Perfect Donor Car?

[longhaul]

Wasn't sure where to post this question, so here will do .

I see that S10 rearends come highly recommended for a build. Front end from another model I believe... is there a perfect donor car that multiple pieces can come from?

I recently saw a S10 local the guy was looking for $700 obo before he sold it for scrap. It still ran, the thing was just falling apart. I guess what I was wondering was how much could actually be used from it? I figured at the minimum I might have spare steel, rear end, tires & rims for roller, brakes. Could pull out the engine/trans and sell, part out other junk.

Anything I am missing on what could be used?
Is there a better donor model out there? Just for note, I will be trying to do most of my build without "new" parts. I expect my first T to be rough. Not quite rat rod, but definitely not the beasts that some of you are driving! That will be T #2. Or rebuild of #1.

 

[oino]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, But if you want to go all ford. That would be the easiest.
You could just find a running ford with a 9" rear or maverick rear. Then you have the engine, tran, and rearend.
You could always find parts at upull it.
upullitomaha.com

I'm not a ford guy. I like the Chevy engine better.

 

[bentbaggerlen]

All ford... Mustang 5.0 The 8.8 is more then up to the job of moving a bucket around, tons of parts for a 5.0 out there, They built plenty of them and they are pretty cheap. You could take the entire drivetrain from the Mustang if you just have to have a V-8
Or Thunder bird... Just missed a running driving turbo coupe with 38,000 miles for $400, mice had gotten in and you needed a hazmat suit to go near the car it was pretty nasty. But that drive train would have dropped right into my coupe...

I guess perfect is all in what you're looking to build

 

[Screaming Metal]

Well guys, to each their own. I've one of the ones thats always had to do something with nothing. Thats the way I was brought up, thats the way some people want you to do business with them.
Best Choice for a donor car is getting a car that has as many of the main parts you can utilize. That being the motor, the trans, the rear, starter, radiator, some springs like 1/4 ellips., or the coils utilizes in Youngsters Plans.
Regardless of what you choose, you will have to visit the boneyard here and there.

While the Camero's usually net most everything, though the rears are usually too wide, unless you run custom offsets on your rear rims. A 10 bolt is plenty for a bucket and for those that like hammering the throttle, the 12 bolt is great. Mavericks and S-10's are better in some cases. Mavericks are pretty well gone, but they cam with the small V8s, c4 and c6's, with a good rear. But Mustangs do nicely.
Its best to get all the parts you will need before starting fabrication.

After you build or buy your frame, its best to have your body. If your the gung-ho fab anything type like me, I start tacking the brackets, tack the rad. mounts and block the motor and trans up between the frame rails before adding the body. You have to have room for the distributors at the rear of the motors. If you motor is set too far back, you'll have clearence issues. This is especially true if your gonna be blown. Gotta have room for the blower drive, etc.

Longer motors such as the I6's and such....you have to be careful. On a new frame, get ahead of yourself, if you weld all your mounts, be sure that you made room for the clearence that the rear of the motor, when you mount your body.

Since your new, and you've asked the question, let me also add, there's a half dozen diff. ways to mount your body. My suggestion is that you put at least 6 bolts thru your body, directly thru your frame. But do this however you want, its your rod. I've seen a pic here at the site where theres a wrecked bucket in the middle of a intersection, and the body is 1/2 way off the car.
You can't survive in one of these little cars if it can't take a pretty solid lick. I have a roll bar in mine. it helps anchor things. Also, if one of these little car flips, folks will be in a world of hurt.
I have a Gazelle kit car with a 265 chevy V8 in it....I had to put a rollbar in that thing too. For safety.

 

[RPM]

The best donor car I can think of would be a 76 4 door Nova. All rusted out, but with engine, trans and rear end that can be used along with all the front disc brakes. Most were 350-350 combos. The 4 door cars are really cheap and then scrap the rest.

 

[Screaming Metal]

The Mavericks you'll find usually have the 289/302's maybe even a 351. A great doner is one of the V-8 S-10's that one of the kids have built. find one wrecked, grab all the drivetrain out of it. Brake lines,starters, brake switches, wire, screws, stuff like that start adding up. Use as much of the car as you can. Once things are fitted up, located, welded down, wire it up roughly, run the thing with the old manifolds and old tires to make sure it'll go down the road first an in a straight line. Make sure the thing will stop, start, has lights.

Get all your basics done, then blow it apart for the paint, chrome and the prettys....

 

[Screaming Metal]

What Ron Said!

 

[longhaul]

I appreciate all the responses. I am defintely on board with there is no one right way. Although I have tinkered with mechanics and I'm better than aaverage on electronics, I have never got into cars deep enough to know what different models contain as far as interworking parts. That would be why I wouldn't mind finding a donor with the majority of parts.

However, that said, I have my heart set on a sb350. I have wanted a 350 since I was a teenager, and now its time to fulfill a dream. I realize (or think) this means I am going with a chevy rear end. I am left hanging about the front end. I can always ditch this idea of a donor car too, and just go junkyard'n if it easier to just get whats needed.

The best thing about this whole thing is that I am learning again about a topic I'm interested in. I have found thats when I am happiest in life.

 

[blyndgesser]

Your front end probably won't come from a donor car.

 

[EX JUNK]

Your front end probably won't come from a donor car.

At least not if you want a good looking ride. Either a dropped tube or a dropped I beam are the only way to go in a "conventional" bucket. IMHO

Jim

 

[longhaul]

Ok, the comment on the front end clears up a good bit. So a good chevy donor from the engine back is a winner. I will keep my eye out locally and see what comes up. Also, just so everyone knows, my first purchase will be the body. I like the idea of mocking up on wood from there... so no rush to find the other parts yet. Hopefully I will get a good deal.

 

[Screaming Metal]

Yes, do the front end the correct way! Speedway, Ron are the 2 I would suggest, but there's always the econoline axle from a van, Pete and Jakes, and hundreds of others. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone better than Ron @ RPM....or if your close to Home Mt. Ark., go to Spirit....

I saw one at one of the Nationals this year....I walked up and saw this thing that had coils on the front....damn it was done ugly....

 

[2old2fast]

Chev. rears '65 or newer have a back cover & need to be serviced "in- car". To change the gear ratio or to work on , the 8" & 9" fords are popular & parts are cheap plus you can swap out center sections [pumpkin]. Don't worry about mating to a chev trans ., you're going to have to make driveshaft anyway .

dave

 

[wsdad2]

Ok, the comment on the front end clears up a good bit. So a good chevy donor from the engine back is a winner.

It's easy to use any brand rear end with any brand engine/transmission. You're not stuck with a Chevy rear just because you're using a Chevy transmission. All you have to do is modify the driveshaft. Since you'll have to cut the driveshaft shorter anyway for it to fit in a T-Bucket, you simply weld a Ford yoke back on instead of the original Chevy yoke (or whatever brand you've chosen).

 

[Jeremy P]

As mentioned before you can run any rear end, trans combo you want. It just requires a custom drive shaft which you will need anyway. The Ford 8.8 can also be found under the Ford rangers and the explorers. the ranger rear end has smaller axle shafts and is a weaker axle. The explorer axle is stronger with larger axle shafts and if I remember correctly the 1997 to 20?? will have disk brakes with a e-brake from the factory. I think they are right around 60 inches wide and will have a 4 on 5.5 bolt pattern. Some of them also came from the factory with a limited slip. The explorer axles are a very popular swap into jeeps in the rock crawling world. The aftermarket world has just about everything for the Ford 8.8 axle. There is a one drawback the the 8.8 and that's that the pinion is offset. Which can be a problem in a bucket with a really short drive shaft.

 

[RPM]

The Explorer rear end is OK in some applications. The pinion is offset about 2". If you are building a short wheelbase car it will not work, unless you shorten the long side axle tube. Some of these cars with short wheelbases, the driveshaft is only 7" long. With a 2" offset on the pinion it just won't work.

 

[Jeremy P]

The Explorer rear end is OK in some applications. The pinion is offset about 2". If you are building a short wheelbase car it will not work, unless you shorten the long side axle tube. Some of these cars with short wheelbases, the driveshaft is only 7" long. With a 2" offset on the pinion it just won't work.

You are correct, being offset that far and a short drive shaft it probably wont work. I couldn't remember how far offset the pinion is. Not even enough length to run a CV in the drive shaft. It's been about 10 years since I did any serious research on the 8.8 out of the explorer. I'm guessing the mustang isn't offset?

 

[Zandoz]

The Explorer rear end is OK in some applications. The pinion is offset about 2". If you are building a short wheelbase car it will not work, unless you shorten the long side axle tube. Some of these cars with short wheelbases, the driveshaft is only 7" long. With a 2" offset on the pinion it just won't work.

What do you think would be the minimum length driveshaft to make an Explorer rear end viable?

 

[Screaming Metal]

Just build it, and where the trans ends and where the rear begins is the Main Question. Make the driveshaft whatever length it needs to be. But what Ron is saying is that the 7" driveshaft with a 2" offset, well, thats a little too much offset. Shorten that side, get it centered and then make your driveshaft....

 

[Zandoz]

Just build it, and where the trans ends and where the rear begins is the Main Question. Make the driveshaft whatever length it needs to be. But what Ron is saying is that the 7" driveshaft with a 2" offset, well, thats a little too much offset. Shorten that side, get it centered and then make your driveshaft....

As the plans stand right now the driveshaft would be around 14"....but I have no clue if that's long enough for the offset not to be an issue. As far as shortening one side goes (or more likely in my case going to a longer tube and axle on the short side), I know it can be done, but I'm even more clueless on doing that or knowing someplace that could do it without blowing my budget.