S10 S15 Frame Swap

I'm shopping for a replacement chassis for my 57 Chevy Panel Van

The things I know I'm shopping for is.
-This S10 or S15 chassis has to be from a Reg cab long box.
cause that is the only chassis that comes the closest to my 114" wheel base.
-It is gonna be 4X4

What I'm not sure is. Which years should I be shopping for in order to get the 4 wheel disc brake?

OK .... A little more in depth research came up with All my answers.


Q: The wheelbase on the AD truck is 116 but the WB on the S10 LB Standard Cab is
117.9", will this work?
A: Yes. The rear wheels on the stock AD truck set two inches too far forward in the wheel wells. Using the
longer S10 frame centers the wheels in the wells.

Q: Can I use a Blazer frame?
A: NO. The Blazer frame is narrower under the cab and a good wheelbase is not available.

Q: Can I use an Extended Cab short box truck frame.
A: Yes. You'll have to break the factory weld holding the front and rear frame halves together. Then cut off
and slide the rear frame half five inches forward and re-weld this all square and level. You'll also have two
more body mounts to cut off. If you must use this frame, it will work. The regular long bed does not
require this modification.

Q: What is the best year S10/S15 frame to use?
A: The S10/S15 frames are very similar. Any long bed regular cab frame from as early as 1982 to as late as
2003 will work. Later model frames have the parking brake cables both routed down the drivers side.
This makes it much easier to adapt to the stock AD truck park brake pedal.

Q: What wheelbases are available for the S10 truck frames?
A: Regular cab short box - 108.3"
Regular cab long box - 117.9" This is what you will need for our kit.
Extended cab short box - 122.9"

Q: Do you think I can use a 4wd frame?
A: Yes and No. The main issue with the 4wd frame is the front
frame horns which are different than the 2wd. Minor modifications to your truck cab may be
necessary.


Q: Why side mounted radiator support mounts?
A: The Chevy and GMC AD trucks use different lower mounts on the radiator support. Using the side mounts
allows the use of the same mounts on both Chevy and GMC as well as gaining more adjustability of the front
sheet metal.

Q: What are some of the differences in the S10 frames?
A: 1982-1983 No spare tire winch built in / No ext. cabs available / Spare tire x-member must be removed.
1985 Fuel Injection begins on the 2.8L V6 means different fuel lines.
1988 4.3L V6 with EFI introduced means different fuel lines.
1989 Rear ABS introduced
1991 Turbo charged AWD GMC Syclone introduced
1994 ZQ8 Sport Suspension package introduced / New body style introduced
1996 Four wheel ABS available on all S10's
1998 Four wheel disc brakes
1999 S10 Extreme introduced
!! DO NOT USE ANY ZR2 FRAME OR AXLE. BOTH ARE TOO WIDE !!

Q: Can I get bigger brakes for the S10?
A: Yes. You can use aftermarket products available from many sources or you can swap in the spindles, rotors
and calipers, as an assembly, from the 1998+ 2wd Blazers. These have larger rotors and dual piston calipers.
You'll need to spend about $2.00 on brass adapter fittings to get the hoses to mate up.

Q: What can I do to make my truck handle better?
A: For the front I'd suggest Moog front coil springs, Belltech 2" drop spindles, 98+ Blazer rotors and dual piston
calipers, polyurethane bushings, ZQ8 steering box and swaybar, TRW heavy duty steering linkage and
Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks. For the rear I'd go with Belltech drop leaf springs (blocks if you are on a
budget), urethane bushings, Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks and ZQ8 sway bar. Also, you can relocate the
battery behind the passenger side rear wheel well. You can get the factory 3rd shock and bracket that
connects from the rear axle to the frame. Wheels and tires are up to you. Size, looks and comfort are
personal choice.

Q: What about the so-called "B-Body" brake swap?
A: Sounds great until you find out what bump steer is and how it feels when you're driving!!

Q: I've installed my kit and the S10 frame looks narrow under the body. What do I do?
A: For the front I suggest 2" to 2.5" billet wheel spacers. The good kind bolt to the rotor and have an extra set
of lug nuts to bolt the wheel on. For the rear use a 4wd truck/Blazer axle. The 4wd axle is a bolt-in
replacement for the 2wd but it is five inches wider. DO NOT USE A ZR2 4wd rear axle.

Q: I installed my kit and the truck sits too high. What's up? (no pun intended)
A: What's up is that you still need to add about two thousand pounds of stuff including engine, transmission,
drive shaft, interior, gauges, wiring, fluids, etc, etc. This will drop the truck a few inches normally. If you
want more, the aftermarket is ripe with S10 suspension products to help you slam the frame all the way to
the ground, if that's what you want. Nearly all of our customers are using a 2/3 suspension drop.

Q: What is actually in the ZQ8 Sport Suspension package?
A: The main components are:

* Front coil Springs - lowered
* Short Shocks
* 3rd shock "No Hop Shock"
* Rear Frame Brace
* Rear Leaf Springs - lowered
* Front and Rear Stabilizer bars
* Quick Ratio Steering Box
* Lower Control Arms
* Wheels

Q: Will my Motor Vehicle Department or Police have a problem with my frame being
different than my body?
A: That will depend on your states laws. I always suggest you get a title or at least some sort of Bill of Sale for
your donor frame. Not to mention, if you need to get replacement parts the dealer will require a VIN
number. Check with your local Motor Vehicle Dept and State Police to be sure.

Q: I heard there were secret VIN numbers on the frame. Is this true?
A: Yes and No. Yes there are eight digits stamped into two places on the S10 frame. A check digit and the last
seven digits of the VIN. If you are going to look up parts you will need the last eight digits of the VIN. This
is why we tell you to get the VIN off the donor truck. A good place to get it is off the glove box door. Most
years have an RPO code sticker here. Peel it off and keep it. The 3-digit codes shown all over this sticker
are a great key to decoding what equipment your S10 came with. This is also where you go to look for the
ever elusive ZQ8 option code. The stock AD truck NEVER had frame numbers, no matter what any motor
vehicle department or law enforcement officer tells you.

Q: Can I use S10/V8 engine swap mounts?
A: No. The engine compartments of the AD truck and the S10 truck sit in different places on the S10 frame.
The AD firewall is about four inches further back than the S10 firewall. We normally slide the whole
drive line back about four inches to get a one inch clearance to the firewall.


Q: Can I use my stock radiator?
A: No. A good substitute is an
early 60's Ford Mustang.


Q: Should I paint or powder coat the frame before I install the kit?
A: NO,NO,NO,NO,NO! You should always pre-install all parts first. During pre-installation you will double
check measurements, make any minor adjustments, grind areas clean that need a tight fit for bolting or
welding. Make final decisions on how you'd like complimentary parts to fit such as the engine and
transmission mounts. After all the body components are on and all the gaps are to your liking you can then
go on to final prep and painting or powder coating of the frame. PAINTING OR POWDER COATING
FIRST WILL ALWAYS END UP CAUSING EXTRA WORK AND EXPENSE TO DEAL WITH LATER!

Q: When I installed my 4wd running gear the transfer case sits on top of the torsion bar
cross member. I can't get the running gear to drop down any lower. What can I do?
A: What you need is called a "clocking ring." Any good off-road shop will know what this is and can show you
how it's installed and what you can expect from it. In a nutshell it allows you to turn the transfer case
housing clockwise or counterclockwise on the transmission output. This allows you to lower your power train
down lower into the S10 frame.

Interesting. One thing worth noting is not all 1998+ trucks have 4 wheel disc. I had an 02' with rear drum and a friend has an 01' with rear drum.

Interesting. Goes to prove you can't believe everything you read on the internet.
I'll have to watch out for that during my search for an 98 and newer.

my 2000 jimmy had 4wheel disc with drum ebrake.. look for a g80 rear if your gonna be swapping out the rear axle for a blazer rear.. they are factory posi..

LOL I think a G80 rear axle is gonna look pretty funny under my 57.. even under a S15 a G80 is way too wide. My 2500HD has a G80 rear
And I really don't want to get into cutting down axles to fit.

If I go with the stock axle with a S10 or S15 apparently I will still need spacers. I can live with that.

Glenn, G80 is the RPO code for a locker, not the code for the axle itself. An S-10 has a 7.5inch 10 bolt, your truck has a 11.5 inch 14 bolt.

Oooops sorry, I didn't realize Tks Rob
Sorry Joe. I'll research it more

No worries Glenn, glad to help.

And Glenn, we need lots of pictures when you do this!

yes i agrea with the pics.. lots and lots of pics for refrence when i do a swap like your doing someday... lol

nice info. and pics are a must.