1958 Apache Big Window Loooooong Bed "Lucky"

[daveshilling]

Thats a good idea, I think I'll get a key made. I like the original ignition!

[daveshilling]

Checking in with some progress...


The suspension is pretty much complete but with space being so tight I have to resist mounting everything, so it's still down to the frame in front.

I've been working on the hydroboost setup, and the Ogre setup with a mustang hydro mounted on the frame is what I'm going with.

I found an awesome pedal mount that attaches to the factory MC mount and two additional spots and holds the pedal so you don't need to use a cut-off MC to hold the pedal... $40 on ebay and its a solid piece.



Unfortunately I already removed the MC bracket before I knew this existed... at least I get to clean behind it now and prime/paint. I'm still going to use the lower section of the factory MC mount, just with bolts instead of rivets.
I made a simple bracket to hold the booster to the frame.





I'm working on a clevis and pin setup to connect to the mustang booster rod. I machined an aluminum pin and roughed out some pieces, and I need to order the heim joint and rod to connect to the pedal and then stare at it some more.



I also started in on cleaning up the wiring harness, removing everything I won't be needing and re-taping/covering the wires. I relocated some of the grounds to make them easier to hide and repurposed some wires for a dual fan.




..and since I'll now have corvette power steering, I can downsize the steering wheel a bit and make ingress and egress even easier.. Not sure what this center cap is, but its a 60's chevelle wheel, red and worn, just like the truck.

[58 pache]

Some good progress dave. I would love to come check out your truck sometime since we both live in roseville.

[daveshilling]

Well it seems like I have a 2 month cadence to updating the thread.

In the last couple months I've worked on shortening the motorhome column I picked up from the classified section. It was definitely an interesting process, and cutting/welding the inner tube was quite a challenge. We'll see if it breaks and kills me I guess!

Here is a pic before I adjusted the shaft and converted it to 3/4 DD instead of splined:





I tried to make a new mounting plate for the cab based on the factory mount. It began with good intentions but didn't end up working out. I've started a new one but haven't moved past the base plate portion. I need to figure out how to get the angle of the column right and supported correctly. I need to order a drop mount for the dash that lowers the column an inch first.






Most recently, I decided (with the overwhelming support from the forum) to shorten the bed instead of finding one. Either way, the longbed frame needed to be cut down. Using the awesome post on shortening a longbed TF from this forum, I jumped in and started cutting.

My frame was covered in dirt and surface rust so cutting it down also let me pull the back half out to be pressure washed and wire wheeled down to something manageable.



This little piece of angle iron was used as a guide for the plasma cutter and it definitely helps make a nice straight cut!






After adding the reinforcing plates and smoothing the welds out, I need to get the rear kit from Flatout to mount my c4 suspension, get a tank back there, move the rear crossmember, and cut the end of the frame back to fit a short bed.

I'll probably end up raising the Flatout kit as high as I can and adding a small notch to the frame, like another forum member did to get rid of the rake and tuck the suspension higher up.

Not bad for a couple months, but I do need to work faster. Once we're rolling then it's off to a shop to run the brake and fuel lines, get the LS going, get a driveshaft, sort out the exhaust, and probably some other miscellaneous.

[dsraven]

on that master cyl spring pin, take that thing and use it for something else. use a cotter pin that fits the hole nicely and have it backed up with a washer behind it. trust me, when that spring pin falls out you will be thinking the same thing. happened to me long time ago. no brakes because of that. went off the road and into a gulley that had just been logged off. rolled several times and came to rest right side up with the front end up a tall stump and the back end sitting on a short stump. no injuries for the humans, not such a good ride for the equipment.
looking good man!

[Kevin_C]

Your making some great progress. I just about have my frame ready to cut but still haven't decided on at Z,90 or 45 yet. I've researched a lot but its almost like the "what oil to use threads" I'm going to talk to the welder and see what he thinks. either way it will have some fish plates and maybe boxed. I ordered my flat out rear kit today. Cant wait to get going

[59chev]

Originally Posted by Kevin_C

Your making some great progress. I just about have my frame ready to cut but still haven't decided on at Z,90 or 45 yet. I've researched a lot but its almost like the "what oil to use threads" I'm going to talk to the welder and see what he thinks. either way it will have some fish plates and maybe boxed. I ordered my flat out rear kit today. Cant wait to get going

I went with a 45 with a fishplate behind it then boxed the frame as well. The method daveshilling used works great as well. Just don't cut the two ends square and butt weld it.

[59chev]

great progress daveshilling!! Looking good! I just did the column shortening and shortbed conversion myself. I'm now working on putting in a 4 link and a step notch

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

on that master cyl spring pin, take that thing and use it for something else. use a cotter pin that fits the hole nicely and have it backed up with a washer behind it. trust me, when that spring pin falls out you will be thinking the same thing. happened to me long time ago. no brakes because of that. went off the road and into a gulley that had just been logged off. rolled several times and came to rest right side up with the front end up a tall stump and the back end sitting on a short stump. no injuries for the humans, not such a good ride for the equipment.
looking good man!

You're absolutely right, and as luck would have it, i misplaced the pin I used for that mockup anyways so I have no choice! Thanks for the heads up. I've been thinking about some sort of secondary fail-safe as well.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by Kevin_C

Your making some great progress. I just about have my frame ready to cut but still haven't decided on at Z,90 or 45 yet. I've researched a lot but its almost like the "what oil to use threads" I'm going to talk to the welder and see what he thinks. either way it will have some fish plates and maybe boxed. I ordered my flat out rear kit today. Cant wait to get going

In the interest of keeping things moving, I decided not to overthink it and use a method that someone else here has proven. I don't anticipate hauling heavy loads, but just thinking through the process and where the stress points would be, this should be plenty strong. It can also be boxed for even greater rigidity.

I imagine that the c-notches people put in their frames are probably weaker than this splice.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by 59chev

great progress daveshilling!! Looking good! I just did the column shortening and shortbed conversion myself. I'm now working on putting in a 4 link and a step notch

Thanks! I figure I have quite a bit to get done before I need to mess with the bed. Yesterday and today will be spent doing my untrained bodywork to the crumpled fender, pictures to follow.

[daveshilling]

***Quarterly Update****

I got the frame shortening done and welded on a plate, and it was on to the Flatout IRS.

Notching the Frame

I wanted the kit to sit higher, and since I have a taller frame than the shortbeds, I had some room to work with and did a notch/pancake sort of hybrid on the frame. This gave me some extra real estate to mount the IRS up as far as it can go without raising the bed. I think it looks better than just a regular notch. Safer? meh.

Raising the IRS Kit

I got the IRS kit from Don, and trimmed the batwing mounts so they no longer mounted under the frame (like an L) , only on the side. (Like an I)

Then I moved everything up as far as possible, clamped, measured, remeasured, reremeasured, started over, clamped, rereremeasured, drilled, and bolted everything up.

I had my whole family hop on the frame to simulate the weight of a shortbed, and lemme tell ya, those springs hardly budged. 400# might be a bit stiff, but I think I'm okay with that... should be fun to drive!

Crossmember problem-solving

Since the crossmember never fit in the first damn place (longbed problems) I went ahead and figured out how to have my cake and eat it too... narrow the frame height and fit the plates OVER the top and bottom, instead of between. I had to round the edges of the frame so the plate would sit more flush, but not much.

positioned the crossmember like 50 times and got it drilled and bolted. Now I just need to make a new mount that goes down to the rear end.

I can't keep up with Kevin_C, he has already gotten his kit installed and powdercoated, even after getting hit by a car! If you can do it, I better hurry my ass up.

Granted, I DID buy another 59 pickup to leave all stock and fart around town while I built Lucky the Trucky, but that is now ending up as a flip, so no build thread for that one. Rebuilt the carb, replaced teh gas tank, fuel pump, a bunch of hokey wiring, and slapped a chevy grill on there... found a rear main leak I dont have time to deal with so she's up for sale! And I'm back on track!

[Kevin_C]

Looking good Dave. My front kit should arrive tomorrow. My speedway motor mounts arrived today so I'm gonna start prepping this week to pull the engine. Hopping to do a little front cab repair, firewall clean up and paint along with the IFS before the weather gets too cold.

[daveshilling]

Well, a week of work took me almost 8 Months.

My last update, I had the rear end bolted in. It's taken me all this time to finally get it all painted, order some earlier year C4 IRS aluminum dog bones on eBay, get new poly bushings installed (I did acquire an arbor press recently that lit that fire) and re-assembled.




The aluminum arms are really a huge visual upgrade. I'm sure Chevrolet has their reasons for changing them, but I'll stick with the more attractive option.



Since that was done and I wouldn't need quite as much unrestricted access to everything, I decided to finish the longbed to shortbed conversion and chop the bed.

I measured the Jackalope's shortbed to get distances to fender bolt holes as reference points. I wanted to keep the welds on the edges, so I cut at seams and pulled the supports in.






Re-welding the spot welds did leave dots in the bed, I wish I'd have approached that differently in hindsight... i should have filled the holes completely while the supports were off the truck, smoothed them, drilled smaller holes that would accommodate a smaller tack and reduce heat, and tacked them on. If you find this thread by searching for tips to convert your bed... take the extra time to do this step. It won't take long, I just didn't sleep on the idea first.


I also accidentally made the bed pockets too large! Whoops. I guess when I finally get back to it, I need to slow down to speed up!




I did add a bit of a flourish at the end of the bed... rather than chopping the top rail flush, I extended it and added a curve back in towards the bed. I really like how it turned out, and if I dont like it later, I can easily cut it off.




NO MORE DILLYDALLYING! I'm going to be putting regular work in.

[Kevin_C]

looking good!

[G&R's57GMC]

Time for an update Dave ... bring us up to speed ppplease

[daveshilling]

August 2020 Update ..thanks Glen.

Once I got the rear suspension sorted out, I did some more staring and figured its time to trust my life to some DIY brake lines. I used the Eastwood-style Made in China Brake flaring tool that works really well and is sold by many vendors (I bought one badged as ARES because it was all black and a few bucks cheaper). It makes flares very easy, practically idiot proof!


I used some old copper line to mock up bends, and used Copper Nickle lines since they bend easily and wont rust. I didnt leave any loops/spring sections, I hope that wont bite me later on, but if so, I can just make a new line.






==========================================

After seeing that I needed to rebuild one of them, I brushed some paint on the front Corvette calipers. The POR15 caliper paint goes on pretty decent, and shows no brush marks. I didn't want to bother with powder coating these, since I may upgrade them later depending on what wheels I end up with.



============================================

I also tossed the sending unit and fuel pump into the Tanks, Inc tank under the bed. The filler neck comes up at an angle, so I need to sort that out, and get some fuel lines done up and sent to the engine bay.




At some point, I took a break to plasma cut some flames for the kids BMX. He is pretty stoked on them.



Questions for the group:

1. Are there any good wheel choices for C4 88-96 suspension besides Vette wheels/Torque Thrust/Wheels that look like Torque Thrust? I need to get something on the front that wont interfere with the big brakes, and something in back that wont require mini tubs... quandry!

2. Did Chevys come with factory optional courtesy lights or are they always add-ons by the owners?

[G&R's57GMC]

Someone installed that light and no the trucks didn’t have courtesy lights only the overhead light and that was optional on fleet trucks .

Take a look at American Racing wheels they had a. 6 spoke that looked like a Torque Thrust I had them on my Avalanche, they may have a 5 spoke for the Vette .

[daveshilling]

Good to know! I'm going to figure out to keep those lights, I like them.

I'm looking for something BESIDES Torque Thrust, as that seems to be the main alternative...I'd love to try 17" smoothies.

Well I wasn't satisfied with that amount of progress so I went out to the yard to get a remote reservoir for the Mustang hydroboost. Man, it's hot out there today...110 degrees. I also picked up a MAF for the 5.3, a replacement intake and valve cover since mine are damaged, a DBW pedal and module as a backup since I was there already.

Now to figure out where to put the reservoir!

[G&R's57GMC]

About under dash lights , think LED .

Take a ride down to O’ Rilly and take a look at LED light strips . You can mount them on the lower edge under the dash and get even light on the floor .
Also look at the overhead lamp for LED replacement “ bulb” .

The light will be brighter and the possibilities for placements all around the vehicle are endless.

[G&R's57GMC]

BTW I did a google search for “corvette aftermarket wheels” gee there is a lot out there .

[G&R's57GMC]

You were looking for shortbed steps I found them at Golden State parts for $ 95 ea

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

BTW I did a google search for “corvette aftermarket wheels” gee there is a lot out there .

Yes there are, but often Corvette wheel upgrades are bigger and wider... I'm going for the smallest wheel possible that still clears brakes. Big wheels would look good if I was bagged, but on coilovers and a conservative ride height, I want to squeeze in a whitewall if I can!

You were looking for shortbed steps I found them at Golden State parts for $ 95 ea

Thanks! I found some locally for $40 for the pair, I'll see if I can get those to work out with some fauxtina paint...thinking a black primer with white, then wear the white down on the step area. I might experiment with cutting my matching red long steps just for fun, since nobody will want those anyways.

About under dash lights , think LED .

Thats a good call, I can look for some warm ones to match incandescent warmth.

[daveshilling]

I started working on routing the fuel lines from the tank out back up to the front of the truck.

I discovered that Russells barbed Twist Lok fittings are quite difficult to install!! After wrestling with one for awhile, I came up with this:

DIY Low/Zero-Dollar Twist Lok fitting installation tool:

1. I drilled a 1/2" hole through a 2x4 scrap. This probably should have been slightly larger, but it worked. I then sawed through the block, through the hole, to end up with two pieces I can clamp around the hose. I chose wood because it is soft, textured to grip, and plentiful.




2. I clamped it around the hose, leaving an inch or so protruding.




3. I used another wood scrap to drill a 3/4" hole halfway through to accept the russell fitting.



4.Using two pipe clamps, I aligned the pieces, sprayed WD40 on the fitting, and turned the clamps, alternating one revolution per side until the fitting was pressed in.



VOILA! Low-effort perfectly pressed on Twist Lok fitting and a tool made from scraps and clamps. Sure beats buying another tool specifically for this one purpose that will sit in a drawer, unused, for years.

[daveshilling]

I also decided to make my own dual-hose clamp for Rubber fuel line out of two bits of steel tubing I had kicking around.

One piece was just a random steel bushing I had that had an ID of 5/8", and then I used the smallest steel tubing I had for the center piece. I welded them together as shown, then cut it in half to allow tubing to clamped in.





Then I cut it off the long center tube (I left it attached for ease of handling) , flattened the cut surfaces on a disc sander, and filed down the welds to create a more pleasing transition. I primed and painted it and I can easily install this onto a frame, a crossmember, or mount it at the end of a bracket. This will hold the fuel and return lines coming from the tank to the Corvette-style Filter/regular mounted on the frame beneath the bed.