Projects 1959 Chevy 3600 Project

About 16 years ago, my dad acquired an old 1959 Chevy Apache from a widow. The glass was cracked, the engine and transmission were missing, but there was a lot of potential. At the time I was four or five years old. My dad would introduce me to mechanics soon after and I was hooked. I took a bit of time in my early teens to build and fix a few Ford Rangers. There were also some VW 1600cc engines I tore down, built, and ran them it'll the cylinders and rods welded together. Meanwhile, rust and decay were accumulating on this apache. Two years ago I begged my dad to begin working on the truck. Our compromise was if I could get the title in our name, we would begin working. After fighting the DMV for 9 months, there was a bonded title in the mailbox. I could finally start tearing the truck apart. School, on the other hand, said differently. I am a full-time mechanical engineering student and part-time intern so trying to spend time on the apache was a rarity. Both fortunately and unfortunately, this summer COVID shut down most of the internships in Vegas. Thus, I took summer classes and used the remaining free time for the Apache.


(The previous owner cut the back of the frame apart to shorten. I used a band saw to cut the frame square and found a frame from the 80s of the same dimensions. As of now, the truck sits at 204 inches from the front bumper to the end of the frame (stock was 203.79 but I'm an engineer ). These photos are from early summer.)

I began by building large shelves to throw the fenders and other large parts onto. I then found a 1982 SBC 350 (4 bolt main) somewhere in a friend's backyard. The same friend swapped my semi-blown TH700 for TH475 (TH400 HD) with the e-brake from a motorhome with 22K miles.

I tore the engine down to nothing, had it bored 0.30 over, and had the thing baked. It's sitting in the garage painted Chevy orange and smothered in 30W non-detergent oil. The original crank spun two rod bearings so I ordered some standard replacements from JEGs. I also had the crank turned 0.30 under.
The pistons and rods should be back from the shop within the weekend and I'll get the lower half of the motor put together. The cam is an RV/stage one cam from engine tech.

I'm going to keep the original cast 4 bb intake and Rochester carb for the time being and maybe swap out to fuel injection at a later date. I had to submerge the intake manifold in diluted vinegar and water for a week to loosen the rust. By the time it came out it was damn near new.

The oil pan is also cleaned and painted.


Recently, I bought a complete SBC350 (90 bucks on offer up!?) to install the engine and transmission mounts. Here it is test fitting last weekend to level the front of the frame.


Today, I got the engine within 1/16th of each side of the frame and also has a 4-degree declination at the output yoke. I finished the tack welds and drilled the transmission cross-member holes. My little lincoln electric welder can't penetrate as deeply as it needs to. My friend has a shop to finish up.



I should have known to take more pictures of the beginning of the build. For the rest of the build, I'll do my best to include pictures with each update.

 

I forgot to mention, I cut the old transmission cross-member out as well. I want to extend it out and make it bolt-in for more support in the area. It's not cut evenly but I'll address that when I start frame cleaning and work next week.

 

I grabbed a quick picture of the rear end after I cut it. The donor was laying on top.



Using my brothers and an engine hoist, I was able to lift the cab off the frame. The damn thing is heavier than I originally thought



I finished the day with a thorough power washing. There was so much caked-on transmission oil the point nozzle could barely breakthrough. That's with a 3600 psi power washer! Hopefully next week I'll have someone weld the engine mount onto the frame and the rear end as well. Unfortunately, my welder friend is out of town for the week in Utah



Then, to strip the axels and wire wheel the frame. I got a gallon of chassis saver and S8 reducer form magnetic paint already here for when I'm ready and prepped with the frame

 

Good luck with your project! That should make a nice truck. What are your plans for steering, suspension and brakes?

 

The steering is going to be left as is. At one time I thought about making it power steering but have since rescinded that thought. I like the idea of keeping the truck original with few modern upgrades.

The suspension will get the same treatment. I'm hoping to take the spring packs apart and sand the rust out of them to see if there is any pitting or further damage. I might toss in some Teflon strips in between the springs before I reassemble. After they're together I'll paint the sets black.

All the brake components will be replaced to factory specs except for the master cylinder. I'll go for a dual reservoir. I thought about putting disk or power brakes but I had the opportunity to drive a completely restored 1958 3800 with drums and loved that feeling. Disk conversions would be an ideal addition for the next rebuild in 10 years

 

Today, insomnia got the best of me, and instead of studying, I focused on getting the frame cleaned up and ready for chassis saver. I know I won't get all the rust off and from the nooks and crannies so it seemed like the best option for a do-it-at-home paint. I will be brushing it on with S8 reducer. The tubed cross members will probably get some rattle can bed liner on the inside.

The front cross member had a terribly welded plate with awkwardly cut holes in it. I filled them in and fixed the surrounding welds as best as possible.



I straightened and tack welded the rear doner. A mobile welder came by and put in the engine cross member and the rear end.



Afterward, I made some stands that I can mount the frame to so I can pivot and rotate it in the air to clean it. Power washing got a lot of grease off but a wire wheel on an angle grinder does serious work!

 

do you know Travis?

 

Unfortunately, I don't... Yet!

 

Great working day! I finished the welding frame rotating frame stands and installed them. I used a transmission jack to stabilize and take some weight off the frame mounts while turned sideways (the rear mount has a bolt that stops the pivoting as well). I also took off the front and rear axles by yanking the leaf spring bolts out. All the shackles are clean but the pivot bolts for the back half of the front leaves are shot. Badly. I spun the frame a bit and power washed with the point needle to get the old leaf spring hanger grease off. I did the same to the gearbox area. I ran out of gas so I had to stop for the day.

 

Between juggling two finals, I've been too busy with school. Fortunately, last weekend I finished power washing the frame. That old grease ain't no joke to get off. In the process, most of the paint came off as well. A steel wire brush on an angle grinder scuffed the frame nicely and removed the flaky, loose rust.

Today, I woke up early wiped the frame with a degreaser, and laid the first coat of chassis saver. I used the brush method first just to try and see its patterning. Chasis saver levels off quite nicely but globs are punished with tiny bubbles. The second coat was also with a brush a few hours later. It leveled off much better but ultimately didn't satisfy my perfectionist needs.


(After I sprayed the CS)

My harbor freight HVLP spray gun was yanked from retirement. Now that laid exceptionally well. Here are the final results!



The back end needs extra work and with the elevated mount being welded I won't be adding chassis saver till after it's removed.


For anyone wondering, I used chassis saver for two reasons. Firstmost, I love trying different products and testing them out. It lets me see what works and what companies to stay away from. Secondly, this truck will be my daily driver. It will be with me when I'm in the mountains hunting or at the lake fishing. If the bottom gets chipped or flakes off, I want a simple and effective way to correct the issue.
I could've had it wat particle blasted and then I paint it, but I've already done that

 

Spent yesterday and today completing the short block of the SBC 350. The only two hiccups I had were reversed labeled mains and the oil pump. The mains were stamped in ascending order on the block, but I reversed the order when installing. I found the issue immediately after the second main wouldn't spin with 10 ft of torque. Thankfully I found it before getting too far. There was no damage. The oil stump to the oil pump was tedious. There isn't any way I was gonna pay 30 bucks for the installation tool. I used a 16mm and love tapped it into place. I finished with a neat lil weld as recommended by melling. Otherwise, this build was simple.

For a quick rundown: all the bearings got Lucas assembly lube. The inside was brushed with Amsoil break-in 5W-30 oil. I soaked the pistons in 5W-30 before installing them. I finished by mixing Amsoil with Marvels Mystery Oil and poured it down each cylinder.



Tomorrow, I'll begin tearing the heads and front axel apart.

 

I got through cleaning one head today. A good diesel soak overnight softened any old oil/gas. Carb cleaner destroyed any hard to reach buildup. The valve seats needed a soft polish and grind but were otherwise in great condition. I used 1000 grit sandpaper and a flat board and lightly sanded the mating surface smooth.



I got these double hump heads from my pop who didn't find any good use for them. It beats the hell out of the original rusty ones!

I also stripped the hubs and brakes from the front axle. It's been getting too hot outside for me to continue doing lots of work.


I should sandblast the suspension shackles, pitman arm, steering arms, and u-bolts by the end of tonight

 

Nice progress!

You might consider a new tie rod, the new ones they sell now are thicker than originals. The original tie rod ends can be refurbished. If you decide to upgrade to modern tie rod ends it takes a little work but not hard.

 

I was still debating if I wanted new ends and/or inserts or go ahead with modern tie rods. I'm leaning to the modern set. Where do I find them? I think I can reuse the bar (after it takes a trip to the tube bender)

 

I got my tie rod from performance online, the ends from CCP or LMC truck.

You have to remove the ball ends from the steering arms and the new ends slip in. I did it by finding center, slowly drilling and then when it was weakened I pounded them out. I have a thread going where there is some detail on the operation (Page 1).

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ck-suspension-axle-and-brake-project.1131871/

I get into detail so the next guys doesn’t have to make the mistakes I made already.
There is an article on the hot rod magazine site somewhere. This is a great video on YouTube by Brothers Truck that I found after the fact:

 

One more note I don’t remember the assembled measurement but it is in my thread. Since your tie rod is bent you won’t be able to use it as a pattern for the new one.

 

Before I began my build I read through that page! I loved the work for the disc conversion. That'll be something for years down the road.

I've been watching Brothers since I decided to rebuild my front end

You can kinda see that the ball ends weren't pressed in. I'm not certain if its because its a 3600 but the steering arms had a castle nut on top. They're still in the tie rod ends.

 

I hope that thread helped a little I was petrified to gut the front suspension but it went back together.

Yeah brothers videos come in pretty handy!

That’s great just need to unscrew them and pop them out.

 

First head complete!


Then, I realized I made a dummy mistake. I didn't notice that there were valve spring spacers under the first head (I thought I was looking at the top of the valve work the whole time). I only realized this after taking apart the second head and found 3 fallen apart. WHOOPS! Gonna take the first head apart again and remove the spacers. But that'll be after the second is complete.


Also, the valves have been worked on once before. The first head had these PTFE seals while the second had umbrella seals. I opted to make all PTFE. But I can see why umbrellas were used considering I broke or warped 4 PFTE seals on the between both heads.

 

Those look like shims to get the installed height of the springs correct for seat and open pressure the springs are built for. Now if using new/different springs an inexpensive tool can be used to correct installed height.

Looks like the price has gone up since I bought one.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...ZjURZ2DfaS9iZyiiiEmPt8z6ItAiPAvEaAtq0EALw_wcB

 

I believe you are right. Originally I believed they were booster shims. But I checked around and saw that these were for seating.
I measured the shims and they were 0.80 x 1.25 x 0.30. I verified all the springs had the same 0.30. I'll hold off on finishing the heads until these shims come in.

 

Are they used springs? I think you said your dad gave you the heads, were they fresh, or?

 

You’ll like the RV cam if you’re building it as a cruiser. I used an Edelbrock RV cam in my ‘58, it’s well mannered with strong vacuum and good torque down low where you need it. Good luck with your build...

 

I called on pops but he doesn't remember but I believe they're relatively fresh.
When I look at V.S.I. 203 from cylinder supply, there's the A203 and B203. In the finer writing, A203 is cooper in color for standard serviceable springs. B203 is silver in color for new springs.
Based on that I believe I have newer springs.

The cam I got is a stage 1 cam from engine tech. Love their rebuild kits and never had an issue with them. It has 420/443 lift, 204/214 duration, and 112-degree separation. I want to make it a cruiser but still be able to pull out a small fishing boat or a set of 4-wheelers.

 

Finished sandblasting all the shackles, u-bolts, steering arms, and the shock mounts. Some of the old paint was disgustingly hard to remove

The front leaves are new from LMC Truck. They had their own protective coating but were a light grey. Laid a single coat of Chasis Saver on all the parts. I didn't want to put several layers of paint on this stuff. Just enough to keep the rust away.
The caster shims and the pulley will get black spray paint which is much thinner and glossy.

 

Damn kingpin was the hardest thing to get off this truck thus far. Took a map gas torch to it, it laughed. 20 oz carpenters hammer and brass rod, it scoffed. Oxygen and acetylene torch, loosened up lightly. Frustrated, sweaty I thought to call it a day until someone could press them out. Just then, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor came on the radio. In that time frame, I used a 3 lb sled and useless sockets and handled the pins out. God I love Rockey.

Complete murder scene. Weapon as well.


A thorough power washing got any remaining hardened grease off. Quick bead blast cleaned up the knuckles nicely. I didn't pull the brass bushings yet. I'm letting the knuckles soak in Purple Power until the grease inside softens. Then I'll pop them out. The front axel is ready for paint.

 

Finally able to get back to work after my first week of class. I also had to wait for my spring spacers and valve stem seals to arrive from Comp Cams during the week. Needless to say today I finished both heads. I also cleaned up the 1.5 steel stamped rocker arms and tossed them loosely on the studs. I might get roller self-aligning ones before installation but that's a bit down the road.



I also laid the first few coats of CS on the front axle and spindles. I have noticed that CS does not like the sun: it fades in a few weeks. Hence, I need to get the frame a nice long tarp and wrap it soon.


I went to dad's place and found the emblems he got from a swap meet some years ago. There seems to be a slight issue, however. The 3/4 ton is the 3600 = 36. Anyone looking to trade?


Just a peek at the tie rod being straightened. I got the bow taken out but I don't like the smaller peaks remaining. That's next weekend's work!

 

I think I have a set of 3600 emblems. I'm at work till 11, but will check tomorrow for you.

 

Just being really technical the emblems on the right are wrong for ‘59. They are for a ‘58, only the one on the left is correct for ‘59. These are the ‘59 emblems:


^not my truck.

If you really want to start spending cash this one came with v8’s. Luckily I found mine before these trucks started going crazy price wise.

^not mine either

 

I knew the emblems weren't right for the year. When my dad got them, he thought he had a 1958 Chevy 3100. When I worked on the title we found out that his information was wrong. The leftmost is the correct hood emblem though