Projects 59 Apache - Lifelong obsession

Thanks NashRodMan!

 

Time for a long overdue update. I got my truck on the road at the end of May and had a great summer enjoying it at car shows and weekly cruise nights.

It was so awesome to experience this truck again with all the upgrades vs driving it in stock form. On my first drive, my muscle memory reached my hand out out for a manual gear shift that wasn't there anymore. All the upgrades accomplished the goal of a better ride and smooth cruising at highway speeds. With the overdrive and 3.23 rear gear I am running 1900 rpm at 70 MPH.

I decided that I didn't want a stained wood bed floor this time around, so I finished the box off with a simple sheet of good quality sanded plywood. I painted the bottom and covered the top with roll on box liner. I wanted to be able to throw my cooler and golf clubs in there without worrying about it. I finished the bed off by re-using the flat metal strips and stainless button head fasteners from the local bolt supply. I had to raise the bed floor 3 1/2" so I chopped up my original rear sill to fill the gap. I got rid of the tailgate chains and used spring pins to hold the tailgate shut, then installed a folding link kit for when the tailgate is opened. Lastly I installed a Craftech tonneau cover and a reproduction rear bumper to finish off the bed.





Looking at the forecast, It will be time to put it away for the winter soon. I have a few projects planned over the winter mostly focused on the interior, like sound deadening, new window seals, ect.

 

What a cool pickup! Sits just right and the overall look is great!

 

Thanks guthriesmith! Makes all the work worthwhile. I can't wipe the smile off my face ever time I take it for a drive.

 

Really looks good and sounds like a blast to drive

 

Thanks swade41!

 

Unlike previous winters where I had a long list of tasks to complete to achieve my goal of getting my truck back on the road, this winter I get to focus on small projects and refinements.

I am running an original 59 Impala steering wheel. Over it's lifetime it looks like it has been re-painted at least twice. Looks like it was originally a metallic blue, then teal, then red/orange. Since the orange paint was half chipped off I figured I couldn't hurt it to attempt to remove the remainder of it. To my surprise the teal paint underneath was actually in good shape and shiny. I was able to chip off the majority of the orange paint using a plastic scraper, followed by careful wet sanding with 600 grit. Then I waxed it and cleaned the horn trim ring with chrome polish. I'm extremely happy with this project as it only cost me time.


An added benefit is the wheel matches the original color of the truck, which is starting to show through the primer on the hood. I'm considering covering the primer with a satin clear to at least preserve it until I can get it painted sometime far into the future.

 

Nice, I wish someone sold a different center emblem for those, I hated to buy it for mine but it isn't like you can get away without one in there.

 

Looks great swade41!! The 59 Impala wheel looks perfect in these trucks.

 

I wish my truck looked as nice as this one does. I got a ton of small/med dents all over it. Itried banging them out but there's just too many. And I need to figure out what to do for my gas fill. Tank is under the bed but the fill tube comes up at a slight angle (I thought it was straight when I bought it online, ugh.). I'm thinking of some sort of trap door or one of those big Jaguar flip jobs to jut cover it.

 

Thanks for the compliment NashRodMan, but my truck is far from perfect even though it has come a long way. When I first got it every panel other than doors was dented and rusty. The farmer who owned it must have hit everything on the farm with it. The only things still original are the cab and hood. There was around 70 dents on the roof alone. Must have been trough a hailstorm at some point. The body man I bought it from fixed it with a stud gun welder and a slide hammer.

 

I ended up using a Cobra style flip up cap on mine but I was also considering a reproduction 60’s corvette fuel door. They are a little pricey but I think it would look really cool.