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 cl***ics 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 ***le 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 ******(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 ch***is, 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 where a V8 can be seen protruding through a m***ive hole in the hood, showing 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 tires. The rusty bumpers dropped to the ground...airbags...yeah.... my old 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. A plush set of seats out of something comfy, 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'? 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. completely black except chrome aircleame 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 Cl***ic 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 Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You can build it however you want. But it sounds like your plans might not fit what this forum is about, which is traditional hot rods and customs. I left my 59 fleetside mostly original looking, and it's on the original frame with original suspension and brakes...but a bigger motor and auto trans and stronger rear end. It kind of fits what this place is about. there are some pics of it (and it's history) on my fabulous web page.
Might want to check how the front tires fit under the fenders, before you get too far (the later trucks are a bit wider than the early ones)
The rat rod philosophy will get your threads closed, if that's the way you're going. Listen to squirrel. Here's mine, clipped, almost done. Read the rules, and best of luck with the old girl.
Yeah,..let's see it with the front sheetmetal bolted on,..that'll tell you if it's gonna work, then set the bed on as well to see how the rear wheels fit the fenders...first things first.
I currently have a 59' Apache on a 91' C1500 frame. First off, if your truck was an 81', then it would be a square body C10. The C1500 is the 88 and later, narrower truck. The original track width for your Apache would be about 60". The C10 front track width is is about 66" which pushes the tires out 3" per side. The rear track is much closer at 63" which is only 1.5" per side. You will be stuck either making the truck high to clear the fenders or running FWD style rims. Unless you are building a lifted 4x4, this is not a good frame to use. The later C1500 frame is actually a much better fit. The track is 63" front and back, which only pushes the wheels out 1.5" per side. I am running 15x6 rims and my truck is not super low, so it looks like I have clearance. My cab is 3" above the frame on my truck as that is low as I can go without chopping the floor, the steering column needing some funky joints, and clearance around the steering box and radiator.
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