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Going S10 Hybrid!

Re: Going Hybrid!

I'm going to mount mine low and far enough forward to use the stock fenders without stretching them. So I will be hammering the fire wall alittle bit.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

The guy in my first post with the 1st gen hybrid cut and modified several areas of the floor so it could sit down lower on the frame. He did manage to get the 350 inside the stock engine compartment with some firewall work and a "small cap" HEI setup......but it's really tight.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

I guess I will have to make it up as I go, but I had an s10 with a v8 and it fit just fine without hammering anything. That was with a 3" body lift but I had plenty of room.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Ok I have been bighting my lip till now. This is not going to be as easy as you think. I spent a 3 day weekend with 2-4 capable guys there 12-18 hours a day to get my setup running under its own power. I had full use of a 10,000 sq ft shop, 2 forklifts, an overhead crain system, welders, tourches, power tools, lots of nuts/bolts/steel, napa stoor just down the street...and it was no ware near street drivable by the end of the weekend.

Another thing... s10 with 33" tires and full width axles is going to look goofey as hell. Even with 36" tires mine looked out of proportion. Granted it is a toyota body...but the tires were completely outside of the fenders. I had 14" fender extensions/flairs on the origional fenders and the tires were still not completely covered.

On my setup my cab is moved back so far that the tires would rip off the headlights (when I still had a front clip on it) when the truck flexed...and the headlights were spaced 3" forward. All with my distributer about an inch from the firewall and the radiator severial inches infront of the headlights...thats right it was infront of the hood.

Honestly if you arn't going to build an extrem wheeler don't go Hybrid...its just not worth it. Now don't get me wrong I would love to see more extrem rigs around but I would never do it this way unless you are planning on realy hitting hard trails.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Wow... sounds like you had mega problems. But any research Ive done say that its entirely possible. Not saying its not going to take some work, but I dont think its as hard as you think.
Also, I have seen lots of pictures. They dont look bad to me, but thats a 'beholder' thing. Im my opinion, the narrowed front and back K5s are ugly! /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif And my reasoning is to be able to do the tougher trails. The stock K5 tub is just too dang fat!
As for where the cab is positioned... I will have to let everyone know the verdict. My plan is to place the firewall in the same location as the K5 firewall. If the tires touch it, Ill clearance it as reqd. And the plan is to extend the front clip to fit around the 454 and rad. Many have done it. Check out White Knights pics.
Anyways, we will see. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif
Mike
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Ah you crazy Canadians /forums/images/graemlins/screwy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif j/k
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

I didn't realy have problems...it just takes time because you have to redo most everything. If you put the s10 firewall about ware the blazer one is you shulden't have a problem...thats ware mine is and I fit 44" tsl's without firewall issues. Just be warned that the entire K5 radiator(in its stock location) will be infront of your headlights.
Then when you stretch it you will have a much bigger fender...and with 33" tires it is going to look goofey.

Thats the same reason I did my hybrid...my K5 was to big and heavy.

Yep I saw white knights origional hybird setup...I think we were doing our hybrid setups about the same time. There is a reason they didn't keep it /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Anythings posible. But I think it would be easier to put the 454 and a set of narrower then full width axles under an S10...as long as you are going to keep it stock looking (full body/fenders/hood/33"tires.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Hopefully when i stretch the front fenders and hood, it will let me run the S-10 rad support/ headlights etc all in front of everything. I figure it needs around 6-8" of stretch in the center of the wheelwells. This will also work for tire clearance, because the S-10 wheel wells are so small. The extra 6" in the center will let my 38s stuff inside without having to cut the entire front and rear of the fenders off. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
Later
Mike
 
My 2 pennies-

I would first of all use a 70's frame. Provides more clearance under the S10 Blazer body, otherwise plan to cut the rear floor seat area out and replacing (which you need to anyway, but still more room with the pre-78 frame, I have a storage box in the new floor). Plan on extending the clip with a V8 and mechanical fan, you don't have to, but it will give you more room for the engine and for the tires (otherwise you will have to cut off the front of the fenders, and my 38's still contacted the firewall). I extended my front clip 8", but plan to cut that back 3-4" this winter now that I have the LT1 and electric fan.

I planted the body with the firewall about where the fullsize was, and the rear axle about centered in the rear wheelwells. I have since moved the rear axle back 3" and cut out quite a bit of the back of the rear fenderwells (cut almost all that I can without replacing the wheel tubs) for the 42" Iroks.

If you will be doing hardcore wheeling, mount the body and cage solid the frame, don't waste your time mounting on rubber. If you want to drive on the street some, the body mounts are not far off the same place as the fullsize and can be adapted easily. I would then suggest mounting a cage the frame to prevent frame twist.

A couple of tricks. I bought a replacement 25 gallon tank for TBI 87 Blazer (only year offered). I found that tank can be turned around (tank is square and retains same depth).to use the S body filler or just unsolder the tubes in the tank and spin around.

Adapting engine wiring is easy, and 86-up has all of the TBI circuits you might need. GM shares a lot of wire colors on all models through the years. I have found that the 86 S10 Blazer I have and the 94 Caprice my LT1 came out of had many similar wiring colors and routing.

I at first moved my steering column over to the left to clear my big block (and to lessen the angle), and later went to a Borgeson shaft. Save the time and do the Borgeson or the Van shaft cheap upgrade. It will be better and more dependable.

Column shifter will work, but now that I have a Camaro floor shifter(cheap at the Pull-N-Save), I am not sure why I fought the column linkage for so long. I also cut my roof off for a more K5 look and gives me better visibility and less weight. I have a fastback soft top for bad weather. Also, the doors are easier to prep for easy removal than the fullsize doors are. My truck:


5111New_Mexico_6-04_195_Large_-med.jpg



About the only thing I can add, is think wheelbase. Plan to move the rear back, front axle forward, or both. Planning ahead saves headaches later. Also, my brother did the S10 Extended Cab on a shortened Suburban frame. I really like my Blazer, but this was so much easier than mine. Jeffs truck:


5111New_Mexico_6-04_035_Large_-med.jpg
 
Awesome info!
I know this post is dedicated towards the other guy, and I hope Im not hijacking this away from him, but its info I need too! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
For my swap, Im not planning to use any box behind the ext cab. The cab should end right at the front of the rear tires, then Im just going to build a little deck with the gas tank raised up high right over the rear diff, then build a tool box tank cover over it, and incorporate a spare tire mount into a cage type affair.
I was thinking about rubber mounting the body, but thats not a hard plan yet. I have to see how far out the current body mounts are going to be, and how much fabbing needs done.
My wiring plan was originally to just ditch all the wiring thats there, and rewire the whole thing myself, but I talked with a friend and he suggested I split the fuse block in half, and transfer the internal K5 wiring into the cab of the S-15 adapting as necessary. I dont have F.I. so it wont be too bad.

Did you have to move the steering column over to the left? I wasnt planning on it, but im undecided whether or not to use the S-15 column or mine. I also have to try to adapt the K5 pedal bucket into the S-15 also... its an automatic setup, and I run the 465. I hope thats not too much of a pain.

I guess youd use the S-15 brake booster/ master cylinder? It should work if I ditch all the plumbing after the master cyl (thats all the ABS crap).

Thanks for the info... hope it helps the original poster of this thread also, Im not hijacking really! /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

mike
 
Oh, one more thing... If I use the S-15 steering column, will it connect to the K5 steering box? Is it the same splines etc? i dont know if its long enough, and I havent been able to decipher the van steering shaft stuff yet (dont know what it is, but it confuses the h*ll outta me).
Thanks again
Mike
 
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I was thinking about rubber mounting the body, but thats not a hard plan yet. I have to see how far out the current body mounts are going to be, and how much fabbing needs done.

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My brother used some 4"x6" 1/8" wall box and cut it down to make his new cab mounts. This turned out very nice and made things much easier. Picture (sorry about the rust, he doesn't believe in paint /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif):
5111HPIM0110-med.JPG

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Did you have to move the steering column over to the left? I wasnt planning on it, but im undecided whether or not to use the S-15 column or mine. I also have to try to adapt the K5 pedal bucket into the S-15 also... its an automatic setup, and I run the 465. I hope thats not too much of a pain.


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The three of us that did the S10 conversion had to move the column. My brother and I were running big block Chevy's and the third had a 500 Caddy. If you have a small block, then I think you will have the clearance. I strongly suggest doing the U-Joint conversion from the vans or getting a new shaft from Borgeson. I broke my rag joint once, and that was enough (stuck on the escalator in Moab). Why don't you look for a hydro clutch setup from a 4/5 speed S10? 465 will be interesting. The shifter will be too tall, but I am sure that can be easily modified.

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My wiring plan was originally to just ditch all the wiring thats there, and rewire the whole thing myself, but I talked with a friend and he suggested I split the fuse block in half, and transfer the internal K5 wiring into the cab of the S-15 adapting as necessary.

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I am not sure you would have to do that. Like I said, the S10 wiring is very similar to fullsize, and for the S10 Blazer, the rear light wiring and fuel pump and tank wiring are all integrated in the body. No more wires along the frame. Also, another tip, for the extended front clip, we took two front light harnesses and connected them together to extend the wiring (just like the fenders). These trucks are plentiful in junkyards and parts are usually cheap.

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I guess youd use the S-15 brake booster/ master cylinder? It should work if I ditch all the plumbing after the master cyl (thats all the ABS crap).

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I originally bolted my hydroboost the firewall and that worked well. I have recently gone the route of a 4.3L truck booster (larger than 4 cylinder and 2.8) and master cylinder. Works fine with my 60 and 14 w/disks.

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If I use the S-15 steering column, will it connect to the K5 steering box? Is it the same splines etc?

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Yes, I think we used the upper part of the S10 and the lower part from the fullsize. That way we retained the collapsable part and the fullsize rag joint.
 
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Why don't you look for a hydro clutch setup from a 4/5 speed S10?

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Ya know... I had a s-10 Blazer 5 spd sitting down the road from me. The guy blew up the tranny (literally, there was pieces of bell housing everywhere but the hydro clutch setup lived) and parked the truck. He was asking $700.00 for it for the longest time. Well, i sat and waited for him to lower his price. I wasnt paying that much for a clutch setup. Finally, he bought a house, and asked me if Id move the truck for him. He said he didnt really want to move it, but would if he had to. I mentioned that I was very interested, but not at that price, so he kinda hinted that he would take around 500.00 for it. i waited again... he was moving very soon and I knew he wouldnt want to take it with him. Finally moving day came. They moved the whole house and the last thing sitting there was the S-10. I was ready to go over and offer to take it off his hands for a couple hundred when my phone rang. I had to run downtown for a minute right away. So, off I went... after all, they were still cleaning up the yard so I didnt fear. 10 minutes later when I got home, it was just being pulled away by the local auto junker behind a tow truck! I walked over and asked what was going on. He said he got sick of it and gave it to the wrecker! /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif He didnt get a cent for it!
I was pissed beyond belief, waved the $250.00 cash I had in my pocket in his face and told him exactly what I thought of him!
He totally knew I wanted it, knew my plans for it, knew I was home, but didnt even wave me down as I drove downtown...

Anyways, sorry for the story. It would have been perfect to get that one anyways. Now the wrecker that has it is going to want huge dollars for it.

Thanks for the info again.
Mike
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

OK, here is the update. I removed the blazer body from the frame and removed the s10 from its frame. Currently the cab and dog house are sitting on the blazer frame. I see what every one meant about the firewall now. The engin sits too far back on the frame to clear, no big deal I am going to move the engine/tranny/transfer case forward 4 or 5 inches and then it will clear just fine. That brings me to my next question. How long is a K5 rear drive shaft 12 bolt to NP203 and how long is a rear drive shaft for the same set up in a short bed truck? Just checking before I have one made for the rear too.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Wait to get the driveshaft after you have everything bolted up and then measure what you need /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

i would leave the engine and trans where it is, and mount the body back farther. you're going to have to build body mounts anyways. if you move the engine and trans forward, you're going to have BIG problems with your front driveshaft.
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

The last thing you want to do in one of these frames is move the engine forward. That puts more stress on the front axle, makes for even crappier front driveline angles, will put the fan into the radiator if you go too far, and upsets the already pathetic weight balance f/r.

Move the engine back if anything!
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

Ok, so what S-10 are you using again? A reg cab, ext cab or blazer?

What firewall issues did you run into exactly? Did you put your S-10 firewall in the same location as the K5 one was? Is it the distributer cap causing the problem or the wheel well clearance or what? Sounds like dist cap if you are talking about shifting the engine forward....
How much would tha cab have to move back to make it work? Do any of the body mounts come close at all?
My tub is ready to come off the K5, and the S-15 is coming in the garage tomorrow to start stripping it down.
Thanks for the update!
Mike
 
Re: Going Hybrid!

I'm using a reg. cab short bed s10 the wheel base is so close its a non issue, but the engine sits about 4 inches too far back in the frame. Right now I am hitting the back of the valve covers with the firewall. I want to run a full length bed so I have to move the cab forward at least 4 inches whether I do that by bashing the firewall (not what I want to do) or I move the engine forward. Also I'm not a fan of the stretched fender look. ex. old White Night. Anyone who has done a swap similiar to mine feel free to post pics and details. Also anyone with other questions regarding this whole hybrid thing feel free to ask them here, this post seems to be getting alot of attention and you have a good shot of getting a good answer.
 
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