58 Chevy Apache on C10 frame.

[JalopyJake89]

Hello yall,

I'm new to customizing a vehicle, but am in love with the ideas and freedom, and even more in love with my 58' that i stole(not really. i have bill of sale and clean title. and i might have gotten screwed on the deal, but if my wife ever asks; I STOLE IT!) for $800.

when i picked it up i found that the frame was swiss cheese, and the steering set up in 1958 was very sketchy, so i decided spend all my money on a late model to swap the gorgeous body onto.

I went to my comp and spent endless minutes scouring all of the 2 Arkansas classified sites, and i found my donor....an 81 C10 with a shade of brown that could only be found in a taco bueno restroom. It sat proudly in what i assume was imported poison ivy, cuz iv never itched like that. The tires were upgraded to include a very flat spot to decrease the chance of mishap or roll-away whilst building my dream. The odometer said 56k, but the dirt/mud inside the odo cable lead me to believe it had been disconnected long before the head cracked...I love people. Once i got it to my house i tore it down to the frame and found it to be in great shape. the truck was completely rust free, and a great deal for the $600 i gave for it. i made my money back by selling the bed.

so far i have placed the cab on the frame which has more elevation changes than a bouce house, and have used pistons out of a blown 302 to mount to frame and firewall.
The rear of the cab is welded down using 2" tube steel.
I have prepared a tube to weld to the outside front of the frame which will have a piston rod that pivots on it allowing the front fenders and grill to tilt

Ideas:
The cab and fenders will have a heavy rake forward, but i like the look.
Because Of the raised engine mounts of the C10 and the rake I'll likely be cutting a big hole on the hood that the engine and stock copper radiator will protrude through.
Engine head from Polaris 800 as cup holder.
Air bags and C-notch to drag the ground
fuel cell will be mounted behind cab and covered by lumber to look like an old timey crate.

I'm new to this, and my mind is going crazy with ideas, but i dont know what will be "good" ideas. What do yall think about;

1) i cant decide between having the hood open regularly and the fenders being able to then flip forward, or having the hood and fenders flip forward together creating more rigidity.

2) Comfy plush bucket seats out of an old Volvo 940 by my shop, or get the bench seat out of the 81 reupholstered.

3) shorty oak flatbed with protruding rear tires, or put the boring bed back on.

more questions to come. feel free to curse and comment about the build.

Thanks for looking,
Jake

 

[Skip]

I copied my comment form your introduction thread, as it is a suggestion about your build. Then I expanded on the thought.
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You are off to a good start.

I've hacked up a couple of these trucks myself.

Piston cab mounts-- The look is fun. If they are attached correctly, I doubt that they will ever break. A rubber isolater between the piston top and the cab will help prevent vibration. Bolts through the rod and frame will make the safest installation. Can't tell exactly what you have from the pic. It looks like they are tack welded. Not a good method, as the rod will not take the weld well.

As for the overall look, it is your vision that counts the most.

Bed- I think the 58 Fleetside bed is a fine looking bed. If you want something shorter, you might consider shortening the bed. It's a bit of work, but done right it would look cool. I can think if several ways to do it.

Front fenders and hood-- I am having a hard time envisioning the mechanics of a regular moving hood, and a tilt front fenders. Seems the two would get in each other's way. But then again, they might squeak by each other OK. Try it. It would definitely be an eye catcher at a show.

 

[JalopyJake89]

Good idea, i have the 81's isolaters that will work great. I'm only spot welding everything for now, and having a more experienced friend with a much more qualified eye and welder do the final welds.

i could see that looking good. A shorter bed, with fleetsides, and oak floor...noted

It took a while to hatch the hood/fender idea, and alot of drinking about it, but my thoughts are; since the hood hinges are attached to the cab the hood would raise the same as normal. once the hood is in the air the taper will allow the fenders to tilt forward, passing on each tapered side, pivoting at the bottom of the grill/front of frame.

In theory, at least in my head, it will allow entrance to work on/see the engine from side and front.

once the fenders set back down onto the cab the hood will lower back onto the fenders and a pin will be inserted....maybe

this is why i came here, to hear which ideas are bad and learn from the veterans and experienced people.

 

[Skip]

On the front sheet metal, the big job will be the fender/grille tilting system. The hood is already in place. If the clearances can't be achieved, it is simple enough to attach the hood to the fenders and make it all tilt forward like most kids do. I say go for it. You will likely win, and it will for sure be different. At least a few people will be saying, "Why didn't I think if that?"

 

[JalopyJake89]

Got it all mocked up. Nothing welded yet. Making sure I like the rake. It looks kinda boring to me...

 

[phil cottingham]

Looks good and if you lets work on the motor in the house you better keeper for sure.

 

[Skip]

It looks pretty good from here, but I suspect lower is the target.

For sure, when you drop a few hundred pounds of engine and transmission under the hood, the front is going to come down some more.

From the first set of pics, it looks like if you sacrifice the piston cab mounts idea, you could get the cab a couple inches lower, also.

After that, it gets to be more work and/or more money. Channeling the cab down over the frame, or buying lowering springs or dropped spindles are more expensive options.

I'd start with sticking the engine and transmission in temporarily just to see where it will really sit, then go from there. And don't forget to move the truck around so the suspension can settle after the heavy parts are in.

 

[JalopyJake89]

Haha, I'll keeper if she'll let me

Ill keep that in mind, cuz i plan on lowering it a lot, but for now I just NEED to drive it.

Lots of wiring and mounting to do before I can claim any accomplishments.

 

[JalopyJake89]

I put the 81' seat in it, but it's so wide I can only shut 1 door at a time, which I wouldn't mind too much if the driver door was the one with the working latch...and the volvo seats are in really rough shape....so back to the drawing board for seats.

 

[Sam_Fear]

If you plan to lower it or air bag it, take all the springs out for your mock up. Just block it up to whatever you want your ride height to be. Bagging that will be fairly easy with that spring set up and the rest can be done fairly cheap if you go that way. You can get rake by adjusting your air. If you want it to drag frame.... that might take more effort and planning.

As for the tilt fenders, if you ever look at tilt fronts, they often split the fender behind the wheel-well because the lower section won't clear the wider upper part. That's something you'll have to deal with somehow.

I'm not seeing your bed side idea too well? You may want to post a thread asking for some photoshop help. Several guys on here are more than happy to do that for others.

 

[JalopyJake89]

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback. I'll mock something up for the bed and post it, but a lot to do before then

Your defiantly right about bagging it, and though I'm not sure of the severity of different setups iv found a full bag kit and a 4 link kit for a lot less than I expected, but am trying to learn as I go and I learn slow, so it's taking a while, haha.

The 58 cab steps extant down below the frame as is, and iv got it raised 3" front and 2"rear, so if anything drags it'll be the cab before the frame.

I was able to get the bench seat in by notching the top corners of the back rest which fit perfect. And it slides, tilts, and sits SUPER low, so I'm really happy with it. Possibly making a future chop an option.

I was able to use a mix between the 58 and 81 steering columns and it's looks like I should be able to use the top 81 mount under the dash, the 58 mount at the firewall in a new hole, and the 81 support bracket on the engine side of firewall.

The stock gas pedal is in great shape, so I'll be using it unless the th350 forces me to cut the cab up.

Waiting on guy to bring the Trans so that I can perminately mount everything and drive it....after a lot more work. I'll post a pic when rain stops

 

[christcrusader13]

I love your truck, that is one of my favorite body styles! You most definitely stole it. Good luck with your build. The guys here have great input to help move things in the right direction. I am thinking about bagging my 64 C-10 now....

 

[Sam_Fear]

You tricked me with those coils sitting on the rear leaf springs - I thought it had coils in the rear. You'll be in for some fab work then to get a 4 link in. Go with a triangulated 4 link if you use bags - it'll be more work, but the axle won't shift sideways through the arc.

As for bags, Slam Specialties are quality and worth the few extra dollars. Something else I learned, unless you plan on bouncing, 1/2" lines are WAY to big - I had to put 3/32" restrictors in to raise and lower smoothly.

Steering wheel: one of my pet peeves is to see a old vehicle with a big clunky plastic late model column and wheel in it. If you can keep the old column and wheel do it!

Chop: Cutting that windshield makes chopping that cab style all but impossible. ...or extremely expensive.

 

[skull]

seats

check prices at the local bone yard, sometimes they got some nice bucket seats for not much cash.

and swap meets always have a ton of seats,

then CL in the area,

good luck hunting,

Later