1st Gen Chevy/GMC S-Series Extended Cab Longbed

[Casey]

Is this the one you were going to do a 4cyl too?

I was thinking about using a 4 cylinder in a standard cab shortbox S-10. I think I'm going to stick with the stock 4.3L V6 for this build, as it's very nicely detailed and I don't want to go too crazy with modifications. I will be swapping in a T5 5-speed manual, though.

[RodneyBad]

I'm no S-10 Expert

But...

Great looking Conversion work on the Bed, Frame and Cab..

[Casey]

I'm no S-10 Expert

Me neither....hope that isn't too obvious.

I wanted to keep the momentum going, so I tackled the interior tub, extending it with the rear third of a second standard cab tub. It wasn't too complicated, just lots of test fitting with the frame/floorboard, cab, firewall, and interior tub all together. Once the correct length was set I mated the two tub pieces, then filled in the two floor holes. I'm not sure what the boxy looking thing in the right rear corner is on a standard cab, but I'm pretty sure it needs to be removed so the x-cab's passenger side jump seat can fold down, so one more hole to fill. I wanted to retain the rear tub wall-to-cab rear wall fit, so it was easier and simpler to use another box stock tub section than to craft new pieces out of sheet styrene.

Final test fit shot, making sure the top rear of the tub fits under the rear window opening correctly:

Almost done, with the first two floor filler pieces in place:

Hmmmm, should I partially cover the floor with the jump seats or create interior panels with them in the folded up position...

[Skydime]

Great work Casey. Personally, I would do the jump seats up. I do have a question though. Are you thinking of doing a lowered suspension at all? I ask for two reasons. First, your front fender wells. No sense filling the driver side if you have wheels, tires, and suspension that are going to require removing them and/or replacing them with scratch built versions anyway. Second, you might want to hold off on finishing that rear interior floor. Severely dropped S10/S15/Sonoma extended cabs are notorious for the driveline hitting the back of the cab floor in an extended cab. This issue may translate into a model kit as well. I know you were talking about possibly modifying the front suspension from the one piece. So, you might want to take these factors into consideration. If lowering is not a factor, maybe this will help someone else considering this modification. Keep rockin' this one out!

Edited October 9, 2013 by Skydime

[Casey]

I think I will leave the jump seat in the folded up position, Ken.

I did some tire test fitting this afternoon and the front fender wells will definitely need to be reworked, or I need to use a smaller diameter tire. I think the 20s I tried out were a bit too tall anyway, but you're right-- there's not much room for tucking the tires up front.

I don't think I'll go too low on the suspension, and looking at the two-part driveshafts on 1:1 extended cab models, I'm probably going to have to use some type of custom/faux factory driveshaft setup with the longbed in place. My main concern with the front suspension is that the lower A-arms appear to be hanging in thin air, and the upper A-arms look nothing like the real things, either. I think going 4x4 would and even more complications, though the Syclone's AWD setup could be kind of interesting....no, no, no, 2WD it's staying.

Thanks for the tips and comments, folks.

[mikemodeler]

coming along nicely Casey! I think if you were to offer this in stock configuration with the ability to drop it for those that wanted to you would have more interest in this.

The box in the right corner of the interior is where the jack and lug wrench was stored on these trucks- I know because I owned three of them! The last two (88 & 91 standard cabs) I removed the jack so I could locate stereo components in the tight space in the cab.

[Casey]

coming along nicely Casey! I think if you were to offer this in stock configuration with the ability to drop it for those that wanted to you would have more interest in this.

I'm not making any major changes, just (what I consider) minor improvements and eliminating some of the simplifications, like the molded in engine compartment details. I actually want to finish this.

I got the inner fender well holes plugged, and ended up using the front third of the driver's side inner fender to patch in the non-existent front third on the passenger's side. Rotated 90 degrees, it was a decent fit, so some sanding and filling will be necessary, but it saved me a bunch of complex work in a tight area. I still need to add a patch piece or two at the forward bottom edge, though:

I also extended the rear frame rails .252" using the rear section of chassis #2, so the new and existing frame section were joined with a simple butt joint, reinforced using some rectangular styrene rod inside the frame rail pockets. Plastic welder to the rescue yet again:

[DrKerry]

If you get this cast I'd get one for sure..... I had a GMC S-15 dropped 5 inches with a 355 small block up front!!!!

[Casey]

I added a few details to the floorpan under the cab, including two additional mounts removed from the second chassis:

I also started extending the rear inner quarter panel pieces, again using sections of the second kit's panels for the extension. I'm planning to sand the extended areas flat, then add the jump seat detail once the panels are one solid piece:

Lastly, I did a bit more work on the left leaf spring and shackles, scribing a separation line between the spring eye and the shackles, rounding their edges a bit, and basically making them look a little less like one molded piece. I will add two miniature bolts to retain the leaf spring to the shackles and the shackles to the frame rail.:

[DrKerry]

kool beans

[Wheels]

Very cool!

[Casey]

The quarter window openings needed to be reshaped and the lower edge raised, so I welded in a styrene strip on both sides of the cab, then started refining the openings. The driver's side look very close, but I think the top edge on the passenger's side is a bit too high, so I need to add a filler strip and reshape the entire opening in a few areas.

[Jonathan]

This is beautiful work! Are you planning to cast this? The reason I ask is that my Dad had an S-10 just like this for years. He still talks about how he should have kept it. (4.3 with just over 300k miles on it - that was not a typo)

Anywho...I tried my hand at marrying two Monogram S-10 cabs together, but my results were nowhere near as nice as what you'd doing here. So - plans to make this beauty available to us lesser folks?

Keep up the great work - this thing is a beaut!

[DrKerry]

Lookin good Casey!!!!!

[440 Dakota]

awesome work,love S-10s and have owned a couple dozen and actually thought about doing this conversion except in 4x4 form,if by some chance you have these cast i would buy a few beds,cabs and tubs

Edited October 23, 2013 by 440 Dakota

[Wonderbread Kustomz]

Oh yes I definitely love it!

[Ramfins59]

Casey, you're doing some great work on this project. It is really looking good.

[Jonathan]

Boy, this looks great.

Just a note, and I don't know if it applies in all cases, but on my Dad's S-10 Extended Cab...that hump/box thing on the back of the cab wall was in the middle and not on the passenger side. Not sure what it is, even - but thought I'd toss it out there.

Again, this is some nice looking work. If you don't mind my asking, how did you extend the cab? I assume two kits? Are there pictures up of that part of the progress?

[DrKerry]

Boy, this looks great.

Just a note, and I don't know if it applies in all cases, but on my Dad's S-10 Extended Cab...that hump/box thing on the back of the cab wall was in the middle and not on the passenger side. Not sure what it is, even - but thought I'd toss it out there.

Again, this is some nice looking work. If you don't mind my asking, how did you extend the cab? I assume two kits? Are there pictures up of that part of the progress?

That hump in the back is the jack stowage area. I believe your right it was more to the center. I took mine out for a speaker box so it didn't have it for very long....

[DrKerry]

My old hot rod....

Yeah I know.....purple???

[Casey]

If you don't mind my asking, how did you extend the cab? I assume two kits? Are there pictures up of that part of the progress?

Not sure why I didn't take pics of the early steps of the cab splicing, but that's what I did. I sliced off the back 2mm or so of one cab, then measured carefully and cut the rear scale 18" of the second cab, then mated them. I did need to add a thin sheet of styrene to the rear piece's roof to decrease the overall roof taper, but just the usual careful measuring and flat, flush joints were required.

If anyone has a clear shot of the rear area of the extended cab, on both sides, please let me know. It's been near impossible to find a clear image which shows the shape of each jump seat in the folded up position as well as what the interior side panels look like.

[DrKerry]

If I think of it I can get photos for you. My father in law still has my wifes old 93 S-10 extended cab. I can get pics for ya....

[Casey]

I would appreciate it, Kerry. Even on the S-10 forums I haven't had any luck.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Casey

[DrKerry]

I'll see if he will drive it over when they visit tomorrow and snap a few shots for ya....

[DrKerry]

Hope these help Casey....