1986 GMC S-15
- Thread starter Andrew_S
- Start date
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
Since this is the only S10 thread on the forum thought I would show ya'll the interesting S10 I found today for $500.
1987 4WD S10 V6 Extended Cab with Zimmer Motor Vans Phantom Dually Conversion completed when new.
Truck is still complete. Interior kinda rough. Body pretty good. Still has the unique light bar in the back of the bed. Ran when parked. You know what that means?
1987 4WD S10 V6 Extended Cab with Zimmer Motor Vans Phantom Dually Conversion completed when new.
Truck is still complete. Interior kinda rough. Body pretty good. Still has the unique light bar in the back of the bed. Ran when parked. You know what that means?
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ITTOG
Well-known member
It is coming along nicely. You appear to be further along than me, even though you started after me, at least according to the first post you made on it. Are you using fabric or hard sides for the pop-up? I am wanting to do hard side but that might change once I get to that point. I was hoping to have mine pop up about 4' so I could easily set up in the bed. Unfortunately I haven't found any gas struts long enough to get me anywhere close to that. I may have to come up with a solution that doesn't rely on gas struts. Have you designed your pop up system yet?Thanks Chilli, I believe I still owe you a beer next time you come through town.
OBD 1 tuning has become really difficult to come by it seems. I've been trying to figure out an aftermarket ECM/crank trigger combination that'll work together. I've looked at fuel tech, mega squirt, haltech and holley. I've yet to find something that satisfies the desires and at a lower price.
With that backfire I would be inclined to check your timing initial and advance?
Thanks, it's kind of tough to describe but essentially I'm just doing a hard side pop top. More like an alaskan camper though with no tent and drop down walls over the cab portion. It'll start to come together in the pics better then I can describe it.
Right on, thanks I really appreciate that.
Halfway done the '84. Got the new front drive shaft for the blower replaced. You can see where the bearing spun on the shaft of the old one.
All back together. Trans is suppose to be done on Monday.
Borrowed a miter saw from a buddy and it needed a serious tune up. The main bolt for the pivot was totally seized and pretty much every other moving joint was jammed up. Spent an hour disassembling/freeing up/cleaning/greasing and the thing works like a champ now.
Spent a couple nights after work getting the main frame built out. Cut up everything for the two sidewalls one evening.
The spool gun doesn't make the prettiest welds but it sure is quick and easy to use. I really wish I got a 240 volt plug wired up in the garage before starting this. 3/16" wall is the very limit of what this gun can do on 110.
more progress pics along the way
It looks a little large on the truck but once I get the sides sheeted and some windows etc it'll break up the size a bit.
I built the main frame/inside box of the camper very stout 1.5" x 1.5" 3/16" wall fairly heavy aluminum because it will be what sees all the load. The outside pop up box will be much lighter material like 1"x1" 1/4" wall or lighter. We had a couple of desires with this camper and that was tricky when it came to playing with the dimensions. We want to be able to stand up in it. So the overall height popped up is 6'4" and we wanted a bit of room to move around even with the bed set up, so we ended up with a touch over 4' in this space. The sleeping platform will be super nice, a little over 5' wide and 6' 6" long with about 3' of height. One of the other goals was not to widen the truck out like crazy and we definitely accomplished that. Lastly we didn't want to get much higher when travelling and that was tricky. We ended up being 8" up over the cab.
I think i've got the back door figured out, and also most of the gaskets/seals. Need to do some more figuring before I make anymore progress.
I've got to say my hat is off to the guys who manufacturer any of these overland style campers. This is a **** load of work. I've got about 12 hours into it at this point. More like 100 hours if you consider the time spent sketching and looking at other builds.
Sounds like we have very similar builds. https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...r-build-was-6-x-12-trailer-conversion.199414/
1stDeuce
Explorer
That "not so pretty" weld looks great to me!! If you're not already doing it, try preheating your weld joints with a propane torch at least until the material dries out. (You'll see what I mean when you put a torch to it... First it collects or bleeds water, then it dries out.) Makes the welds flow a bit better by not requiring so much heat from the welder... The aluminum really sucks up heat, that's for sure!!
Andrew_S
Observer
Thank you, I really appreciate it.
That is like a time capsule, very cool. I feel like if I went the heavy truck camper route I would probably want the dually. So cheap, probably wouldn't take more then a couple hundred to get it back on the road.
There are a couple companies offering large gas struts. You could always do a shorter strut on a cam with a pushrod and get a ton more throw out of a short strut. I've more or less finalized how everything is going to work together with some rough notes. The most challenging part imo was just the gasketing/seals for all of the components.
Thanks for the suggestion, I've been using the preheat very effectively since I read this. There is something super satisfying about watching the aluminum sweat. Getting that initial hit warmed up prior to really helps with starting your puddle and getting good penetration. The real limitation is I've got my miller just hooked up to 120 right now. For the heavier 3/16" I should really be using a 240 volt plug.
Back again for my monthly update. I started another new position at work and have been swamped with that lately.
The wifey and I did some exploring to start things off.
yeah it didn't happen lol, admittedly I tried to move it first and completely underestimated the weight.
old deer hang the trees have taken back,
Snow pack is still at 150%
Trans rebuild for the '84's T5
all done and out of the way
Started shaping and modifying the trans skid plate to fit. Made good use of pinky.
I've had an exhaust leak on first start when everything is cold for a year+ now. So I addressed that one afternoon.
I was just being cheap and reused these donuts when I had to redo exhaust. Then I was just being stubborn and dealing with the racket.
Learn from my mistakes, don't reuse these, just don'ut. haha
The wifes side of the truck had one hell of a rattle for a week or two.
Took a min to figure this one out haha. Bounced up onto a skid plate/crossmember.
Been doing a bit of hiking/bear hunting.
Also a bit of mushroom hunting
I wish the picture did this more justice. This is roughly a 20% grade and the tires are sitting on top of 16" logs. I kept dropping a tire trying to bump it over the top to dry trail. As soon you fell off the logs it was just 20"+ of slop underneath. Would have loved a locked rear diff in this situation.
Some new poly sway bar bushings
Andrew_S
Observer
Now back to the camper. Originally I was planning to draw the entire thing up in Civ3d or solid works down to every single cut and rivot. A year later and I never did that, so I just went the easy route. I've just been making very primitive sketches and thoroughly thinking through the design elements that are critical. Here is a sample of the madness.
This process ultimately leads to oversights and mistakes... So after laying out exactly how my fronts walls will fold, lay flat and also seal I came up with a painful redesign.
ehhh, we do it nice cause we do it twice?
This fixed a couple things. First I didn't like how much clearance between the cab and camper I originally chose. So this dropped that gap down to only 2". It also allows my walls to fold over one another and not bring the overall height up another 3". I know it doesn't look like much progress but this was a full day of pondering and processing what to do next as well as righting the wrong.
I've been trying to commit an afternoon a week to this thing. So this last sunday I started on my upper box after finalizing my spacing and gasketing.
This is quite time consuming. For every single tube connection/weld I have to measure, measure, cut, remeasure, grind a 45* bevel on all sides, wire brush, fit, preheat, weld, wire brush, and then grind down the weld flat if that surface is being sheeted. I'll be so happy once both boxes are complete and I can start with the fun stuff like the flip up walls and tail gates.
I went with much lighter 1x1 .120 wall tubing for the top box to bring down the overall weight. I'll be doubling up the top rails to help support the load of the canoes/tie downs/snow etc. Right after this I pulled something in my back and wasn't able to finish welding up the rest of the walls.
Then back to mushroom hunting.
Looking for fire morels in this burn area from last year next to this awesome gorge.
Put in 30 km's or so over a couple of days with no luck.
Found my first shed of the year.
This is the look of a girl with no mushrooms.
Then finally this saturday we started to find them.
There is something genuinely exciting about finding shrooms especially a big patch.
Even my buddy who had never looked for them before was getting genuinely excited.
The haul
The reward!
Dehydrated the remainder
Once my back gets some rest I'm going to try and knock out the remainder of the top box.
Then everything should start to fall into place at a faster pace.
This process ultimately leads to oversights and mistakes... So after laying out exactly how my fronts walls will fold, lay flat and also seal I came up with a painful redesign.
ehhh, we do it nice cause we do it twice?
This fixed a couple things. First I didn't like how much clearance between the cab and camper I originally chose. So this dropped that gap down to only 2". It also allows my walls to fold over one another and not bring the overall height up another 3". I know it doesn't look like much progress but this was a full day of pondering and processing what to do next as well as righting the wrong.
I've been trying to commit an afternoon a week to this thing. So this last sunday I started on my upper box after finalizing my spacing and gasketing.
This is quite time consuming. For every single tube connection/weld I have to measure, measure, cut, remeasure, grind a 45* bevel on all sides, wire brush, fit, preheat, weld, wire brush, and then grind down the weld flat if that surface is being sheeted. I'll be so happy once both boxes are complete and I can start with the fun stuff like the flip up walls and tail gates.
I went with much lighter 1x1 .120 wall tubing for the top box to bring down the overall weight. I'll be doubling up the top rails to help support the load of the canoes/tie downs/snow etc. Right after this I pulled something in my back and wasn't able to finish welding up the rest of the walls.
Then back to mushroom hunting.
Looking for fire morels in this burn area from last year next to this awesome gorge.
Put in 30 km's or so over a couple of days with no luck.
Found my first shed of the year.
This is the look of a girl with no mushrooms.
Then finally this saturday we started to find them.
There is something genuinely exciting about finding shrooms especially a big patch.
Even my buddy who had never looked for them before was getting genuinely excited.
The haul
The reward!
Dehydrated the remainder
Once my back gets some rest I'm going to try and knock out the remainder of the top box.
Then everything should start to fall into place at a faster pace.
ITTOG
Well-known member
Your post sounds similar to the way my build is going. I didn't put it in any software program and I too have had a few issues that I had to redo. But it has been fun figuring the details out on the spot.
The weld prep and grinding drives me crazy. It takes so much time and it feels like you are not making much progress.
A new item I have been pondering is how to seal the roof from the base of the camper. Current design is just bulb seals and the weight of the roof along with Jeep Hood clamps would provide the seal. now I am thinking about creating a gutter with angle iron welded to the bottom part of the camper and The bulb seal only being on the roof and it creating the seal when it contacts the gutter.
Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
The weld prep and grinding drives me crazy. It takes so much time and it feels like you are not making much progress.
A new item I have been pondering is how to seal the roof from the base of the camper. Current design is just bulb seals and the weight of the roof along with Jeep Hood clamps would provide the seal. now I am thinking about creating a gutter with angle iron welded to the bottom part of the camper and The bulb seal only being on the roof and it creating the seal when it contacts the gutter.
Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
Andrew_S
Observer
^ The seals /gaskets are what took me the most time to figure out. I'll be using a p section bulb seal all along the bottom of the pop top. That combined with a couple of latches to hold everything tight in the up and down position.
My back was feeling a little better today so I got some more work done. Most of the top box in this pic,
Here it is in the down position
In the up position with a window mocked up. Keep in mind the bed is 16" deep so we'll have over 6'6" of head room.
Got the front flip up wall built, up position
Folded down,
Sitting at 155lbs in this picture. I'm guessing sheeting will be around 100lbs the windows are another 30lbs, back doors and insulation will be another 50lbs. Should be looking pretty good for coming in around 350lbs all said and done hopefully.
Bonus, got the wifey an early birthday present.
Tikka T3x with the shorter stainless barrel, 6.5 creedmore, topped with a swarovski 3.5-18x44mm.
Should make a great all around gun for her. Super light short package. The glass clarity is unreal.
My back was feeling a little better today so I got some more work done. Most of the top box in this pic,
Here it is in the down position
In the up position with a window mocked up. Keep in mind the bed is 16" deep so we'll have over 6'6" of head room.
Got the front flip up wall built, up position
Folded down,
Sitting at 155lbs in this picture. I'm guessing sheeting will be around 100lbs the windows are another 30lbs, back doors and insulation will be another 50lbs. Should be looking pretty good for coming in around 350lbs all said and done hopefully.
Bonus, got the wifey an early birthday present.
Tikka T3x with the shorter stainless barrel, 6.5 creedmore, topped with a swarovski 3.5-18x44mm.
Should make a great all around gun for her. Super light short package. The glass clarity is unreal.
Andrew_S
Observer
Got a bit more time into it this afternoon,
Threw the canoe on just to get an idea for tie-downs and how everything will be supported.
Plated off the two end tubes and got everything ready for the flip up walls.
Fit, Fit, and then fit again,
Picked up some bullet hinges, tacked them into place to see if they would work out nicely.
I'm trying to avoid anything "bolt on" because the backroads inevitably just vibrate it loose.
These weld on hinges worked perfect, just need 4 more now.
Got my flip up sidewalls made up. welding .065 wall tubing is an art. Punched some holes in a few test pieces before I got my settings dialed in.
The two sidewalls fold down first and the front wall sits on top of them.
Nicole and I had a meeting in the camper and discussed the bed, bench and potential storage.
We're both starting to get pretty excited with some light at the end of the tunnel.
Threw the canoe on just to get an idea for tie-downs and how everything will be supported.
Plated off the two end tubes and got everything ready for the flip up walls.
Fit, Fit, and then fit again,
Picked up some bullet hinges, tacked them into place to see if they would work out nicely.
I'm trying to avoid anything "bolt on" because the backroads inevitably just vibrate it loose.
These weld on hinges worked perfect, just need 4 more now.
Got my flip up sidewalls made up. welding .065 wall tubing is an art. Punched some holes in a few test pieces before I got my settings dialed in.
The two sidewalls fold down first and the front wall sits on top of them.
Nicole and I had a meeting in the camper and discussed the bed, bench and potential storage.
We're both starting to get pretty excited with some light at the end of the tunnel.
BlueLantern
New member
Tell your wife she is a lucky girl, that is my dream rifle I have been saving up for.
Andrew_S
Observer
^ Tell me about it. I'm jealous too.
Took the wifey mushroom hunting for her birthday. Immediately stumbled upon this 2x2 shed side by side.
Then after a few km's we started to stumble onto the Morels.
We found fire morels mixed in with some blondes I believe they are called?
then we found some more,
and more and more
Then we found one patch that was full of giants,
We were literally walking out with grocery bags full of mushrooms. 10km's of hiking later and a very nice property owner who traded us some mushrooms for wine. 3 bottles and 20lbs of mushrooms! Probably the best birthday present she could have ever had.
Made for a very tasty fry up,
Took the wifey mushroom hunting for her birthday. Immediately stumbled upon this 2x2 shed side by side.
Then after a few km's we started to stumble onto the Morels.
We found fire morels mixed in with some blondes I believe they are called?
then we found some more,
and more and more
Then we found one patch that was full of giants,
We were literally walking out with grocery bags full of mushrooms. 10km's of hiking later and a very nice property owner who traded us some mushrooms for wine. 3 bottles and 20lbs of mushrooms! Probably the best birthday present she could have ever had.
Made for a very tasty fry up,
Todd780
OverCamper
Looks good! Never tried mushrooms like that. Sounds like a good time finding them too. Good score on the wine!^ Tell me about it. I'm jealous too.
Took the wifey mushroom hunting for her birthday. Immediately stumbled upon this 2x2 shed side by side.
Then after a few km's we started to stumble onto the Morels.
We found fire morels mixed in with some blondes I believe they are called?
then we found some more,
and more and more
Then we found one patch that was full of giants,
We were literally walking out with grocery bags full of mushrooms. 10km's of hiking later and a very nice property owner who traded us some mushrooms for wine. 3 bottles and 20lbs of mushrooms! Probably the best birthday present she could have ever had.
Made for a very tasty fry up,
Todd780
OverCamper
Agreed. It seems we have to drive a few hours out of town to find some really nice scenery.