More work on EV-Steve's S-10

I redid the passenger-side frame mount on EV-Steve's S-10. This was in somewhat better shape than the first one I did, but it was still pretty bad. Before, above.

After. The paint is still wet, makes it look kinda bad somehow. It actually came out as well as the first one, although the experience of having done this before did not translate into any time savings on the second one, as I had hoped.

Keep moving, not much to see here.

Quickie tool tech:

To drill the opening in the floor and get at the nut-plate, I had to lift the interior floor matting. But first, I had to get the door-sill molding off. This can be a difficult task on any car older than a couple of minutes. The screws that secure these are exposed to moisture and road salt from dripping shoes in the winter, and direct outside exposure since they sometimes protrude right through the floor to the underside of the car body. They get dirt and gungo packed into the heads, so it's hard to even get a screwdriver in them.

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First, insert a phillips screwdriver if they are phillips head, as most are. Whack on the top of the screwdriver to seat the point, and hopefully knock the screw loose from it's rust. This works for many. Oh yes, use a rust-lube spray on them too.

For the stubborn ones, get an Impact Driver like the one I have here. This ingenious tool is like a combination screwdriver, ratchet, and chisel. This is designed to be hammer-whacked. Seat it in the screw head like so. Whack it HARD with a hammer. No, a bigger hammer. And hard! When you whack this tool, there is a mechanism inside that twists the tip as it is hit, so the twisting torque is delivered at the exact moment that it is being pounded into the screw head by the hammer blow. Ingenious, right? This gets most of the tougher ones.

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I had to actually go in from the side with a chisel and knock the head off of one that refused to loosen. Sometimes brute force is all these guys understand.

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See ya soon. JK

Tech- Fabricating frame-to-body mounts, part 1

I don't expect everybody to run out to their driveway today and copy this tech piece, it's fairly involved and requires some expensive tools. But I want to present it so you know what's possible and how it's done. Just because you don't do heart surgery doesn't mean it's not interesting, right? This is a typical cab mount on a pickup truck. Most classic cars that are body-on-frame construction are similar. The frame is on the right, and the hoop-like mount is welded to it. A bolt passes through a big washer, a rubber/steel biscuit assembly, and into the floor of the body above.

Here is what they look like after time and corrosion has taken their toll. Pretty gruesome, right? You can see the hoop-mount is half rusted away. The biscuit assembly is not really resting on anything. The floor pan looks bad but is pretty solid. I think I can save this.

Cranking on the bolt produced some promising turns, but after a few, it got completely loose and would not come out: something was broken. At the factory, these bolts are assembled up into a threaded plate. After rust fuses the bolt to the plate, the bolt will break, or the plate will just spin. The car manufacturer does not care that you can't get these out; they will, however, be happy to sell you another car.

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I had to cut the bolt head off with an acetylene torch. The biscuit came off, but the rest of the bolt was still stuck on the threaded plate above the floor pan. The threaded plate actually rests in a pocket between 2 layers of steel floor, so you can't just lift up the carpet and pull it out, it's in there good. Now what?

More destruction. I took a big holesaw and cut an access hole right through the floor from inside the vehicle over the mounting area. It's big, like 2-1/2". From there, I could pull the plate and bolt shaft out. Here you can see the rusty devil itself. It looks like I made more work, but sometimes it takes work. After I'm done, I'll weld or screw a patch over the hole, seal it, and it will be the best part of the floor. It actually does look like heart surgery now.

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I shop-vac'd a ton of junk out of the pocket area. It's not owner negligence or anything, cars have lots of pockets like this that collect road junk and deteriorate. Rust happens.

Here are the remnants of the biscuit assembly and the rusty parts that fell off. Boooooooo! I ordered replacement items for all of this. In part 2, I will fabricate a new frame hoop-mount out of steel plate, and weld it onto the frame. I'll assemble the mount parts and restore the whole area. A challenging and fun project. Thanks and stay tuned.

Removed the ABS valve thing

Here are the brake parts still attached to the chassis. The ABS valve is on the left, master cylinder is in the middle, and power booster on the right. The power booster is what gives you "power" brakes. I'll be removing and discarding the ABS valve. I made a quick sketch of where each line goes from the ABS valve. I don't know why I did this, as I will not be reusing it and will not need this information. Old habit I guess. I make a lot of sketches and notes as I take a vehicle apart. Can't hurt.

No, the car in the background is not falling off a cliff, the picture is a little tilted.

Here I am about to loosen the lines from the ABS module. For disassembling any type of tube fitting, you should use a Line Wrench. This is like an open end wrench, but it wraps farther around the fitting for better grip. Look at how it wraps 3/4 of the way around the fitting instead of 1/2 way like an open end wrench would. This is 2 extra points of the hex it grabs. That matters. This wrench is less likely to slip and strip the hex, and it also prevents crushing the fitting, which can happen if you 'gorilla' them like I do. After you have broken them loose, you can switch to a regular open end wrench for faster work.

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Line wrenches come in a set of four or so. Get 'em. For every fitting you don't booger up, your brakes will thank you.

Here is the ABS valve, sittin' in the pan like a big fat ripe appendix. I wish I had dumped it at the scrapper, it's got to weigh 20 lbs (the valve, not my appendix). Is this really necessary? Do people really not know how to stop a car to the degree that this thing has to be on there? You should have seen the amount of wiring that was attached to this thing too. Pathetic and ridiculous. Pump and steer, people, pump and steer. Sounds like an ale and steak house, the Pump and Steer.

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I was considering putting in a combination valve from an earlier model S10 where the ABS valve was. But I am thinking that the brake bias will be permanently different than a stock truck. The estimated 1500 lb battery load will see to that. I think a simple solution will be to put a proportioning valve like that used on race cars on it. All you do is hook up the brakes, front and rears separated, and do a panic stop. Note whether the front or rear wheels lock up (go into a skid) first. Usually it will be the rears, but with the rear load this truck will have, it may be the fronts. Install the proportioning valve in the set that locks up first, and close the valve a little. This restricts the amount of fluid that can pass, delaying that set of brakes from locking up, until they all do at once or more nearly at once. Get it?

Here are the parts we will be reusing, the master cylinder and power booster. Now sitting on the previously mentioned small pile of parts. I believe that is the sun visors it is dripping on there.

A small task, but I have done enough ambitious projects to know that you get them done the way you eat an elephant: One little bite at a time. Plus now you know what a Line Wrench is.

Now I'm hungry.

Stripping the S10 is completed...with just a small fire

Well here we are. The motor is out of the S10 frame. There are only a couple of small brackets and things left to remove. You can see the face of the transmission as it hovers there, it is the big dark circular thing in the middle. The power brake assembly is lying on the front tire for now. I have figured out 2 possible ways around that massive ABS unit that is lying on the front of the tire.

The motor removal was quick and simple. Probably one of the easiest motor removals I have ever done, and I've done a few. Of course, it almost never happens that the motor is sitting on a bare frame out in the open like that. Nonetheless, a half dozen bolts removed, and the motor pulled free. I apologize that I do not have photos of the motor out and hanging off of the hoist like a dead tuna. I could not find the camera at the time. I justified moving forward without photos because I have done so many motor pulls that it is not a big deal to me, even thought it might look impressive to the readers. Also this was the time slot I had available, so I had to keep going.


Here's the same basic shot from the back. You can see the fabricated trans mount from last time in place and holding the trans up nicely. The stock rear trans mount is out of view. You can see the shifter, and the lower steering column in place; it has an odd orange sleeve on it.

It seems like a lot of work just to get to this point, and it was, but I am very psyched to get on with the frame refurbishment. I can't wait to see it all redone and ready for the body swap. Also I know it seems like I am not using much of the original truck, and that's true, but I also have a whole big pile of parts I am keeping for reuse. I also needed to be sure I got all of what I needed, and in good shape, so I felt that a complete truck was the only way to do that.

I made a preliminary parts list for the brakes and suspension, and then looked up the part numbers and prices on-line. Now I can go to the local auto parts chain store and have them just double check the part numbers when I go to get the parts. The prelim cost is about $550. If I don't need replacement brake rotors and drums, that would save a lot of money. I don't like to cheap out when I'm replacing parts though. It's usually more work to replace related parts later, and the new parts work better if they are not working with other worn out parts.

This rig is going to be heavy when it is done. The battery pack alone will weigh about 1500 lbs! It will be like driving around with a full load of dirt or something in the bed the whole time, so I want the brakes to be up to par.

On something like brake and suspension work, I usually figure a shop would charge the same amount as the parts cost again for labor (maybe more!), so in this case it would be $1100 total. If I do the labor, I feel like I can spend more on replacing more parts. Trust me, shops are not bashful about charging you for labor.

Here is what's left of the S10. All of this will be going to the scrapper. I almost feel bad about taking a decent truck completely apart. Almost. Got to keep your eye on the end goal. Some must be sacrificed so that others may live on, and become electrified, or something like that.

Ok. Here is the baby. The S10 motor. I drained the oil, to be environmentally friendly. This is headed to the scrapper too. I put some ads on Craigslist for all of the unneeded parts, including a running motor, but I didn't really get any responses. To be honest, I'm kind of burnt out on trying to sell stuff anyway. It's a BIG hassle. People don't know what they want, try to haggle on give-away prices, then still complain, etc. I don't have the time for that nonsense. I'll get maybe $50? from the scrapper.

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Not shown is the flywheel, clutch disc, and pressure plate, or clutch hat assembly, I took off of the rear of the motor. They all looked like they had been replaced recently. I was curious when I saw tool nicks on the attaching hardware. When I pulled it off, all of these components looked really fresh. This is a nice find; the replacement clutch parts would be about $200. Hey, it's better than having to pay for that too.

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Oh, I will save the proselytizing (never thought I'd get to use that word) about removing one more foul, polluting gas motor from circulation, and how I will be single-handedly saving mankind and the planet with the replacement electric motor, blah, blah, blah. Not up for it right now. Maybe later. Although, get a good look at that motor. It's there, under all the hoses, and belts, and wires, and pulleys, and gizmos, and the oil stains, and the grease blobs. Remember it, to compare with the nice, efficient, clean, simple, pretty electric motor that will replace it. Kind of makes the old gasser seem pretty pathetic, actually.

Lastly, we have...well, it's like this: I wanted to cut out the sheetmetal where the brake booster and clutch cylinder mounted, to splice into the firewall of the F100. Then these would just bolt up later. Easy. Figured it wouldn't hurt to have the steering shaft hole and gas pedal mount too.

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This is looking at it from where the motor was. The main wiring harness is on the right, still firmly entombed in the dashboard on the other side.

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So I fired up my plasma cutter. An electric arc jumps from the gun nozzle to the body panel, and at the same time, compressed air shoots out and blows the molten metal puddle away, leaving a small hole. You move the gun along, and an open line forms, cutting the metal. You can see the line on the panel in the photo. It burns very hot, and you can see the scorch marks from the paint catching on fire.

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Two things: First, I was waiting for a phone call about my bro's medical test while I was doing this. The call came, so I went to answer it. I look over and there's smoke billowing out of the cab. The cab's on fire! I had a bucket of water ready for this, and I calmly kept trying to put the fire out, but it would keep restarting. The dashboard was so convoluted, that I couldn't get the water all the way in to put it out. Some foam rubber had caught fire, and it was proving to be very tricky to put completely out. I wasn't worried about the cab, I was throwing that out anyway. Since it was already on the trailer, I considered just towing the thing down to the firehouse and asking them to put it out. Kind of silly, I guess, so I didn't do that. Would have been funny though. After about 15 minutes, I got it put out, before any American Indians showed up wondering what the poorly phrased smoke signals were all about. Boy was that stinky.

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The second thing is, the sheetmetal area I wanted turned out to be heavily braced from the dashboard side, and I could not cut it all out without a lot more work. So I made some measurements of the holes, drew some diagrams, and that part of the project was abandoned. I'll just make new holes.

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Got a lot done it just a couple of hours.

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A shout-out to Kieran, whom I hear reads this blog. Shouldn't everybody?

Tech- Fabricated rear trans mount

One of the big advantages of the frame swap is that I'll be using the entire driveline, from the flywheel back, as it is. This means the rearend, driveshaft, and transmission will stay in their stock positions. For one thing, repair and maintenance will be routine, since it will all be stock. Also important is that driveline phasing will not be affected. Phasing is the relative angular positions of the driveline components along their axis'. In basic terms, if the angles get messed up, the driveshaft u-joints will not work properly, and the driveshaft develops an imbalance (or perhaps it is really a binding) that causes vibration, humming, and in some cases a bad vehicle shake. This can be troubleshoot(ed?, troubleshot?) later, but it can take a lot of shimming and trial and error. I once had this problem and it only happened at certain speeds; never did get that fixed properly. So I am hoping to avoid the problem.


One thing I have to maintain is the position of the transmission. It is held up in the front by being attached to the motor, and has a single mount under the back part all the way at its rear. Taking out the motor will leave the transmission flopping about. Not good. I decided to fabricate a bracket, sort of a bridge, or girdle, to keep the transmission in position when the motor is removed. With the transmission secured, I would only have to make new motor mounts for the electric motor.

In the lead photo, you can see I made a straight bar that goes under the two stock trans-to-motor bolts. I did some grindy-grinding to make reliefs for the vertical trans strengthening ribs. I'd rather take the material out of the bracket than the trans case. Frankly, I don't think it'd matter either way. I made angled pieces that go down to friendly spots the frame rails, and welded them onto the horizontal piece.

I made two tabs to weld onto the frame. The main bracket will bolt to these. I didn't want to weld the main bracket directly to the frame. This way, if it ever needs to come out, it will be easy to do. Plus I am assuming for now that this will clear the F100 floor and firewall. If the whole thing interferes later, we will have to do something else, but at least it will maintain the trans position for now, so I can remove the motor. The tab on the left has a scallop to match where it will go on the frame .

I used through holes and did not tap either the bracket or tabs with threads. I like the simplicity of bolts and nuts.

I also like round the corners off with a "big" radius; notice it does not go tangent to the sides, but still has corners at the junction of the radius and sides. This is the sort of thing you normally get with a mass-production stamping machine, and I prefer that look over the fully rounded ends you would expect with a custom made piece. So I like the unexpectedness and irony of it. Looks more industrial too.

Here is one of the tabs clamped into position for welding to the frame. In reality I had to swing the clamp up to make room for the welder nozzle. You can see that radius detail I mentioned.

I used beefy 1/4 x 1" steel bar. I had considered going with only 1/8" thick material, to save half the weight, but decided against it. This mount will be holding up part of the motor weight too, so it will do a fair amount of supporting. Angle material would give more stiffness along the beam, but there is really only vertical and rotational (radial?) loading, not front-to-back, so the flat bar will suffice here. Look, I'm not going to have to justify every design decision here, am I? Jeesh.

Here you can see one tab welded to the frame, and the bracket in position behind it. I am going to use a transfer punch to mark the bracket for drilling the matching holes. A transfer punch is a center punch that is at the end of a particular diameter rod. These come in a set of many diameters, and you select the diameter that fits tightly into the hole in the first part, in this case, the tabs. You then whack it with a hammer, and you get a center for drilling your matching bracket hole that is exactly centered with the tab hole. This is a big improvement over the "trace the hole with a pencil and try to make an accurate matching hole" method I have used for years. The center punches have vastly improved my fabricating; parts fit together with better alignment and less slop. Way more professional.

Unfortunately they have not improved my ability to focus a camera.

Here is the bracket installed, bolted to the trans and the frame tabs. I took it off and gave it a little zippely-zoot with a spray paint can, and it's done. I like semi-gloss (semi-flat? no, satin) black, it has a factory stock look, and again is also an understated industrial look I dig. It didn't show up well in the photo after being painted. I can now remove the motor and bolt the trans to this in preparation for the rest of the conversion.

This took about 2 hours total to make. Maybe less, but I did other things while I thought about the next step, and I was trying to take photos and plan this post as well. Fabrication is the part I really enjoy most anyway, so why rush through it just to be done?

Related- Tools

Tools. Man do I love tools. I love investing in tools, I love using good tools. I take care of my tools. I don't buy everything, but I have a decent amount. Some trick tools, too.

Ok, so sometimes my quest for tools, combined with my penchant for frugality, lets me down. I bought 2 big sets of 6-point, deep well, 1/2 inch drive, impact sockets at the tool tent at an auto swap meet. One SAE, one metric. For like $20 per set. Cheap. They have served me well for the limited amount that I use them. Until yesterday.

I was taking off the winter tires on my late-model daily driver. I have them on a set of dedicated rims, so I can swap them myself at home. For some reason, the lugs were especially tight. I mean really tight. No problem, I have tools! I had the 19mm impact socket on my 24" breaker bar (big time leverage) and I hunkered down for a big pull. I know for a fact that I can pull harder with that than my wimpy impact gun can, even on it's highest setting, with a full air tank.

I lifted up on the breaker bar, and the entire corner of the car threatened to lift off of the driveway. PING! One loose. Again. PING! Whew. Again. Hmmm. Seems to have slipped off or something. Oh rats, galled the corners of the lug nut over. Big time. That looks like, well, we'll go back to that one last. Another. Hmmm slipped off again. Oh no. Galled another one. Geez, I'm dripping sweat all over here, and I can't even get one wheel off. Alright, number five, and...what the hell is this? (Look down at the end of the socket) Holy...I ripped the entire side of the socket open. I mean I knew I was strong, but...that's supposed to be hardened. Who is THE MAN!? Oh, wait, that was that Chinese tool set. Crap.

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So I picked out the closest SAE size, and finally finished without any problems. Lots more sweating, though. No, seriously.

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Cheap tools are a gamble. I'm gambling a little money that they will work decently for a while, maybe longer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Although in retrospect, these sets might not have been even a justifiable deal. For example, the sockets go down to 3/8 inch hex. These are supposed to be impact sockets. Who would use an impact gun on a teeny-weeny 3/8" hex? That doesn't even make sense.

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I'll get a good quality socket to replace that one (only that one, because I'm frugal), and that will probably solve the problem. I don't use many metric tools.

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For brevity, I will shorten the story up as time goes on. "Well one time I sheared an impact socket clean off. Just gripped it in my hand, and gave a mighty twist. Made a CRACK like a gunshot...'course I was pretty strong then."