The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs My 1958 Chevy Apache Suburban

This is mytwo58sone59 under another user name.

Thank you so much for the information and photos regarding my 1958 Chevy Apache Suburban. They are extremely helpful! I have many more questions but will wait till I get the truck out of the shop. To red58, you have some photos of the third tailgate brake light and assembly. Are these for sale? I am really interested in purchasing if they are.

To bartamos – Does the back doors, whether the vertical, or “clamshell” have anything to do with whether the vehicle is a Suburban or Carryall, or just by the make GMC/Carryall, Chevy/Suburban?

Here is a new link to some pics. I will try to get more up. I believe my step dad has pics from when he first bought it before the restoration. I hope to get those over the holiday break In December.

http://cymvideo.smugmug.com/Cars/1958-Chevy-Apache-Carryall/

I would love to hear any other info and what you think of my vehicle. I hope to drive it to a few car shows in the next few months. Very excited about that!

Just FYI – I have a 1958 Cadillac Sedan Deville I am restoring as well as a 1959 4 door Chevy Impala, thus my first user name.

Thanks again!

if you mean this one for the clam gate, a friend may have one, I'll check .... for the back doors, the "barn door" style were standard on all panel trucks, Chev or GMC, the clamshell style was more usual on the 'burbs, but the barn doors were an option

comments: you need to get the turn signal cup up where it belongs for it to cancel properly, may have a bad "wedge" or just loose screw, that comes up from the bottom under the handle, if you haven't noticed .... you need a fan shroud to avoid overheating problems, or a fan spacer to get it withing 1/2" of the rad .... I wouldn't open the hood at a car show with that rat nest wiring

Bill

double posted?

Yes, back in 2013. When his link did not work, now it does. Several answers given, post died due to lack of OP interest. That was his first post and this year, is his second post. But technically it is one post twice, and therefore.....never mind.

Yes sorry about the second post! Thanks for the wiring input. A new wiring harness is being installed this week so it should look much better.

Thanks Red 58 for checking on that rear brake light. Please let me know. Also, thanks for the info on the overheating and signal. I am installing a new signal assembly this week and will get to work on that shroud.

I will be much better at checking this often!

Thanks again!

Oh also wondered about the type of parking break this vehicle had and where to purchase parts?

Thanks!

...brake

first thing for you to do is go here read over the 55 truck shop manual to learn about the brakes - when you figure out how to find the parking brakes, and see if you need some parts, check the vendors in the links section, some pieces are available, some not

Bill

THANK YOU!

It didn't come with any parking brake parts at all so didn't know anything about it. Thanks again for the info

well if you're missing whole sections of 'stuff', the Factory Assembly Manual would be very helpful, also found at most vendors

Bill

Great! Thank you Bill!

Also here is a youtube link when it arrived in VA.




Thanks!

The Emergency brake handle mounts under left dash, ratchet type, tied to a rod which operates a bell crank which pulls a cable which pulls a spring loaded lever (at center of burb) which pulls on the left and right E-cables. Whew! Look under and see what you have. The bell crank or bell crank mount is in front of steering box on frame. Also see if you have the center of chassis lever mounted to a cross member. The cable runs thru a pulley below drivers door. Very nice Suburban with clam shell rear opening. lift gate/tail gate...technically: end gate and rear upper door. Your driver does not know how to keep it running. Jacking the gas pedal actually makes it die. Jack revving old engines, or any engine, is bad when cold. A steady pressure, with as low of RPM as possible until warm, is the way to do it. Set choke first or pull out choke knob when weather dictates. Again, really nice looking and will be loads of fun. I heard you say you thought it had more doors? The rear could have had rear doors, "barn doors", model 3106. Many people say the clam shell is more desirable and possibly worth more. model 3116. Three door Burb came out in 1967.
Just for reference: Many of the parts I'm speaking of are on Ebay now as item 301301969459 and 301288457640, if you are talking about the E-brake and not something else?

Awesome! Thank you! Yes I am looking into the parking brake situation. I found a few e-brake levers on ebay so looking into those. I will take a look underneath the car this week to see what I have in terms of the parking break setup. I am also ordering the shop manual for help. Yeah the driver wasn't a very caring driver and was in a rush to NY so....yes I will take better care by warming up before driving! I don't think the choke or the throttle knobs are attached/functional. My step dad installed a 350 automatic on the floor with approximately 30.000 on it so he didn't really reattach anything other than the basic necessities for short distance driving. Forgive my ignorance but do I need to make the choke and throttle knobs functional? Also, I didn't think it had more doors but was wondering why the two different style of doors and if thats what determined whether or not it was a burb or panel. That was answered in a previous post - Thanks you! It seems that 90% of the photos I see online are the barn doors. Haven't seen many clamshells. Thanks for taking a look at the video and I appreciate the kind words! I hope to be driving it again in a few weeks! Thanks again and more questions coming soon!

Also wondering about the type of cable/chain used to hold open the tailgate? My stepdad installed some basic cables and attached them by rapping them around the trunnions or posts or whatever they are.

Thanks!

Tail gate had spring loaded cables on a reel as seen in Assy Manual and maybe in repair manual. Hard to find original parts for those. Only came on clam shell burbs. The lift gate had metal sliding rails with a click up catch pawl. Your burb is built to accept barn doors if you ever want to switch. You don't need a throttle cable but it is nice to have a choke on dash if you have a manual choke carb. You may have an automatic choke (bimetal or electric), in which case no cable is needed. You may or may not have a pull-off. Don't think you have Fuel Injection? Probably not the way it started in video. It looked like it would start right up with the correct pre start procedure. In the video it was asking for gas! Sounds good with those pipes but sometimes can give you a headache on a long drive if they rumble inside that big sound chamber.

Great thank you! Would the cameo tailgate reel work or should I just "clean up" the cables I have now? Here is the link to the reels (bottom center of page)

http://www.truckandcarshop.com/trucks47_59/t47_069.html

The lift gate seems to be working really great! A little cleaning should really smooth it out. I will check on the choke situation. NO fuel injection. It does start up quickly. Yes it had a little gas but went straight to the gas station and filled it up with about $25. The sound isn't so bad. I plan to sound proof the entire floor which may help.

One big issue is the smell! It smells so much like exhaust. THAT gives me a headache. What can I do about that? I am putting new seals on the doors and windows, which at this point, none of the doors or windows have any, so maybe that will help. New seals will also be installed in the next week or two. Someone told me about possibly getting tailpipe ends that point down, would that really help?

Thanks again!

If you are getting exhaust inside the vehicle you need to check your exhaust system from front to back for leaks under the body or at the headers. No need to go to sleep on a road trip!

exhaust fumes in that body almost certainly come from the back door [gate/hatch] not being well sealed, I think Steele Rubber products has the proper seals for the back end ..... and pipe[s] that exit straight out under the middle area of the bumper like that will be a problem regardless, should be over to the side and angled down/out, factory was under the rearmost quarters slightly ahead of the bumper ends

Bill

Pullman Manufacturing makes the cable retractor (http://pullmanmfg.com/standard.html) which may be cheaper. You will need specialized wound aircraft cable which I bought from the company in California which sells tri-year Chevy parts only. It is the Nomad tailgate cable with ball swaged on the end, but you will have to have the cable shortened to the proper length and then reswaged. I posted a list of resources here which will help you with these parts.

Regards, Mark.

Thanks for this! Greatly appreciated. I know it has a new exhaust system but not sure about leaks. I will most definitely check that out as well as either extending and/or angling the tail pipes. Also wondered if the exhaust fumes can come up through the back wood floor? Although the back has some old carpet under the new, I thought this may be one of the reason also?

Thanks again!

Thank you Mark for the info on the tailgate cables. I will look into it. Other than the cable retractor link, you mentioned you posted a list of resources? I didn't see them or cant find them. What is the company in CA?

Thanks!

BTW Mark, do you have any closeup photos of the tailgate pulley attachments already installed on your truck? They are pretty strong and sturdy, right? Thanks!

the original wood floor is a sheet of plywood, well caulked to the body mount flange around the perimeter, not likely any fumes will penetrate it it's all about the back door seals, the air flow over/around the truck creates a vacuum right behind it that will allow the interior to "breathe in"

Bill

Danchuk makes all the parts for the pulleys and cables, but the cable is too long.(https://www.danchuk.com/SearchForm.aspx?search=Tailgate Cable&exclude=&mode=store&index=0&size=20)

The factory assembly manual has the best pictures for assembly and parts.
Just search under my name on this site, and the list will pop up.

Mark.

Great! Thanks for the info. Will keep you posted on all the progress.

Great looking Burb! Love to see it sometime, as we're not too far away from each other. I live in Lovettsville, VA.

Really nice looking (and sounding) truck!

Thank you Victor! Do you have one also? Once I feel that it is 100% dependable, I was thinking of taking a scenic drive up to Harpers Ferry sometime. I noticed that you are not far away. I will let you know.

Thanks again!

I am thinking of purchasing a factory assembly manual. Where is the best place to buy this? I have been searching online and called a few places but it is hard to find. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

all the vendors have the 55-59 assembly manual, all the same book - here, or here or here [last one has the copyright on mine, licensed by GM]

check yer PM

Great! I just ordered one. Thank you!

I had a similar exhaust issue on my 58 Suburban when I bought it. The rear clam shell seals were shot as were the sliding glass seals.

The exhaust was pretty much roached so I took to a local guy in Missouri and had him custom bend and weld up a new system for me. When I mentioned my exhaust smell problem he said the same thing about the fumes getting vacuumed into the cab through leaky seals. He recommended I run the exhaust tip out the drivers side of the truck. It now exits behind the drivers side rear wheel and sticks out about 4 inches. It solved my problem. I have since replaced the weather stripping in the back. The guy did a real nice job and was even careful not to interfere with the spare tire hanger/storage area under the floor.

Hi Larry,

Thank you for this great info. Over the past week I have been searching for the door seals/weather stripping for the back clam shell doors. Do you have any sources on where to purchase? I would like to install the back seals first to see if that will solve the exhaust fume issue, but if it doesn't, then I will look at moving the tailpipe.

You mentioned the spare tire hanger. I don't even know where that is? Any Info? I just received the assembly manual so looking forward to looking through it.

Transmission and drive train is being rebuilt so I am looking forward to driving it by the end of the week. I will post some more pics soon.

Thanks again!

the clam seals may be available from Steele Rubber, they have the glass rubber and also the barn door seals ... the original spare would have been under the tail, like a pickup

Bill

My 58:

I'm pretty sure I bought the weather stripping for the rear doors from Classicparts.com Their showroom was bout 20 miles from my house in the KC area. I was very spoiled in KC. Jim Carter was about 5 minutes up the road, Classic Parts was about 25 minutes and LMC was about 45 minutes if I was feeling motivated. I usually alternated between Jim Carters and Classic Parts. My truck club met in the Classic Parts showroom once a month so I'd usually load up while I was there.

Anyway, back to my point. I have clamshell doors on my Suburban. The weather stripping was kind of a universal fit that was just a long strip with the plastic plugs spaced along the length. If you have clam shell doors that is a good option. If you have barn doors I'd go with Bill's suggestion and get a set from Steele Rubber. I've never bought from them but they have a great reputation. I believe Bill provided them with a set of NOS or really good shape examples to make their "mold/pattern" from so they are supposed to be spot on.

Like Bill said, my spare mounts directly under the cargo floor just behind the rear bumper. There is a long hinged support bar with a key hole in the end that slips over a large round nut at the end of a long bolt that hangs down from the opposite frame rail. It should all be laid out in the assembly or shop manual. Quite often these pieces are lost/tossed over the years. I was fortunate that mine was complete when I bought the truck.

Your plan sounds good. Get yourself a set of weather seals and fix the doors. If that doesn't work, make sure all of your sliding glass weather stripping is good. If not, fix that and see what happens. As a last resort, reroute the tail pipe. My exhaust had to be done anyway, so I did that before the other steps. Good luck!!

Thank you!! lots of great info! lucky all your resources are close! That's great! Larry, do you have any pics of your truck that I can see?

I will take a look at Steel Rubber and Classicparts for the clam shell seals.

All my side windows DO NOT have any seals either so I will most definitely take your advice in sealing everything first before any pipe re-arranging.

I will also check out underneath for any sign of the spare tire setup, once I get it back from the shop here in a few days.

I have to be honest in saying that I feel a little discouraged after seeing underneath the car when it was up on the rack for the transmission rebuild. WOW!! Very dirty and lots of caked on mud and gunk! I guess a work in progress!

Thank you again for all the great info!

Mike

Mike;

Sorry for the late reply. See some pictures at the following link:
http://s1053.photobucket.com/user/biglarry3/library/ The exterior pictures are on page two of the album.

I guess all the good pictures I have of the truck were taken before I redid the exhaust. I don't have a good picture that shows where it exits behind the driver's side rear wheel. I have a whole bunch of detail pictures of different areas if you are looking for something in particular.

Hi all, Just wanted to check in after so long. I just get my 58 out of the shop and I am enjoying the drive! I also just purchased a 1958 Airstream to go along with my suburban! Its pretty sweet and I am very excited to get going on that. Anyone else have an airstream and burb?

Hi all,

I just purchased a 58 Airstream to go along with my 58 Apache Suburban. Anyone else have a similar match? I will send pics when I remember how. Thanks!