Chevy S10 Gets An LT1 Powerplant

Today on trucks. Stacey and I begin the first of a three week series. It'll turn Chevy's extreme S 10 into a muscle bound sport truck wheel to wheel supplies the kit and we'll supply the shoe horn, that'll stuff a donor LT one under the hood. After that, we'll take you for a ride in the 99 Tahoe Z 71 before putting brand new boards in a 48 Ford. That's all today on trucks.

Hello, everybody and welcome to this week's show. You know, we just picked up this brand new Extreme S 10 from Chevrolet

and while it looks pretty awesome with its arrow package and low profile rubber,

it just didn't feel very extreme with a four cylinder under the hood. Of course, being Hot rod

at heart, we couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with the blown big block and tubed rear end and big pipes down the side. Slow

down.

That all sounds great. And while we still want to go pretty extreme with this

cha,

we wanna be able to drive it on the street as well.

So we decided a hot little small block Chevy is about the only motor that's gonna fit in there without a shoe horn.

And we got this LT one out of a late model Camaro. The key to using the donor car is to make sure you get the whole system, the motor, the transmission

and all the computer hookups. That'll save you a lot of money in the long run.

After making some calls, we found a company in Michigan called Wheel to Wheel. That just happened to be in the process of designing a kit that's gonna make our fantasy a reality. The first thing we need to do is get this hood off.

Now, once you have the hood off, it's time to start disassembly of the motor and the front clip. Now, wheel to wheel says you don't have to take all this off. But Mel and I know from experience on a motor swap, it's a lot easier if you take the clip off. Also, you don't have to worry about scratching your paint.

Here's another tip when doing a major project like this, get yourself some plastic baggies and a sharpie

and label the nuts and bolts as they come up. Otherwise they'll grow legs and disappear on you.

Now, we've already removed the battery, drain the fluids and pulled out the radiator.

Now, you need to disconnect your electrical system.

I like to take a piece of masking tape,

wrap it around there

that way you can mark it and eliminate confusion when you hook it back up.

Well, Stace was taking care of all that. I pulled the head lamps to get to the front nose piece that's held on by spring clips

and just pulls right off.

After that, you can pull the bumper,

then the fenders

followed by the

C support.

Now, if you're working on a truck with air conditioning, make sure you take it somewhere and have the Freon recycled before you undo the fittings. It's dangerous to you and the environment.

Now, while I'm here, I'm gonna go ahead and take off this computer. We'll replace it with the one for the V8 later on in the project.

Now, since we are gonna remove the inner fenders, we also need to take off the A BS sensor fuse panel and anything else that's connected before we can get them off.

Well, it's about time to pull that weak pulse out of there and make room for that healthy heartbeat.

But before we can hook up the hoist, I'm gonna jack the front of this thing up a little bit so Mel can get dirty down below.

Oh, thanks, Pal. Anytime you're pulling a motor, you need to disconnect the drive shaft, shifter, linkage transmission mounts and don't forget to unhook the exhaust system. Hey, Stace, you got those jack stands under there, man. Yeah, you're ready to go. All righty.

Well, Mel's goofing around underneath. I'm gonna hook up the hoist

now. It's a whole lot easier if you can use existing lift points like this.

All it takes is a couple of those to lift this out of here.

All right, Stace, we're all free out here, man.

Now, before you can lift anything, you need to slide out the motor mount bolts.

Now make one final check to make sure there's no cables, hoses or electrical that you might have missed, that could hang you up when you go to pull this thing out of here.

A

little bit more.

There you go. We're just about ready to give her our extreme s 10. It's heart transplant. But first we need to take a break. Don't go away. We'll be right back

later in the show. We'll take a look at the 1999 Chevy Tahoe that's finally available with the

ZSE

One off Road package. But now that we have that

Anemic four banger out of our extreme, we can drop in the donor LT one that's packing more than 320 horse part two of Project LT extreme is up next on trucks.

Thanks for hanging with us. We already pulled the four cylinder from our brand new extreme S 10 to make room for this LT 1 V8. But before we put it in,

there is some prep work that needs to be done. Now, there's no way we're going to put an ugly motor in our brand new truck. Now, if you spend a little time with some masking tape and a high temperature spray paint.

You'll be proud to lift the hood.

Once the detailing is done, it's time to bolt on wheel to wheels, custom motor mounts.

There's also special mounts that go on the frame. And the only modification you need to do is to tap out the factory holes with a 10 millimeter tap.

After that's done, crank down the mounts to 30 ft pounds of torque and this baby is ready to cradle that LT

one.

But before we can drop it in there, there's still a few things we need to do first.

Now, since we wanna burn rubber and all the gears, we're gonna use A B and M high performance torque converter. That'll spend that 700 R 420.

I've already put on a special transmission mounts that come with the kit as well as these fittings for the transmission cooler. They also supply a template so you can shave just a little bit of metal there for header clearance.

When you bolt the torque converter to the flywheel, it's easier if you have the spark plugs out

that way, you can rotate the motor by hand to get the bolt started. Don't forget to use a little lock tide on them.

Now it's time to slide this beast home. Remember, you need to have it in an angle so the tranny will clear the firewall

as you push it home, you'll also need to slowly lower it down. Make sure, all your wires and hoses are out of the way. So you don't pinch them as it drops down on the motor mounts.

Next slide, a floor jack under the tail of the transmission to level it.

This way you can slide the mount bolts in.

That's gonna do it. Stace

while I'm under here in the transmissions level. I'm gonna put in the stock cross member. The kits designed to bolt right to it.

Oh, man. Space that small block fits like a glove, doesn't it? This is great.

Now, if you're, ain't going to do a motor swap without the benefit of this kid, don't forget your six points that could cause you clearance problems, both side rails, the lower cross member,

the radiator,

the firewall

and don't forget your hood clearance.

Thanks to the fellow that wheel, the wheel. We don't have to worry about that. They also sent us a set of custom headers that bolt right on.

There you go, man.

We like to use these copper seal gaskets from Mr gasket. That'll stand up to extreme heat and eliminate any leaking.

It's a great idea to use Teflon tape on the bolt, especially if you're going into aluminum heads because it'll prevent galling.

Now, the driver side header is a little more tricky due to some clearance problems with the steering shaft.

So we need to unbolt the shaft here,

then slide it up just enough to give us the clearance. We need

to get the header on,

reconnect your steering shaft, bolt on your headers. Now, your motor is ready to breathe

since we added so much weight to the front end of our truck with the donor LT one, we need to run a stiffer spring. We're going to use these I box by Lakewood that have a heavier rate, which means a better grip through those S turns.

Now, you can't upgrade your springs without taking a serious look at your shocks.

Edelbrock has an answer for us with these performing gas shocks and these babies have a patented valving system that controls body roll as well as wheel motion.

This gives us a really smooth ride without sacrificing the performance. We're after,

while Stace was filling in on the new shocks, I went ahead and pulled the stock springs to make room for the upgrades. Make sure to use a floor jack when knocking the lower ball joint loose or you could end up eating a spring.

Well, Mel's looking for his teeth over there. I've gone ahead and hooked up the lower a arm and the sway bar end link. Now, we've got a home for our shocks.

One of the most common mistakes with shocks is to tighten them down too tight.

Just go until the bushing flares out even with the washer.

Now that we have the suspension taken care of, it's just about time to start hooking this baby up. First thing you wanna do when you have a lot of easy access is put in a new set of plugs. Remember, steel threads and aluminum heads always equal anise.

This is also a good time to make sure all your plug wires go to the proper cylinders.

That way when you hit the key

fire, we're still away from turning this thing over though. So don't miss next week's show, we dig into the hookups and strap an exhaust system to our project lt extreme.

But don't go away. We've got more trucks to show you this week after the break.

Later on, trucks will take you back in time by laying down a wood bed kit on a 48 Ford F one. But up first, it's good news for all you sportsmen out there. The 1999 Chevy Tahoe is finally available with the ZSE

One off road package.

Welcome back to the shop. Everybody as you probably know the SUV is the hottest thing on the market now. Heck, even Mercedes Benz and Cadillac have jumped in with all four wheels spinning. Now, Chevy's been getting dirty for years with the blazer and four wheel drive pickups. So it's only natural. The 1999 Tahoe would move off the street and onto the trail with the ZSE

One off road package.

And while that's brand new for 99 the power plant didn't need any changes. A Vortec V8 that pumps out 250 horsepower is still the tahoe's motivation.

It also features an electronically controlled four speed transmission, four wheel anti lock brakes and shift on the fly four wheel drive

and moving down the road and climbing up trails is fine

but doing it in the leather interior is even better.

Now, one of my favorite features is the speed compensated volume control on the stereo. What this means is the harder you match the pedal, the louder the stereo gets to make it for the background noise.

Speaking of makeup, our tunnel is looking great on the outside with its brush guard fog lamp and monochromatic paint scheme that includes the front grill bumper and fender flares. The Z 71 also has some cool looking Alcoa

16 inch wheels.

There's no doubt the Tahoe still looks good,

but it's the Z 71 suspension package that's gonna attract the outdoor enthusiast.

It's got sway bars, front and rear

bill, steam gas shocks,

a dual exhaust system and leased back to the muffler and for towing your toys,

an auxiliary transmission cooler.

So whether you're gonna haul the kids around town or go hunting down a new fishing hole. The 99 Z 71 Tahoe a base sticker around 35 grand will definitely get you there. Don't go away. We've got more trucks to bring you right after the break

up. Next on trucks. Stacy's got the weekly quick tip to bring you and then it's time to restore the wood bed on our 48 Ford F one. We'll take you step by step through the process you can do in your own driveway.

Welcome back to the shop. Well, after playing around with all those brand new Chevys, we thought we'd take it back in time. The year was 1948. When the first Ford F series pickup rolled off the assembly line and roll was about all it could do with a flathead V8 that produced a whopping 65 horsepower.

But heck in 1948 that was happening.

And so was the interior, not much plastic on this old F one and check out the horn.

That'll get your attention,

man. As good as it looks. 50 years later, this old truck still has one major problem

and that's the wood bed.

As you can see, these old pine planks are split and warped and whoever set this bed in before set it in too low,

then they came back here and they cut out and tried to get clearance. Thought that looked tacky and tried to cover it up with this piece. The old truck deserves a lot better than that.

We decided to correct that wrong in our old classic with a new kit from Bruce Horky wooden parts out of Minnesota.

They'll build a bed for any truck, whether it's stock or custom. This kit comes with eight planks of White oak already pre

sanded and ready for any stain. You wanna put on them. It also comes with stainless steel strips and all the hardware. You'll need to finish the job. Of

course, before we can put the new bed in, we gotta get the old one out of there and this is really easy. Just take the nuts off the carriage bolts and they'll pop right up

the old planks with a little persuasion pop right out of there. I'll tell you what,

for a 50 year old truck, the frame and bedsides look pretty good, man. Yeah, I was expecting more rust than that.

These old boards weren't properly treated before they were put in that caused them to absorb water and

we're gonna avoid that.

Mel's gonna show you how

first thing you wanna do is take a scotch bright pad and wipe down the face of the board to get rid of any dust splinters or fuzzies.

That way the stain will go down as smooth as possible. Now, it's important to remember anytime you put something on wood, it's gonna darken it. So test it first,

you also wanna make sure to apply stain to the top bottom as well as the sides to prevent warping and cracking.

Like I said before, we need to raise the bed to get clearance on the sides here. First thing you need to do is measure your support and then cut a board about an inch thick to lay down on top of there.

Now, you can see I've drilled a hole for clearance for my frame bolt.

I've also marked my holes for the mounting bolts.

Oh, yeah. Make sure you use sealer on these boards too.

Once you have at least three coats on your boards, they're ready to go in. This is the easiest part of the whole project. Thanks to the precision cut you get with Bruce Hoy's

kit.

Once you have your boards in, slide in your strips, position everything, how you want it

and all that's left is to bolt them down.

Well, not only does this give our old 48 the perfect look, but it's also durable enough to handle heavy loads as well as nasty weather.

And for about 500 bucks, it won't break the bank either. Let's see what Stace has for us and this week's quick tip

for fine detail work. I've found that using a large eraser, like the kind you threw around in elementary school is great for cleaning and polishing. Chrome.

The sharp edges of the eraser will get right into these tight little corners, which can be tough to get to. If you're using a compound in your fingers,

you can also take a standard pencil,

chuck it up in your drill

and use this eraser for detail work. Now, if you do this,

make sure you watch the wear of the eraser so that metal head doesn't come in contact with your part and it'll kind of defeat the purpose. Stay with us we've got truck gear right after this

and now truck gear, parts, tools and equipment for pickups and sport utilities.

Welcome back, everybody. It's time for this week's truck gear. Now, whether you use your truck for work or play the bed extender from AMP research turns your short bed into a long bed just by dropping the tailgate,

flip it inward and you have a secure location for gas cans, tools or even a few sacks of groceries. It's with adjustable and installs on just about any pickup in minutes. Get the most out of your truck with the bed extender for about $200.

Now, for those of you that need to replace sheet metal or body panels, this tool needs to be in your box.

It's a combination air punch and flange tool from the Eastwood Company.

One side of the head punches holes for spot wells or rivets.

The other side makes a step blanch for doing lap welds. It's also great for going around tight inside and outside corners.

You can prep all your welding projects with this tool from Eastwood for about 90 bucks. That's gonna do it for truck gear. Let's take a look at what Mel and I have for you next week,

Stace and I continue a three week series that will transform Chevy's Extreme S 10 into a muscle bound sport truck. The four banger gone, a donor LT one is taking its place after that, we'll drop the hammer on the Syrian Silverado. That has the same heartbeat as a Corvette. Then it's back to the shop to show you how to turn your off road vehicle into a submarine. That's all next week on trucks.

Well, that's gonna do it for this week's show. Don't forget to join us next week. Right here at the shop.

This is how wood be it

look. Looks awesome, man. You know, I'm so glad we didn't

stand.

It's been too dark. Yeah.

Well, yeah, but

wait a minute,

those are cat prints. Oh, man, they are.

Oh,

I'm gonna kill skyrocket, man.

She was supposed to stay home and now she's out here walking over our plans. So what do we do to fix it?

Kill the cat.

My wife won't like that.

This

alone

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is an RTM production.