Hello from Arkansas. 58 Apache project

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JalopyJake89

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2017
Messages
11
Location
Holly Springs, AR
Hello all, My name is Jake, 28, and I'm from south Arkansas.

I have moderately restored a few older vehicles(64 El Camino, 78 Camaro, 76 CJ5), but have gotten the itch for learning about performance and custom classics in the last couple years.

A couple months ago i found a 58' Chevy Apache Fleetside in the woods behind my grandfathers trusty shade tree mechanic's house. At the time i was just helping him out cuz he has always been great to us. After a quick inspection i was in love with it, and got it for $800. upon loading it i found that the front end was lock rusted in place, and the frame looked like swiss cheese, but that made no difference to me. it would be my new obsession

This truck had a Cali Title from 86', and according to the casting numbers a 4 speed granny low Muncie out of a 67, behind a 70-ish 292 straight 6, which had no compression once i broke the engine over with lube in cyls and a breaker bar. I was told the truck was used for racing and it would "blow the 8 cylinders of it's time off the track!", however i had no intention of rebuilding an old 6cyl, much less fooling with an unsynchronized granny tranny(no offense to fans of either). I ended up getting 700 for the two which bought a sbc and some upgrades to it(engine section to follow). I removed the body from an 81' GMC C1500 i had sitting round and will be using it's chassis, because the 58 frame is shot and the power steering and brakes seem pleasant. I can replace the rusted through floor slowly and the cab corners as i go, but not now.

My initial plan was to tear it completely down and restore it, but after doing some searching i realized it would be less expensive, and likely more reliable to just buy a restored 58 if thats what i wanted, so i let it sit outside my window for a month. I would drink my morning coffee while staring at it, and my evening beer after work while sitting in the cab. It slowly started to take shape. I saw a heavy rake in the cab and fenders so a V8 can be seen protruding through a massive hole in the hood, valve covers and all with the original copper radiator slightly polished in front catching bugs, a treated pine flat bed on the rear with the original fleetside bedsides on each side of the fuel cell and tapering away before the rear tire, dropped to the ground...airbags...yeah...., the Polaris 800 cylinder head as a cup holder, stock cam as a shifter on an auto trans so my wife can enjoy it also, the pistons out of a blown 302 as cab mounts, ooooo! hood opens normally, but the fenders also tilt forward on pistons pivoting at the bearing on a horizontal pole to each side of the frame, the seats out of a Volvo 940 that i bought to fix my dad's and uncles cars, any many more ideas if they can be called that.

My questions is to yall, because this is my first time doing anything completely custom; will i be hated for doing this to a 58'?

I dont mind what people think of me on average or when im out somewhere, but i have always been drawn to and would like this to offer brotherhood and good conversation with other auto enthusiasts instead of breeding and drawing hatred. will i be allowed to park this old rusty truck at an event or will i have to park in the lot with the mini vans and prius'?

Im trying to post pics but getting errors, ill try again in a bit

Thanks in advance for any ideas or feedback,
Jake

Engine thus far(built by googling). Feel free to curse or comment, however this was gotten mostly through trade, and on tight budget.

69-79 350-.30 over
summit forged pistons
Elgin 284 @ .48 cam
1.5 full roller rockers
Elgin Hyd Flat Tappets
Goodwrench 642 Iron Heads 74cc chamber/ 2.02 intake/1.64 Exhaust
Summit Crank
Comp Cams timing set
Edelbrock dual plane EPS Intake
Holley 600 Classic manual choke
Summit hi-flo water and oil pump
Summit Muscle series fuel pump
Comp Cams Stock Push Rods
Summit HEI distriburtor/8mm Napa Wires

TH350 Trans out of a chevy 3500 van
 

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Welcome to UDS from Ky!. Looks like a good start on your truck. Build it any way you want, you won't get any hate from anyone on here. it's your truck, build it to suit you! The only time you will get any bad feedback on here is if something doesn't look safe.
 
Welcome to the site from the GWN. You must be either single or have a very understanding wife to be rebuilding your motor in the living room.:cool:
 
Haha DozerII, she wasnt too happy when she got home, but notice the catch tub, towels, and urgency.

Sleeping on the couch gave me plenty of time to check all the torques and admire the motor. It's now complete and sitting on the front porch so i can look at it from the my comfy couch. =)
 
Welcome to the site, JJ. Great bunch of guys here.

Start a build thread. Keep the pictures coming. You are off to a good start. :D

As for the piston cab mounts. If they are attached correctly, I doubt that they will break. A rubber isolater between the piston and the cab will prevent vibration. Bolts through the rod and frame will make the safest installation. Can't tell exactly what you have from the pic.

PS-- You are a funny guy. I like your storytelling style.
 
Awesome. thanks for the replies, guys. Thats what i needed to hear. ill move it over to the build threads and keep the pics frequent and questions abundant.

Tonight's plan, kids and boss lady allowing, is to mount the cab completely and reinforce with 2" tubing, finish the front fender mounts, and drink about the next step.
 
I like to see low budget projects with lots of improvising and originality. So does the public when you take this out to cruises and shows. You can see the gears turning in their heads as they think "this didn't cost that much, i could do something like this" Welcome to the board JJ. I'll be watching [P
 
I have some food for thought for you, JJ.
I've thought this might work but have not tried it yet so might be blowing smoke. If you want your front fenders to flip frontwards but they hit the hood, maybe make a six inch slide for the hinges so they pull ahead when you first pull the top of the fenders, and then the assembly starts to flip, giving you quite a bit more clearance from the raised hood. Also, some vehicles start to get narrower down at the back of the fender bottoms, so if you just flip the fenders from the original position the narrower part has to go straight up for a while, scraping over the widest part of the body. But if you pull them ahead first you might not scar up your truck. You also might have to mount your bumper to the hinges so it flips down out of the way of the fenders and grille.

If you're thinking of modifying your box wildly, maybe Photo-Shop some of your ideas first to see if they look OK or not.

Good Luck.
 
Welcome to Undead Sleds!!! I gotta read back through your ideas on the truck, but I gotta say, this is an awesome picture!
attachment.php


Might even need to do a caption contest for it?
 
Friend of mine built one of these trucks recently. Put it on a 80's C10 frame, said everything almost bolted up in the factory holes. He even used the 80's stepside bed, seems like he had to shorten it about 3" in the front to line up the wheelwells. He put a big block 427 out of a wrecked fire truck in it, it's a hoss! The truck he started with was a one owner, less than a 1/4 mile from my house. I had tried to buy it a few times, original owners son wouldn't sell, it sat under a shed for 30 years at least. Only rust was in the bed and rear fenders from hauling fertilizer when they farmed. Owner ran into my friend at the parts store one day and asked him if he wanted it. He had seen another one that he had done, a 69 on a 80's 4x4 frame, and liked it. They are about the same age, early 70's, so I didn't feel too bad about not getting it, guess he didn't want a kid of 58 like me to screw it up!:D
 

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