59 Apache - Lifelong obsession

[dsraven]

lookin good there '59. bumper right side up for you? me too.
wheel spacing looks good too

[Kim57]

Looks real nice.
Kim

[59chev]

Originally Posted by dsraven

lookin good there '59. bumper right side up for you? me too.
wheel spacing looks good too

Yup, I know a lot of guys flip them but I like it better the factory way. I did tuck it in closer to the body as much as I could though.
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[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by 59chev

Got everything mocked up for the first time. Hung the front sheetmetal and bumper and eyeballed where I want the rear ride height. I still need to do the rear 4 link and figure out the mounts for the engine/trans but seeing it look somewhat like a truck is a major motivator.

That sits really nice!

[59chev]

Thanks Black_Sheep. The frame is just sitting directly on the rear end right now but it looks so good, I've decided that I am going to make that my ride height. I'm going to step notch it the height of the frame so I will have 4" or so of up travel. right now I have about 8" at the rear step and 6 1/2" at the front of the rocker. The subframe has all-thread in the shock holes to hold it close to ride height, but I'm curious if it will come down another inch in the front once I drop the engine and transmission in.

[dsraven]

I like the ride height there as well. just ensure you have ample room above the axle plus install some good bump stops. maybe look at the ones from newer trucks. I used S10 units in mine, they sit closer to the axle than you might think. check out a newer truck when you get time. the bump stops hit waaaay before the suspension would ever bottom. the S10 bumpers are beehive shaped and hollow so they are progressive and actually softer than you would expect as well. they look pretty close to what my avalanche has in the rear and those are only a little bit off the rubbing pad for the suspension bumpers, they obviously get used a lot by the shiny spot on the rub pad. you would never know when driving. engineered that way.
just a thought, nothing worse than a bone jarring suspension bottoming on a speed bump or parking lot entrance, and you can't not have those around Calgary roads

[dsraven]

here is a pic of that suspension bumper. this one is from a 1/2 ton. should be easy to find one at pick n pull

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevy1500-S...gAAOSwCM5XP0iY

[59chev]

Thanks for the heads up dsraven, I think those would work great. I could integrate them into the step notch.

[dsraven]

if you look around you can prolly find a large cupped washer from a front suspension strut that you could use for a receiver for the snubber, that way the urethane won't squish out as easily when the suspension gets fully depressed.
just a thought.

[59chev]

It's been a while since I've posted some progress. Here's what I've been up to.

I planned to clean up the firewall to remove as many holes as possible. As part of this I decided to remove the bolts that go through the firewall for the heater. I welded up a bracket that mounts off of two of the old bolt holes for the battery box ( now moved under the floor ), and a hood hinge bolt. I cut the head off a couple of bolts and threaded them into the old battery box holes to create a couple of studs

[59chev]

Here's what it looks like mounted under the dash.

[59chev]

I ordered a bunch of the Welder Series hole plugs in various sizes, I then drilled all the holes to the nearest size using a step bit. Out of all of these holes, I am only keeping 3 of them.

[dsraven]

ah jeej, if I wouldda known you had the base heater I wouldda given you a smokin deal on the deluxe heater with the easier to find heater core and heater motor from my 57 gmc. it picked up outside air as well. I sold it to a nice guy from Bowness, who needed it I guess, so it went to a good home anyway.
nice job on the brackets and mounting.
I still have a regular 58 heater if you know anybody who needs one. it looks like yours there. I have a few other misc stock parts laying around if you need something send me a pm

[59chev]

All the holes welded up. The 3 remaining holes are for the heater and for the speedo cable to pass through the firewall.

[59chev]

Thanks for the offer dsraven. I had this one re-cored at a rad shop the first time I had it on the road. The fan motor still works good. I did pick up a deluxe control that I plan to make work with the standard heater since I like how it looks in the dash better.

[59chev]

When I welded up all the holes in the firewall, I also made a mounting plate for my new fuse block that I mounted high on the drivers side under the dash. I plug welded it using some existing holes in the firewall.

[59chev]

I'm using a 78 Chevy van column, it is column shift and fits in the stock column drop. I also like that it does not have a key so I can keep my key on the dash. I did find however that it was too long. I took 2 1/2 inches out of the shift colar and the outer housing then slid it up the steering shaft and welded it all back together. I will cut the shaft to length and file it to a DD shape when i order the u-joints.

[59chev]

Next, I cut out a piece of 12 gauge sheet metal for a floor plate. I used a aftermarket chrome column floor mount.

[59chev]

I dropped my engine and transmission in so I could start figuring out what I want to do for a transmission crossmember.

[dsraven]

nice work.
some of the steering column u joints come with a tape pattern so it makes it easier to file or grind the steering shaft to fit the DD pattern. less guess work.
you plan to drive it next summer? looks like you're on a roll. keep up the good work.

[59chev]

Thanks.. the last big piece of fabrication work is the rear 4 link. I hope to have that done by spring. I don’t think I will have it drivable by summer but we will see.. the 327 still needs a rebuild, when that happens is dependent on finances. Trying to do as much of this by myself as I can but I plan to farm out building the engine to a machine shop.
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[dsraven]

here are a few ideas for you. this is mostly parts from welder's series along with some home made stuff. not completed yet, obviously, and work required for shock mounts etc but there are some thoughts and ideas. it is set up for air bags but coils or shock waves would also work. remember to keep the panhard bar level to the ground at ride height and as long as you can make it in order to reduce the amount of side to side movement of the axle when the suspension moves. the axle is a ford 8.8 from an explorer and the stabilizer bar is from an explorer with home made mounts. it just keeps the bar out of the way for exhaust routing etc. factor in room for the wheel backspacing, exhaust routing, clearance for the box floor above, access to box mounting bolts, brackets for brake lines and park brake cables, room for the fuel tank and cross members/straps for that, fuel lines and filler hose (thats why my stuff is all out front except for the panhard). if you are changing the ride height to be fairly low then you may also need to notch the frame (mine is simple and easy with 3" of frame remaining above the notch. the frame is boxed for strength front to rear). ensure to do some dimensions for the axle positioning before you remove the existing suspension. a good starting point would be to get the frame on blocks, high enough to work on and at the rake angle it sits at, level side to side, then use a plumb bob and mark the floor where the axle center line is or some other reference point on the axle. do a cross check dimension from some other good reference marks on the frame so the axle gets installed in the correct place with the 4 link bars adjusted to be somewhere in the middle of their range, that way you have some room to adjust things later at wheel alignment time.
anyway, hopefully that gets the creative juices flowing, lol.

[dsraven]

not the greatest pic but shows what I did for a trans cross member. it is able to slide fore and aft in case a driveline change is done later. it probably does still need to be braced a bit better to the top rail area. I suggest to get the engine at the angle you want, then block the trans there, install a mount on the trans and then connect the dots with tubing of some sort. I used square but thats because I had some laying around. also, if you leave room below the mount and the cross member, you can use a shim under the mount to get the exact angle you want, in case the trans needs to come down at some point. the shim(s) can be removed but if the cross member is too high then you need to do a bunch of work to fix it for the correct angle. I would probably move the cross member, directly behind the trans, forward to stiffen the frame closer to the cab mounts and also for reinforcement of the trans cross member. I have other fish to fry at the moment though. hopefully that helps getting you thinking

[ChuckDriver]

Great progress, looking good!

[59chev]

Thanks dsraven, gives me lots to think about.