50 Apache Restoration questions

[Big.Blue]

Alright so my grandpa told me both the of his older vehicles 68 (I think) Ford Galaxy and his 50 Apache I could have and restore. Well I thought it over and I decided I rather do the Apache first even though I'm not a Chevy guy, lol. I just think this truck is flat out cool. Anyways on to the restoration...

I've never done anything like this, ever. Where do you start? Is there somewhere in this forum I'm missing that gives the guide lines to restoring a vehicle?

It has a straight 6 and a 3 on the tree factory but I would like to drop in either a 350 or a 4BT cummins but I think the 4BT may be more than I would want to spend with the suspension, braking, rear end, and trans unless someone can talk me into it lol. How much work is putting a 350 in one of these?

Any advice before I start this build? Any idea how much money it would take to do this build with my doing all the work but body work? Thanks in advance.

[OrrieG]

Welcome. Take a few minutes to use the search function for the site (box at top of page) to search for previous discussions like yours. Also look at some of the build threads to see what direction you want to go.

[jfnar]

There's no way to estimate the cost of a project without seeing the truck and knowing the results you want. I would suggest that you add up everything that you can get an estimate for, using the highest possible cost, then double it. Do the same for estimating the time it will take. You'll still probably come up short. I suggest you get a few books like the Tom Brownell's How to Restore Your Chevrolet Pickup How to Restore Your Chevrolet Pickup (Motorbooks...You'll find that they didn't start using "Apache" until '58. I'd also suggest that you consider restoring the truck with the engine and transmission it has first, then think about swapping to a bigger engine. You may find that doing a restoration alone is a big enough project for a beginner. You'll learn a lot and then you can decide if you want to tackle the bigger engine and all the modifications it'll require. Good luck.

[Big.Blue]

I don't know what I was thinking.... lol. I meant 1960 apache and I'm in the wrong section lol. I thought about restoring with the original power train but i don't really want to waste any money on it.... I wouldn't enjoy it with little power and still wonder if I'll enjoy it with a gas motor... Big diesel guy.

[jfnar]

1960 models were available with V8 engines so it won't be difficult to put in an 8; I don't know about diesel. Before you sink a ton of money into it I'd check out the value of this year model. It's not the most popular year so you can easily put more into it than it's worth even if you just fix it up to drive it. If money is not an object and you just love the truck then by all means go for it and do it the way you want. Also, when deciding what you think the truck will be worth when you're finished, don't pay any attention to the auctions on TV. I've been all over the state and I haven't seen any money trees growing in Arkansas.

[Big.Blue]

Originally Posted by jfnar

1960 models were available with V8 engines so it won't be difficult to put in an 8; I don't know about diesel. Before you sink a ton of money into it I'd check out the value of this year model. It's not the most popular year so you can easily put more into it than it's worth even if you just fix it up to drive it. If money is not an object and you just love the truck then by all means go for it and do it the way you want. Also, when deciding what you think the truck will be worth when you're finished, don't pay any attention to the auctions on TV. I've been all over the state and I haven't seen any money trees growing in Arkansas.

With this build the final value is nothing to me as I would never get rid of it, it's been in the family for 40 years... And there is a family joke about it not worth explaining on here lol. Plus I think it has so much character with the double head lights and the multiple grilles. And idk what Jonesboro is like but up here in NWA there is plenty of $$$$.