Passed down 59' Chevy Apache

[lockdun1]

This truck had been in my family since the early 70's when my uncle Bobby brought it home from California. It was the Given to my Uncle Eddie who soon after crashed and it, rebuilt it and dropped in a 283 power pak/th400 combo. Eddie passed in 81' in a car accident and the truck has sat in the shed since. Well in 90' I was born I became his namesake and new owner to the truck. I learned a few thing on it as a child like how to set timing and rebuild an old holley but it never interested me. I always wanted a Camaro or something along those lines and never gave it much attention. Well earlier in the year me and my grandfather had decided to pull it out and get it road worthy again but sadly he passed last month before we started. I had planned on selling off some of my bikes and getting a c4 ready frame but after seeing how much rust is on her Ill be spending the money on body work instead and worrying about crazy suspension later on.I will be using performance on-line's stage two mono suspension kit for sure and considering their front disk set up. The 283 still runs grate but the water jackets are filled with rust from sitting(even locked up the water pump ,it's bad)but I'm hoping to keep it. The Th400 needs a rebuild its been sitting for years and dry to boot. Tried posting pics but only half of the photos came out I'll try again in a bit.

[lockdun1]

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[Az. Hank]

Sounds great. Welcome aboard. And don't forget pictures. We love pictures.....

[Kim57]

Welcome.
Good luck getting it back on the road.
Kim

[erichevy]

Cool truck! Rust??? Come to Michigan and you'll get a better understanding of rust. I wish my 49 looked that good!

[Valarius_Starchaser]

Rust? we must be looking at the wrong truck here

[lockdun1]

Ok ok I'm just a complainer because my body working skills are horrid so its something I have to pay someone else for. The the corners of each toe board are see through and the the bottom of the drivers side door needs a bit of work.What do you guys think of the 283pp/th400 factory rear combo? They had a streetmaster intake with a 750 vac second but I switched it with a 600 a few years ago, runs way better. I also slapped an hei on there when I did the carb. I want an around town driver for now, no freeway really. Thing is my cousin out in Roma have me a 69' GMC long bed as that I haven't even picked up yet. I think I'll make that one a full road race build.

[_Ogre]

I always wanted a Camaro or something along those lines

sometimes parents can fail in raising children, uncle eddie and gramps are hoping you make it nice

but after seeing how much rust is on her

the corners of each toe board are see through and the the bottom of the drivers side door needs a bit of work

most of us could pass our feet thru the floors of our trucks when we started (both sides)
you have what we call a barn find; not perfect by any means, but kept in the dry to keep rust at bay

my body working skills are horrid so its something I have to pay someone else for

same here, learn as you you go; unless you have an unlimited budget

i wish i had that sheet metal to start with
i replaced: floors, rear cab corners, step wells, rocker panels, hinge pockets, front cab corners and a whole lot of miscellaneous rust patches
that an i and previous owners had used and abused my truk as a work truck

imo, the most economical way to start is with the existing frame and not mess with a new frame
if you want to drive it before you retire

nice truck by the way. 4 eyes. more is better. what else could a guy want?

[lockdun1]

First let me say damn guys. Ive been going through your build threads over 60 pages worth and you guys weren't kidding about the rust you guys are really all pretty damn talented. I am truly blessed.Valarious congrats on the engagement and grate lookin' build, so cool that you are using it for the wedding! Ogre I was truly a lost soul lol.I really hope they do man. I'm keeping the colors and the heart of what he used for that reason, keep the same idea just safer. Same frame with performance online leafs,brakes,engine/trans mounts, truck rallys and hopefully an a/c. Gas tank needs to be moved though I'm 6'3 260 and its tight in there with what I think are fbody buckets. Its been raining alot here the past few days so its been hindering bringing it to my shop. It maybe a good thing as I just wanna tear into it and it has given me time to plan things out.

[ptc]

Welcome to the Jungle! -

the best way to start these projects is just to jump in with all fours and get on it! --- you'll figure it out along the way and if you dont just come on here and ask the "Board Members"

Most everyone has 'been there done that' to some extent.... Good luck with the build!

[_Ogre]

i do recommend moving the gas tank, but moving it does not increase your leg room, the seat hits the back of the cab first
while i am the shortest ogre in my family, i'm still 6'4'' (2 bros, 3 nephews and my son are all taller)
i chose a seat with a thin back and raised the seat 2'' over stock height

read as many builds as you can to get ideas, it can get a little overwhelming at times
frame swaps are cool, but many languish for years and finally get put in the corner or posted up for sale
not to say a fair share of non-frame swaps ever get finished, it just increases the chance and lowers the fab time
a mustII ifs and hyway gear rear axle flipped on top of the springs is economical way to build

[lockdun1]

Thanks ogre I think I'm gonna use some racing seats I've got layin' around. On another note Ive got a 2000 GMC 2500 14bolt rear with discs I would have liked to have used but they only make the 6 lug conversion for pre 93 rear ends so I'm not sure what I'm gonna do yet. Is it even worth trying to make it fit?

[lockdun1]

I found out toms makes some stuff for the factory one 3.38 gears, axles and bearing kits so if I don't find another rear I'll stick with the 59. I just want to get it driving soon so this option would help with that. I replaced the locked up water pump got a belt changed the oil all that good stuff. Found out the trans was empty today so it doesn't move gonna fill it tomorrow and see what happens. I want to run it a bit to see how much rust I can get out of the water jackets before I pull it to fix the mounts and rebuild the trans.

[dug224]

Great starting point. Nice and solid. Keep the photos coming. dug

[Advanced Design]

Welcome - Wow, what a cool back story for a really nice truck to start with! I think the GMC 2500 rear will be too wide.

Have fun getting the truck back on the road!

[lockdun1]

Thanks dug.

Its cool to have one that I know I can dump whatever into because I can never sell it lol. Whats sad is my dad had a 51' 5 window he had since just after highschool. When I was 12 or so my grandfather helped me get running after it had been sitting for 10 years. It had the original motor trans in it so we rebuilt the carb,new radiator, all new brakes and lines. Bed was really bad so I pulled it.Damn thing ran and drove grate just need a new bed and minimal body work. We had guys come buy all the time to make offers but never paid attention. After I pulled the bed though my moms hated having it out there(said the house looked like a junk yard) so when a guy came offering 4000 she told my pops to take the money and run lol.

[lockdun1]

Advanced yeah The factory one is 62" and the 14 bolt is just over 67"

[lockdun1]

Ok well today I stopped at the guy's shop who bought my 85' tube chassis fox body a few years ago to help him wire the old mallory and I found some stuff. I have been looking for 305 vortec heads for the 283 with no luck but hes got a LB9 305 long block from a 90' TPI Iroc Z and a 99' 5.7 vortec in pieces that they found some crank play on so they bought a reman motor. Said since I came to help him I could have em' both for 150.

Any idea on how the TPI LB9 heads would do in the 283? I read that out the box the vortec heads are but the tpi heads have more potential. Thing is this was a discussion on the L98 head vs the 5.7 vortec head so I'm not sure how useful the reading was lol.