1958 SWB C4 Fleetside - NZ Build

[dsraven]

Looks great.
On your door issue, check the dimension of your step and get that right first. Then fit the door to the cab with no latch in place, so the latch doesnt have to bring the door to its final height, then install the latch and adjust. When the door fits the cab then fit the fender to the door. Use shims under the front cab mounts and rad support to get things right. Also, some guys have had to move the cab around to get the gaps right. Use the drivers side front cab mount as a pivot as it (originally) was a smaller hole than the rest for this purpose. That rotational movement of the cab can help get the fender to door gaps the same as well as the hood fitment.
If you google 55-59 chev assembly manual you should find a site to download a digital copy. This will have some body dimensions so you can get the step dimension correct. There is another site on moving the cab to get the gaps correct

[QBRacing]

@dsraven

The lower section of the right door opening is narrower than the left by about 12mm (or 1/2").
Both doors are the same width (or near enough).
Pretty sure its to do with how the initial panel beater did the steps and rear sections as best we can tell.

[57FleetsideC4]

Looking good. What bushing kit did you use on the C4 stuff? Did it install pretty easy? Keep it going. Steve

[QBRacing]

I bought the energy suspension kits for it. Will let you know how it gos when I actually get around to installing them.

[57FleetsideC4]

Originally Posted by QBRacing

I bought the energy suspension kits for it. Will let you know how it gos when I actually get around to installing them.

Thank You. Steve

[6DoF]

that speed shop logo is awesome

[dsraven]

here is the link to that assembly manual, and another one with random years info. always good to download a copy for future reference. you never know when they might be yanked and gone off the net. keep a bookmark at least

https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...esto/index.htm

[dsraven]

on my truck the step/rocker is just a shade longer than the door at the front edge with a proper gap at the rear of the door. all doors are not created equal by the way. I have 5 doors and only 2 of them fit reasonably. the other could be made to fit but some work would be required. same for front fenders, it seems some are a bit longer or have a different profile at the rear. just something I have noticed. I can get the dimension of the step for you if you need it, or just fly by the seat of your pants and make the truck fit the door you have.
maybe that's why the knock off body panels seem to fit ok on some trucks and really poorly on others. the panel they had to make their mold with was not the "one size fits all" panel. lol.

[QBRacing]

@57fleetsideC4
The bushes weren't that hard. I bought a cheap 160nzd bench press. Made up a base plate from some 50mm board and pushed the middle section of the bushes out, then the bush. After that it was a matter of greasing and pushing in by hand.

@dsraven
I hear ya but I trust my new panelbeater (more than the last one at least) and what you say about panels makes sense... they are a dam truck after all. Still plan to shorten the bottom of the door while doing the patches as you cant see both sides at the same time and what's 12mm between friends.

Q

[57FleetsideC4]

Originally Posted by QBRacing

@57fleetsideC4
The bushes weren't that hard. I bought a cheap 160nzd bench press. Made up a base plate from some 50mm board and pushed the middle section of the bushes out, then the bush. After that it was a matter of greasing and pushing in by hand.

@dsraven
I hear ya but I trust my new panelbeater (more than the last one at least) and what you say about panels makes sense... they are a dam truck after all. Still plan to shorten the bottom of the door while doing the patches as you cant see both sides at the same time and what's 12mm between friends.

Q

Thanks for the update on the control arms. They don't look to hard to do. I am pretty far away from doing this but always gathering information. Steve

[QBRacing]

Unfortunately the plate APACHE was already taken and I wont do it with a 3 rather than an e....

How does this one fit on the bumper....

Ps the top of the surround is going to have "1958 Chevrolet Apache" on it

[QBRacing]

Oh and some of my goodies arrived...
Time to get back into it i guess...

[QBRacing]

Small update.

The diff is back in with the freshened up 4links. Just need to find some time to drop the control arms but I did myself an arm injury and are still recovering. Man old age sucks..

Here is a few of the bits awaiting install still;

My personalised plate and surround
The Lokar accelerator pedal, brake and light cover
The a/c bracket and condenser
My old commodore power point seen batterys in the tray now
The Eddie Motorsport hood hinges
The B&M 3000rpm stall convertor (just waiting to get trans back)
The 6 pass external trans cooler
A brake return/tension spring mount I made up

The door bits and panels have been ordered but are still at the forwarders in LA. appearantly there's no containers, staff to fill containers, or boats to put **** on.... sigh

More to come soon

Honest

[QBRacing]

So I got into it after posting the last pics and actually did some work on the ol girl.

The Lokar accelerator floormount pedal, brake pedal pad and highbeam pad have been installed.

I also made up a brake return spring. This mounts between the factory spring hole on the pedal and a new l bracket I made and bolted to the top of the CPP underbody brake booster setup.

I woke about 2am this morning thinking that I never remounted the rear calipers before testing the brake pedal spring and pad mounting.... I was right. As such the piston was fully pushed out binding the two pads the to outside and it was a mission to get them unbound even with the bleeder released, but I got there in the end.

So after that I set to and decided to try and fix the rear rake issue the 58 has with the C4 rear kit installed and on the lowest setting with the aldan coilover (as supplied by Don at Floatout).

I ended up making an L plate that mounts on top of the chassis and allows the rear perch to be mounted 1.5" higher than designed. I can't see any reason it wont work but until the paint dries and I mount it and drop the rear I wont know for sure. I can always raise it slightly if required

Youtube Video can be found here.

[6DoF]

at least you had the pads in there!! would have been an epic mess when you blew the piston out.

[QBRacing]

Just adding the pics for the rear upper coil over brackets I made a while back

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by QBRacing

Just adding the pics for the rear upper coil over brackets I made a while back

Nice! I had basically the same concern with the rake on Dons kit... I raised all three mounts up an inch, and took an inch out of the frame. I started with the larger longbed frame though so I had some room to spare.

I just drilled new holes in the mounts in additional to the original ones, so that the conventional mounting is still possible. I like the L bracket you did.

[QBRacing]

Handbrake Setup Complete

In short
I ran the factory C4 rear cables to some custom mounts in the rear,
Could have ran a camaro/nova cross over cable but I made my front cable to short so had a custom rear cable made too.
Made a custom front cabl which runs through the original 58 pully and uses a heim joint to conect to the factory 58 handbrake lever.

Watch the video, that will make more sence, forgot the pics and the trucks on the ground now.

Q

[QBRacing]

Here is a quick image to show the rake of my 58 Apache with the rear coil over mount modification and both front and rear springs on the lowest setting.

[QBRacing]

So I have been working on the hood mounts and hood hinges and have struck a problem and come up with a solution I think.

Lets start with the YOUTUBE VIDEO here and then the description and images below.

--------------------

As I have a 55-57 cab on my 58 Apache I knew about the differences between the hood mounts at the firewall. My hood never fit right as i previous slotted some already modified 58 hinges to get them to fit better (but not enough i guess)

So I bought some Eddie Motorsport Hinges which look friken awesome however there is an issue.

The 55-57 hinges have a different mount at the hood itself, they are closer together and offset (white hood) when compared to the 58-59 which are wider and inline (black hood).

[6DoF]

oh yeah, i'd have let UPS or FedEx or whoever buy me a new set! they sometimes let you keep the broken set too.

[QBRacing]

Trying that but being in New Zealand does have disadvantages....

Forgot the front shot of the carpet. Doesnt quite fit the firewall over the hump but pretty good in general..

[QBRacing]

In the last few weeks I have cracked into the ol girl as I just want to get it on the road or ready for summer at least.

I finally got around to installing the Alden door catches, well one at least, as I need to make a small mod the the window channel in the left door before I can install the second one. VIDEO HERE

I also completed the install of the electric window wiring which allowed me to install the kick panels , carpets and seats again. In the rear I notched the rear cross bar to allow clearance for the fuel filler neck and sliced the rear arches to get ready to widen them. I am doing that to allow the swaybar to run up inside the wheel arch. It will also allow me to run a 12" wide rim later on (maybe). VIDEO 2 HERE

[mrbuck]

Looking good QB- did you go with a one piece window set up? or have you just not reinstalled the vent windows? i want altman latches but not sure they work with the one piece windows.

[Rickysnickers]

Nice!!