1959 Chevrolet Apache pick up

[Renee]

http://st.hotrod.com/uploads/sites/2...95%3B%2A%2C%2A

Hello there:

I am an author writing a story about a girl whose only inheritance is a mechanical bull. I recently spent some time with the guys in the '73 to '87 forum to get some help on selecting a vintage truck to haul the closed trailer with the bull inside.

I have now decided on the 1959 Apache pick up in turquoise for the truck. It will have a big old pair of steer horns riveted to the front. Any ideas about what type of tires it would need to haul the trailer?

I decided on the older truck mostly for its looks but also because I have a scene where the truck rear tire blows out, the trailer fishtails and goes backward down a hill, dragging the truck with it. It will also be wet and windy to add to the scene and make it more believable.

Any thoughts or input as to the truck or the scene would be welcome!

[Renee]

I'd also to find out any info on what the original key fob might have looked like.

[dsraven]

pretty tough to get one of these old gm trucks to back down a hill, trailer or not. lots of grunt power. only wanna go uphill. haha. maybe a Ford?
key fob was non existent, just a couple of keys on a dealership labelled tag.
good luck. post a few pics when you get it done.
oh, don't hurt the truck or you'll have a bunch of angry guys asking questions. haha

[Renee]

Thank you!

[Renee]

How about changing a tire on the '59 apache pick up? Would it be pretty much the same as changing a tire on a newer truck? I have a scene where a 12 year old is learning to do it, a 12 year old girl.

[OrrieG]

these came with a bottle type jack mounted the the driver side cab well, operated by a folding handle. Work well on level surface with solid ground below. Most people also carried a hy-lift jack and some large board like 2 or 4 x 12 for use in sloppy soil or snow off road. Before my kids could drive they need to know what and how to check fluids and change a tire on their own. Most owners also used an after market X lug nut wrench with a pipe cheater bar for leverage.

[Renee]

OrrieG, thank you. Excellent information for accuracy. Everyone here has been so helpful.

[Renee]

So, I couldn't quite tell from the diagram, but the jack would be INSIDE the driver side door? Is that what you mean by the "cab well"?

[dsraven]

look behind the seat area close to the door opening, there is a small well there sort of around the corner. there should be a jack with a long handled crank to operate it and also a wheel wrench.
park with enough room to work safely on that side of the vehicle. look for a wide flat area with a hard surface not on a corner. place triangle reflectors, or similar,behind truck at an interval far enough behind to alert oncoming traffic of your presence.have everyone out of the vehicle and standing in a safe area in view of traffic. have spare tire and all tools out and ready.block the wheels well. park brake on. leave transmission in a low gear, if a manual transmission, or park if automatic transmission. loosen wheel nuts a bit-say 1/4 turn-so they are not too tight to get loosened when wheel is off the ground. jack up that corner of the truck-jack under the axle. remove wheel nuts and place on a clean surface if possible. remove wheel-set aside. install spare tire over the wheel studs. install wheel nuts but don't tighten any until all nuts are in place. bring nuts up to bear against the wheel and tighten them a bit at a time in a star pattern so the wheel is not forced to go over the hub in the middle at an angle. tighten all wheel nuts. let vehicle down off the jack. torque the wheel nuts to spec. retorque them after 100 miles.
put all the tools and the original wheel away safely so loose wheel cannot become a projectile or bounce out of truck box.


make sense?

[dsraven]

forgot to mention, engine switched off for safety.

[Renee]

Perfect. (I hate to confess that I have never changed a flat tire. Sad, I know.) thank you very much. What do you think the hardest thing in this sequence would be for a 12 year old girl, moderately strong? Using the jack or getting the wheel nuts removed?

Also, on this '59 Apache, where would the spare tire be?

[dsraven]

if you don't have the truck picked out yet you may want to get one with the spare tire on the step side fender instead of under the rear of the truck. easier for a 12 yr old girl to get off maybe? otherwise maybe improvise and have the spare tire carrier mounted inside the rear of the box, standing up, like a lot of ranchers/farmers had. then it doesn't matter if the box of the truck is a fleet side or a step side. 58-59 you could get either type of box configuration. some ranchers/farmers had a jack-all jack mounted on the box rail as well. I don't advise these because they are dangerous to use and also they are a bumper jack so the rear bumper would be used to lift the rear of the truck off the ground enough to get the wheel free. then the park brake becomes useless because the wheels are off the ground and the only thing keeping the truck stationary is the wheel blocks on the front wheels.

[Renee]

I have fallen in love with the 1959 Apache pick up in turquoise.

[RanchTruck]

That's the side mount spare we're talking about.

Hard part would be getting the lug nuts undone. If you have her jump on the handle of the lug nut wrench to use her weight to turn the nut, that would be realistic. I'm 220lbs and I resort to stomping on lug nut wrenches at times to get the darn things loose.

There's 6 lug nuts per wheel if it's a 1/2 ton truck, 8 lugs if it's heavier duty.

You have to crack the nuts loose before jacking the truck up, otherwise the wheel just turns. Then take the nuts the rest of the way off when the wheel is in the air.

Jack is run by a crank handle, biggest problem is the bottom of the jack sinking into the dirt as it tries to lift the truck. Putting a flat rock or board under it would make sense. Top of the jack goes against the bottom of the axle. Knees would get muddy kneeling in the dirt next to the truck cranking on the jack handle.

[Renee]

Thank you very much for the info, very helpful. Is that your truck?

[yossarian19]

I don't know if anyone has said it yet, but you'd have a hard time riveting horns onto anything. They'd have to be attached by some other means to a thin piece of sheet metal, then rivet that to the hood.
No sir, don't think i'd attach horns that way. I'd bind them end to end with a piece of leather wrapping the ends and sinew or leather around that, then lashing them to the grill.
Alternately, bailing wire around some small "l" brackets which were riveted to the hood.

Sorry about the caps lock - my toddler absolutely insists that it remain on (he's sitting next to me) and i'd rather annoy you all than pick a fight with a two year old.

[Renee]

Thank you, Yossarian19, for your thoughts on the steer horns. I may have to rethink that.

[dsraven]

is this a movie, a novel, a story for fun?
if the truck had a big star wheel wrench, like a lot of ranchers have tucked behind the seat because truck, trailer and other farm implements don't all use the same size wheel nuts (and so the reason for the jack all jack mentioned earlier) then the girl would get more leverage on the tight wheel nuts. one foot pushing on one leg of the star while pulling on another leg of the star. all while contorting the face, haha.

[Renee]

dsraven. this is a contemporary novel and it would make a great movie. The 1959 turquoise Apache pickup would be the star.

[dsraven]

another way fora 12 year old to get tough lug nuts off with a short wheel wrench would be for her to use a "snipe" on the handle of the lug nut wrench to gain leverage. a snipe is usually a short length of pipe that can be slid over the handle of the other tool, whether it is a lug nut wrench or some other ranch tool, to effectively make the handle of the tool longer so the user can get more mechanical advantage. another tool any rancher would likely have in his truck. like a length of rope, some fencing pliers, a few extra shot gun shells or some spare barbed wire on a roll.

[Renee]

Thank you. I think I will use the snipe. Would make sense for a young girl to need some extra oomph to remove the lug nuts. How much do you think that spare tire would weigh?

I also found a photo of some vintage iron chock block, so I'm using those too.

[Softpatch]

Those bottle(wind-up) Jacks found in these truck are
Not User Friendly
State of the art for 1950's

You unfold the handle ( sometime can be a Pinch)
the handle has a snap mechanisms in the middle to hold the jack handle straight while turning.
This action take coordination to turn While holding the handle straight to operate the jack.....
What ends up happening if you loose patience because the jack slowly raises the handle unsnaps and folds sometime pinching fingers
.
That and the fact the Jack is held in place by a spring
just getting the jack out of it's holder can be a trying experience
and should be practice often if wanting to use
.
Why Most Daily drivers of these truck op for a Hydraulic jack
.
Now I don't want to rain on your parade
I feel I must rip the band-aid off....

Although you fallen hard for a Turquoise 1959 Apache....

These truck did not have Power steering,Power brakes
and Nonclapsable steering column
(nicknamed The Impaller's)
nor did they come from the factory with seat belts.(manditory 1964)
or padded dash
even the windshield wipers were very iffy.

Starting in 1955 through 1963 these trucks were affectionately called
" Knee knockers"
Because of the rap around windshield
if the cab/front fenders are compromised the doors will be pinched and non operable stuck.

When they made these truck designers were not thinking about
safety or comfort
at least not at highway speeds
they were made as utility truck to be worked
.
Knowing what we know today about safety
would we let any love ones ride in our Era truck.....NO
Do I own truck's YES.! (59,63,)
Do I feel safe in them No.!
Will I stop driving them ..No.!

.............For the love of the beast.!
If I were to leave you fine fokes
doing what I love there would be no better way to go.!
.
.
........Sp
.

.

.

[Renee]

Softpatch, you have indeed rained on my parade.

MY scenario is that my character's grandfather bought it new in 1959, passed it down to his son, who passed it down to my character. What if through the years, some of those issues were addressed/added/replaced?

The following article is where I got the idea to use it:

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/1212c...vrolet-apache/

Thank you for your input.

[Roadkill58]

Please excuse my crude drawing.

A picture is better than I could explain.

This would allow a young girl to change a flat tire using a four-way lug wrench and support such as a 4X4 and a cheater pipe.

Sounds like a great story. Make the truck whatever you like. I'm sure we will enjoy the story.

.

[Renee]

That makes a lot of sense, thank you very much, Roadkill58. I think I am going to stay with the 1959 Apache after all!