1959 Chevy Apache

[smokeless]

Hello all, been gone for awhile. Got a 1959 Chevy Apache with a good straight 6 and I wonder where the break point is between junk and redo. This one must be close. I will post a pic or two tomorrow. Doors all misaligned and will not shut properly, floor panels out, rusted at top of windshield and doors/front fenders poor at best, grill out of wack. Frame ok, insides a mess. I am posting cause my thoughts are just a low end fix up and was wondering what some of you may think. Until tomorrow......

[yossarian19]

You may have a good parts truck on your hand, or a frame to build up & wait on finding a good body to put on it.

[chaff]

I am interested in this thread. I know where a 58 is. Maybe 1 good fender and 1 door, it is a long bed with a tail gate that may be able to be saved. It has a 6 and I think the distributor was missing. Quite a mess and I didn't make an offer, but it did have a title.

[OrrieG]

Big farm trucks have the same cab, interior and doors as the small ones and have usually been kept indoors and taken care of. In your part of the country should be relatively still available? Step side beds are completely reproduced as is the front sheet metal. Bed quality seems to be pretty good, fenders, hoods, etc. range from ok to almost not usable. All the small parts are what will nickel and dime (or $100 a pop) you to death, if they are good than salvage the frame, radiator support, etc. and start looking for good donor cab and clip.

[Dan in Pasadena]

I don't think there is a dividing point. It's a matter of what you want the "finished" truck to be? What is your budget, timetable, fabrication skills, level of patience. It's different for all of us.

[SCHRUMGMC]

where is a picture?

[chaff]

I am interested in this thread. I know where a 58 is. Maybe 1 good fender and 1 door, it is a long bed with a tail gate that may be able to be saved. It has a 6 and I think the distributor was missing. Quite a mess and I didn't make an offer, but it did have a title.

My post above.
I am interested in the pictures also to see what other people think what is to far gone. The 58 I referred to is probably beyond my skill level, but if the price was right I could practice on it and it has a title. It would become a flat bed and 4 wheel drive. Or just parts. I have a 59 4x4 Napco. I do not know how to post pictures.

[55 2nd series]

If your doors are misaligned, you might look to see if the hinge pockets are rusted out. The bottom ones are usually the culprit if that's the case. Repair panels are available for these.

On the note of the rust-out over the windshield, it's been my experience that since no one is making patch panels for that area, it renders the cab pretty much useless. If you can find a donor cab that has a good windshield header panel and the rest of the cab is beyond salvage, you could always use the header to graft in to your cab. All of the other panels should be available to repair your cab.

[SCHRUMGMC]

My cab isn't the best either. The windshield area is bad