1961 Chevy Apache 10 Stepside Shortbed

Owned by Bob Clark "Bob61Apache" Bolter # 17910 Jasper, Florida

Victoria Day
19 May 2008
# 2328

From Bob :

           Here are some photos of my 1961 Apache 10 Stepside Shortbed. It's my daily go to the farm to feed the horse truck. [ Farm truck interior photo, including the important farm hat! ~ Editor ]

           I bought the truck a month ago as a "parts truck" on eBay and trailered it 250 miles home. April 22 was a red letter day. I got the clutch and brakes working and took the truck on her maiden voyage. It started right up when I charged the battery and seems to run okay. I had had the truck for about two weeks and It sounded like a thrashing machine, so a valve adjustment was in order. Otherwise it was running well.

           My first mile was to the tire store for four new ones, whitewalls no less [ driver's side pix ] . The ones on it were coded as manufactured in 1999 so it needed them.

           Then on to the "farm" about five miles away. Someone put gas shocks on the truck and as light as it is, it rides like the axles are bolted directly to the frame. I will probably go back to stock shocks soon.

           The speedometer didn't work and I discovered it's not connected. Guess that's why it says only 56,000 miles. This past weekend, I replaced the speedometer. It's interesting to know how fast (or slow) I was actually driving. I carried the riding lawn mower home and back to the pasture. With feeding the horse, I'm putting 10 to 20 miles a day on the truck.

           The temp gauge and fuel gauges don't work either but the amp and oil lights do.

           So, so far I had to put a master cylinder, tires, and a speedometer in it along with adjusting the valves.

           It's pretty much original, a 235 six [ pix ] with "three on the tree" and no frills. One sunvisor, defroster and that's about it. No lighter, no radio, one speed wipers and a hand throttle (original cruise control?) are about it.

           It runs well and stops when you apply the brakes.

           Now comes the hard part: repair the body. I'll use it while I do it -- it keeps it more interesting that way. So it will take time. At least it's not going to the scrap heap!!!

           All in all, I think it will be a great little truck. It's complete and pretty original so I can use it to get hay for the horse and still hit the local cruise-ins. It's nice to have something I can actually work on.

Bob

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