55.2-59 1959 Chevy Apache Short Step "Goldilocks"

[daveshilling]

I learned that the mechanical fuel pump is a flow-through, meaning if its not pumping, gas will still flow through it if the inlet is pressurized. This means I can easily add an inline electric fuel pump and filter tucked into the frame rail but still keep the mechanical pump.

Their pressure is not cumulative, so the electric pump can be used to prime, and in the event the mechanical pump stops working, can be used as the main pump instead. Still deciding if I will take the easy road and just wire it to a switch/relay, or go for a more complicated setup that fills the bowls automatically during startup.

I cleaned up the factory fuel line since its in good shape, trimmed it down, added a 5/16 flare nut and flared the line, and integrated the filter and pump. I can use the rest of the factory hard line to route from the electric to mechanical pump, or allow for more engine movement and use fuel line instead. The hard line worked for 60 years, so I imagine it will work for 60 more.

[daveshilling]

Did a bit of work in the heat on my lunch break. Got the straight six chevy 235 PCV conversion started by drilling out a 1.25" freeze plug and installing it where the road draft tube was. a 3/4" Grommet snugs up in there and allows a 3/4" PCV valve to pass through. It's just a snug-fit and can come out if disturbed, so I'm going to think about some way to pin it in there.

I got some 3/8" steel line for free from Amazon due to their mix-up, so I'm bending that up instead of using rubber line the whole way. Stainless would look nicer, but the price is right. Not to mention extra rubber hose laying around can really save the day!

[daveshilling]

I dropped some chain in the gas tank and moved it around a bunch, then hosed it out. Did this 5 times until the water was pretty clear.

Then using the POR-15 kit, i put in one container of their cleaner, thinking "Hey I did most of the cleaning, this wont do much. WRONG. Brown liquid came out after letting it soak on all sides for at least an hour or so.

The instructions for the kit say to pour ALL of the coating in, then pour out the excess. DO NOT do this. Pour some in, move it around, and if you need more, pour more. You cannot reuse it, but they want you to empty the whole damn thing in there then just throw most of it away. I was left with over half a can, which means I can do another tank in the future! For an $80 kit, this is a big difference, cuts my gas tank cost down to $40 each for sealing up.

After it dried for a week, i installed the new sending unit, fixed up the wires, added some old drawer liner I had under the straps, added new rubber hoses, and bolted her down.

How about that factory painted original gas tank!! I do love the untouched surfaces of this truck.

"Get Clean Fuel to the Carb" has way more steps than you'd think when you are trying to rescue a truck from a field!

[daveshilling]

My electric fuel pump is now installed on the frame rail, hiding but slightly visible. Right now it's not wired up, as I still need to decide how fancy I want to get with the switch. Minimally, I need to at least install as an on/off so when I start it for the first time I can fill the bowls.

I decided to run the remaining bit of original fuel line back to the pump instead of a rubber line. If the engine vibrates too much and its a problem, it's a simple swap out to a rubber line.

[daveshilling]

I tried replacing the old single reservoir with another I had laying around, but after realizing I could add power brakes to this truck for cheap using spare parts and an amazon MC, I went that route instead. I had an extra booster lying around from an ebay mistake, and i bought a open box booster on Amazon for $10. $20 for two valves, $50 for the mount because I didn't feel like spending hours making one, and I'm in business.

The '59's use 3/8 fittings already, and the front/rear lines all separate on the drivers side, so it's very easy to just add the residual valves and make a couple lines to reach the MC. I made the lines too short to make nice crisp 90 degree bends, but I didn't want to waste the line so I made it work.

The drawback of 59's is that most replacement brake hoses don't fit the factory setup. I only saw one place selling correct lines, and since i got replacements for free with my axle swap, I had to solve the problem another way. I used a tee fitting and made a short line to connect to the brake hose, eliminating the factory junction.

I also didn't want to spend $$ on a heim joint and all that for the booster, so I made my own connection using some steel tubing. I removed the nut that came on the booster and welded it to the end, and it works great.

[daveshilling]

I forgot to photograph the process, but I also had some issues with one of the front bearings. The factory replacements are expensive enough that switching to roller bearings is a better choice all around, so I swapped the bearings out.

I'd say this ole girl is getting pretty spoiled so far, for a simple get-er-going job (=

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by daveshilling

I'd say this ole girl is getting pretty spoiled so far, for a simple get-er-going job (=

Haha, you are well past that! This is full patina restoration

[Gregski]

"Current plans:

get the 235 running
Drive her to the local diner for a $5 milkshake."

luv dis !!!

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

Haha, you are well past that! This is full patina restoration

Yeah, some of the little things I did just for fun and practice, like the PCV valve mod, its cheap and lets me practice bending hose.

The HEI was SUPPOSED to help make my first startup attempt a success, but that turned out not to be the case... it isn't starting. I'm troubleshooting it on another thread so it is more easily searchable for anyone else having issues.

I have found that taking a little extra time and spending a small amount more goes a long way with some things.

[G&R's57GMC]

Dave posted today on the other thread that the coil was bad .
Got it started and ran at fast idle , found he left a cap off the PCV system , Plugged that then wouldn't idle .
Being he doesn't have a radiator installed the fine tuning will have to wait until it's in .

[daveshilling]

Well, some progress is better than none! The oil pan leaked like crazy when I tried running it, so I pulled it, cleaned it up, and tried again. Torqued to spec, and it seems like I've got a better seal this time. Phew! I was really dreading that step.


So, I got the truck running...but not well. I thought I had timing issues and fuel was no problem, but when I pulled the manifolds I found gas pooled inside. dumping fuel down the carb was not helpful. Turns out I was just not slapping the gas pedal 100 times while holding the starter! That being said, it's not ready to cruise yet.


Symptoms/Steps so far:

• When a vacuum hose is left off, it will stay running but at a high rpm and I do not need to touch the gas pedal to do so.
• When I plug the vacuum leak, and stay on the gas, it will stay running, but rough.
• It will not start without feeding the gas pedal a bunch while kicking the starter pedal. Its quite the dance.
• It would not run unless I loosened the screw and pulled the distributor over to the advance side nearly all the way. There is no more room for adjustment anymore.

Things I've checked so far:

• At Cyl #1 TDC, my rotor points to the #1 plug, and there is a .019in gap on the points (new points gap recommendation)..what is considered "static timing" I guess.
• The vacuum advance is working
• Turning the distributor manually while its running will slow down or stall the engine, rather than smooth anything out.
• Turning the idle screw does nothing to improve idle

Parts Status:

• New cap
• New rotor
• New capacitor
• New Coil
• New Plugs gapped to .035
• New wires
• New Vacuum advance
• Freshly Rebuilt Carb

Seeing guys on YouTube idle a 235 thats sitting on a pallet while I struggle over here haha!

[daveshilling]

So, I cheated on the test, and found that tightening the throttle linkage adjustment a wee bit to allow air past the throttle plate allows the truck to idle. This likely means somewhere in my idle air circuit I'm having an issue.

But that also means that I can actually test out the transmission and see where I'm at with that,and since I'm parked on my driveway, I can pull her down into the street and replace the rear shocks/brake shoes.

We're not far from the first drive since the 90's... which seems like its not, but is in fact awhile ago.

[NorCalGal]

Congratulations you’re getting close. I love to hear about first drives!

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by NorCalGal

Congratulations you’re getting close. I love to hear about first drives!

Thanks! Tying off some things so I don't need to bend over the fenders too much when I reinstall the front clip.

I had alternator wiring going up the factory brown generator wire, then from there through the cab, back down with the starter wire, to the starter terminal. I decided i needed a larger gauge and would increase reliability by running the wire around the block directly to the starter instead. I made some clean back wires with black shrink wrap, and added a dust cap to finish the job.

I hate colored insulators on crimps and always remove them!! One fast way to make your build look more clean and professional is to do away with blue, yellow, a red plastic tidbits on your wiring. Black shrinkwrap is cheap but makes your work look expensive!

[dsraven]

Crimp connectors come uninsulated, which allows you to inspect the crimp quality, and then use double wall shrink tube because it has hot glue inside which melts out and seals the connection.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Crimp connectors come uninsulated, which allows you to inspect the crimp quality, and then use double wall shrink tube because it has hot glue inside which melts out and seals the connection.

Thats the only shrink tube I use, nice and strong.

[daveshilling]

More tinkering and wrapping up tasks on the business end:

I have a nasty water pump inlet, so I'm going to do right thing and use this sanding belt to take off as much rust as possible, then run it. Sanding belts work quite well for cleaning up these necks without uninstalling them! You just turn the belt different angles and saw back and forth.

Guess how old the top radiator hose is?? Look at that clamp


I also popped off both cages holding the radiator nuts when removing the clip, so I cleaned up the nuts, tapped the holes, and welded the cages back on. A fresh Grade 8 for each side will replace the snapped/tired bolts there before.

[dsraven]

Here is another sanding strip trick. Wrap the project with a length of the sanding strip, it can overlap itself but wrap it fairly tight, then wrap that a few turns with a shoelace or piece of cording. Grab the ends of the cording and do a pull/push kinda motion. The cord grips the strip all the way around and makes it turn so it easily sands the project as you simply pull the cord. More tension on the cord means more pressure applied to the strip. Easy peasy. This also works pretty well with a rag for hand polishing things.

[daveshilling]

Wrapping up the engine portion of the work today and probably for the next few days as little things crop up.

I'm in the warm CA valley and I have no plans to drive this truck when its chilly outside, so I've plugged the heater lines. This also prevents me from needing to worry about the heater, buy new hoses, etc. As an added bonus, it looks cool and cleans up the engine bay.

I cleaned up and flattened the thermostat top housing bit and got the new Stant thermostat in. Getting closer to a diagnostic trip around the neighborhood so I can find out why she got parked.

[dsraven]

Sometimes stuff just gets parked because something newer came along. Not in my case, but sometimes. I never get the good stuff, lol.

[daveshilling]

After hours of work and over $1000 later, we have a truck that looks just about identical


Swapped out the rear brake cylinders and the brakes were functional. They're still quite firm, even with the booster, so I question how much power the power brakes are really providing me...I haven't checked the vacuum yet.

I took it around the block a couple times with open headers, just to make new friends in the neighborhood!

Then I got a simple exhaust slapped on there today, and then it started running poorly again. The muffler I used was not a straight through baffled type that originally came on these trucks, and I'm wondering if that has anything to do with it.

Here are some photos after a bath! I'm contemplating adding some shine juice on the ole girl to bring some life into the paint and patina...the wet look, without the shine, so to speak.

[57tailgater]

This is fun following this thread. You talking about your dance between the accelerator pedal and the starter button reminds me of me when I had the 6 cylinder in my ‘57. Quite the step! I also found my choke butterfly was loose to the cable lever connection and would make things not run right. Got that squared away and all was good. Keep it up and keep posting!!

[G&R's57GMC]

Yea !!! It runs and drives .

Put a 30” or 36” glass pack on it and exit out under the step ahead of the rear tire. It will be quite and run well .

Be sure to add the vapor separator up high to the vacuum line to the p/b booster.
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[youngrodder]

Very cool...Looks great.

Marc

[6DoF]

i've never been one for the shiny patina ... but my need to seal it is starting to outweigh that.

the capper is amazing on that truck, such a great look!