Projects 1958 apache heirloom build thread

Welcome to my first build thread!
I've been tinkering with this truck about a year and a half so I'll start at the beginning.
This truck was bought new by a tractor dealership in Salem Oregon for use as a shop truck, service truck. They had built a custom wood shell for the back to tote all the tool in. I do have it, but have no real use for it. I'll keep it anyway.
When the service manager retired in about 1971 he bought the truck and used it as his hobby farm truck. About 1975 he and by dad sourced a junkyard 283, freshened it up and put it in place of the tired inline. They were neighbors.
1976, I'm born.... Then around 1981 I start spending tons of time at the neighbors place. Many of my fondest memories were getting feed, and hay in the old truck. He was my my 4-h leader, so we went to meetings, county fair. Stuff like that.
Now to the point. Joe p***ed away 1999, and I've been trying to buy the truck ever since. It's been hiding in the barn since he died. Fast forward to august 2013, I get a call from the family. "Still want that old truck?" Hell yes I do.

 

I basically bought it sight unseen, this is the is a shot of the truck as found in the garage after a 14 year slumber. My dad out a battery in it, added some fresh gas and drove it out.

 

The next day my dad sent me this picture whike waiting on the transport truck to bring it from silverton Oregon to it's new home in Carson city NV.
I was planning to trailer it myselfe but I scored a deal with a friend that was having a car shipped the following week from about 10 miles from my parents house. $300 to my door. Sweet deal! This is my truck and Dave's fairlain when it arrived on the truck.

The truck started right up in the transporter. I limped it the block down the street to my shop where the whole fuel system gummed up and the fuel lines rotted in front of my door.
New fuel pump, sending unit, filters, hoses, and carb rebuild and I was on the road.

 

Cool! What is the plan for it?

 

Cool story! I've had a few of the Task Force generation trucks, they're great.

Devin

 

Around October last year the cam in the 283 went flat. So I pulled the heads off. Turns out the heads were freshened with hardened seats and machined for PC seals, score!!
I stabbed in a summit brand K1102 kit with an edelbrock intake, new valve springs, timing chain, an hei and a kitted Q-jet. Wow what a difference.
I drove it a few times a week untill
About march when things started feeling weak. It was eating a quart of oil about every 80 miles. I'd warm it up in the driveway for a couple min, and it looked like check and chong it smoked so bad. Oil puking from every gasket. A compression check revealed 55 psi on 7 cylinders and 0 on one hole.
It had 35 lbs oil pressure at idle though.
I posted the bad news on Facebook that afternoon. The next day I get a text from an old friend "call me, heard you need a motor"
I call him back, he says I've got a fresh 350 we put together a couple years ago. Don't need it. $700 and it's yours. I mulled it over for a day or so. Called him back. "I don have that much cash right now" he said
Give me $100 down and come get it... Oh and you gotta take the fresh 700r4 bolted to it too... Wait... What? Hell yah!!!

 

I put the motor on the stand to see what I just bought. 1973 truck motor, 4 bolt mains, .030 over flat top speed pros. 10.25 compression, comp 268xe cam, double roller timing chain, weiand intake and a serpentine system.
The belt drive for the most part went in the s**** pile and got replaced with an 80's tbi single flat belt setup.
It uses the alternator to tension the 5 rib flat belt. I like the looks of it better than that monstrosity it had on it with the spring loaded tensioner.
I had a few freinds over to get the thing stuffed in last weekend. We got it running and it's an absolute beast. Today's project is to get the electric fan wired up and the exhaust leaks sorted out.
Thanks to everyone for reading.
When I have time I'll share some cool story's about the old truck.
Tim

 

Tim, kool story .Now drive the wheels off of it.!Bruce.

 

I remember sitting in the p***anger seat when I was 9 years old. He told me "I will NEVER sell this truck, my family will NEVER sell this truck. I've wanted it ever since. I have kept it the same as the day he died. Right down to his gl***es hanging from the visor.

 

Heeeyyyyyy you never told me it was a big window apache. How cool is that.

I'll have to watch you for sure now.

 

Cool! Subscribed!

 

Late Saturday I was able to get the fresh motor running. My fan shroud wouldn't fit with the late model (70's) clutch fan. I ended up going with a single electric puller untill I can sort out a mechanical one that will work. I used a thermal switch from BeCool. Nice setup. All the wires are labeled every few inches. I'm sure the wires are long enough to mount it on the back of the cab.
I'm having some HEI clearance issues. The plug wires are jammed against the firewall limiting my timing adjustment.
I'm still running the front biscuit motor mounts, so I think after work tonight I'll machine some spacers to shorten the mounts by a half inch. That should tilt the nose down enough to clear the firewall. I'm limited how much I can go because the crank pulley is only about 1 inch off the crossmember. I was able to drive it to work this morning but had to pull over to put the plug wires back on after the firewall rubbed them off.

 

As you can see the distributor it jammed solid against the firewall severely limiting my ability to adjust the timing. Occasionly the friction will knock a plug wire loose.

My plan is to machine some bushings to effectively shorten the height of the front motor mounts.
Currently the mounts measure 2 7/16 between the cups. I'm making some bushings 2" long threaded all the way through. Im thinking of using 3/8 all thread with lock-tight on each end then nylock nuts. Unless I can find some 8" long bolts. I'll just have to see what the hardware store has.

 

Sweet truck! You don't see gold often. Good luck on your build!

 

The original color was turquoise. It was repainted somewhere around 1975. Whoever did it slathered the bondo pretty thick. Smoothed in the fender gaps, in some places.

 

Cool pickup! I was born and raised in Gardnerville and Lake Tahoe, great place to build a truck!

 

Careful with the all thread, it's about grade 0. Take the time to find the right length quality bolt.

Great looking truck, the gold just looks right. Good score on the replacement engine.

 

Indyjps, I was thinking all thread because I'm worried about it backing off. The bolt will p*** through a rubber bushing that will vibrate around. I hadn't thought about the poor grade of the all thread. Any other ideas? Maybe get a long bolt, cut the threads off then lock tight it into the spacer then a nylock?
Maybe I'm just being stupid and should use a grade 8 flange bolt, then blue lock tight the thing in. Blue will be removable at a later date when needed.

 

Today's update.
The truck runs like a monster but I have a ton of details to work out before being able to drive it on a regular basis. The quadrajet is having issues, the Chinese HEI has way too much advance and my plug wire routing is all kinds of funky till I have time to make a set.
I absolutely detest the chrome valve covers and t-handles. Once I get the bigger stuff handled I've got my eye on the edelbrock black wrinkle finish finned covers with the polished ribs, then the air cleaner to match.
This is what I had in mind. I like the subtle look of them. Looks clean and tidy without being gaudy or flashy.

 

LOL you could just go with a smaller diameter distributer.

Sorry I just had to throw that out there.

 

X2

I have a points distro on my 283 and I have a good inch or two behind it. I thought mine was tight before I saw yours.

 

After dealing with constantly fiddling with points in my vw I've swore off them permenatly. Same with manual chokes. I think one summer I had to leave work to rescue my stranded wife 3 times from screwed up points. Threw them in the trash and replaced it with electronic. Never had an issue again. Truthfully it's about the same amount of work to make more space for the distributor as it is to replace it. So I'll keep what I've got and make my modifications accordingly.
Although I like tradional, a
Manual choke, points ignition and generator have no place on my truck. Straight in the s**** pile, right next to the chrome.

 

There is a work around for every problem.

On my last C-10 once we had the engine bolted in place we determined that the divot in the firewall wasn't big enough to clear my rocker covers. Out work around was to dimple the firewall. No ball peen work it was take a bar and hold it against the firewall and smack it so as not to bash any expensive valve train parts. never ever hold a bar and let the raven smack it with a 4 pound hammer.

Anway moving the engine works for you and no one will ever figure it out.

 

Being a prototype machinist allows me the luxury to just make whatever I want, rather than make whatever I have work. It's actualy far less work for me to make shorter mounts than it would be to replace the distributor. It's also much more fun for me to come up with a more creative solution to a problem.
Added bonus, I get to blog about it on the HAMB and hopefully give someone else an idea.

 

Timbofor,
How about the smaller points distributor with the Pertronix kit. Just make sure you get the right coil to go with it. Some use 3 ohm and some use 1.5 ohm but Pertronix people can help with that. Very cool truck and story.

 

I have a bosch distributor and a pertronix in my vw and I've been very happy with it so far. I'll see how my motor mount works out first. If it comes down to it, I'll strip down the points distributor, clean it up and install a pertronix.
Thanks for the advice. I always appreciate input.

 

That's an awesome story! Cool as hell you ended up with it. Kind of seems fitting!

 

Thanks asphalt pirate.
I'm taking it to the rockabilly riot show in a couple weeks in Reno. I plan to have a little memorial pinstriped on the dash in memory if my old friend. I'll post pictures when it's done.

 

Made some progress last night. I got so wrapped up I forgot to take pics.
The q-jet carb has been giving me fits ever since I put it on my old motor. I got it at a yard sale with an intake for $80. Sold the intake for $60 so I got a good deal. The accelerator pump never seemed to work right. Not enough squirt. I ordered a new one from napa, pulled the air horn off and turns out it had some HUGE long spring under the pump cup. It would coil bind and stop the plunger from going down. I just cut off coils till it looked about right. While I was in there raised the float 1/16. I had an old rebuild kit with specs listed. So I went by the setting for a 400. After re***embly it squirts nicely, fires right up. Next I got underneath and re routed my plug wires and tucked them away from the manifolds after replacing the one I burnt again. I still have some exhaust leaks to tend to. Tonight I'll stop by golden state truck parts and buy the master cylinder rebuild kit and new motor mount donuts.

 

I installed my custom shortened motor mounts. I didn't account or the new bushings being thicker. So I'll be shortening them a bit more at a later date. you can see the length difference is about 7/16"
I ended up taping the bushing all the way trough and using grade 8 flange
Bolts to hold it all together. Turned out pretty nice. The old bushings were toast. It cured my death lurch problem when parking lot maneuvering.