooked the garage up with better lighting and a ghetto blaster for some tunes
tardbang.gif


well, after a little deliberation, i did decide that i am going to take the body off the frame this time around. i figured its probably a days more work, and i would be kicking my self later if i didnt. so i started tearing down whats left of the body, all while the power is going off and on from a wind storm that is in the area right now. anyways, i got the hood off, then i took the seats back out, and removed the spare tire carrier. then i went to take the tail gate off, and when i was unbolting the little assist spring (with the load on it of course), it let go and hit me in the finger. i am pretty sure that it broke my finger, but what can i do about it now right? anyways, the rear bumper was proving to be dumb because of all the gunked up bolts. so tomorrow i am just going to do it the fast way with the smoke wrench. i will probably also get all the front clip off tomorrow.

one question, when i was looking at the body mount bolts, they dont go out into the passenger compartment like i thought they would. are they studs sticking down out of the body (as in pressed into the body), or will i have to pry the body panels apart to get to the top of them? either way, i figure i should have it off in a few days work.

sorry, no pics. i took some, but they werent really that interesting so i decided to leave the camera there. hopefully i can really get something done and worth reporting soon.
 
just figured i would show you guys my progress. we decided to "lay frame" really, we just lowered the frame to the ground so we can take the body off easier. its pretty much off, all the front clip is off, and really everything else too. consequently, this is what it would look like with a 18" body lift :shock:

oh, and we had a bit of an austin powers moment trying to get the s10 in the garage.

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sorry if some of what i say doesnt quite make sense, i just copied and pasted most of it from another forum, so things that took days to play out all get posted in minutes.
 
Looks like a good project but time consuming. Well Im glad that you hve the time to get a lot of work done.
 
pretty sweet, im gonna be starting a similar project this spring. ill be watching this thread
 
a few friends came over today, and we got the body fully off. i then took the frame outside and power washed everything. it makes it really convenient to have everything all nice and clean.
 
What made you decide to use bushings for all of the control arm links?
 
i like it..something different...the only concern i have for you is you will have alot of gear with such a small frame...are you gonna box??if you already talked about it im sorry i didnt see it...subscribed
 
I like the way your truck looks with the back half cut off. Kind of off topic, but what program did you use for those CAD drawings?

Kris
 
pretty cool, definately will keep up with this thread. I have been contemplating doing a s10 with my little brother next year for a while.
 
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