The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1958 Chevy Apache 3104 Restoration - Been waiting long time

Writing an opening post in a forum like this is pretty surreal. I just put an offer on a 1958 Chevy 3100 "Apache" and I expect to win it. I have wanted to restore a car since I was young, now that I'm 30 I've saved enough to start.

About me

I grew up on a farm in Arkansas. I was home-schooled, progressed through college quickly, and was a Registered Nurse in Baptist Hospital by the time I was 20. I was pretty burnt out by the time I was 28, and began looking for other options. I'd been repairing pinball machines and 80's arcade machines in my spare time for a few years, and opened up full time and at the same time enrolled in engineering school. I will graduate in a year with an ME. Either I was too efficient or there's just not much of a market here for vintage entertainment machines but it went well for a year and then I ran out of work. So then, I remodeled two houses, and found that painting was part of remo that had the best return for me. It's easy work, but I'm good at it and it's paying for school and my family, and I have more work than I can handle. I actually like it so much, and it's so stress free that I might just keep doing it after I get my degree.

When I was in high school, my Father bought a 1976 MCI 8, which we stripped to the frame and built a motorhome from the bays up. We rebuilt the Detroit engine, and a generator, (and two tractor engines, one tranny, v8 in a boat, and the carbs in the old GMC's the fire station.) All that to say, I can weld steel and sheet, and I'm good with a torch. I've used an HVLP almost every day for 2 years now and I'm getting good. I can repair literally anything if it's mechanical or electrical, but I am completely worthless when it comes to talking cars and talking shop. I know little about the history, and what motor was in what, and what things are called...I don't know any tips and tricks. I don't know what engines are good for what and where they come from. I've just repaired what I've had. I feel like I come with good skills and little knowledge.

The '58 Apache

I've got about $8k to start, and I found this guy in Searcy who's asking $5100 for a rusty 1958 Apache. It has a rebuilt in-line six...which I think is a 235 which he says he rebuilt with his dad; some kind of 4 speed manual on the floor. It's an absolute blast to drive. Ping pongs all over the place. No muffler. No electrics whatsoever work. Has all it's glass. Chassis appears to be in good shape. Started on the second crank. A little water vapor came out of the valve cover after it got warm, but it'd been sitting a month or two. Rust: Driver's side pan under a window leak 3" round, back driver side fender, and rear of door frame, and what I think is called a rocker panel. The rest of the truck looks pretty solid... but you know. This truck appears to be one I can handle with the skills I have, and one I can afford. I also feel like this kid did a good job on the motor and tranny, he's the capable but cautious type. It also comes with a chrome trim kit, and two more inline-sixes, some body panels, and two 3-speed transmissions. So hopefully it works out cause I'm getting excited about this becoming a reality for us.

My wife is the grand-daughter of, we'll say, an "important person" in the NSRA, and it's cool that this is kind of her dream too. We've been wanting to take a car to shows since before we were married, and on our own steam. Our plan is to repair or upgrade the steering, put in some safety measures and try to hit some nearby shows this year... then hopefully have it where we want it for Louisville next year for the 50th Anniversary show. I'm still getting used to the shows, and it's hard to get real perspective since it's always a family affair.

If you made it this far, I'm glad to be here and I'm excited. Thanks for letting me join I hope this is a place I can learn and contribute.
-GB Ward


This my first post here in the DITY Gallery. I have laid out details on the engine HERE in the Engine Shop. This is the engine that came in it. Then I have a thread HERE for the new engine.

PRE-INTRODUCTION
It’s been a long week. I got the funds for this project because my ‘09 Tacoma got totaled by a careless driver and I got an insurance check. The plan was to buy a beater truck for a daily driver, and use the rest to buy a classic. A friend had a 2001 Ford Ranger with 200k miles for basically free, so I couldn’t turn that down. The truck was well taken care of but had been sitting for 2 years and would not start. We tried to jump it with my wife’s car and it (her car) threw a rod… so we wound up using most of the repair budget on buying her a “new” 2008 RAV4. Boo. The good news is, I threw a new fuel pump in the Ranger and it roared to life. It was well maintained, and looks like it’s going to be good for quite a while. Boy was the insurance company confused that I bought three cars this week.


INTRODUCTION
This will be our first restoration. A 1958 Chevy Apache 3104. Half Ton, Stepside with a 235 Thriftmaster. Borg-Warner 4 Speed Transmission. The engine and transmission are rebuilt. It runs and drives. There is a lot of rust...but there are only a few places that this appears to be more than superficial, have a look below the driver side door.

Additional goodies:
2 more 235 engines, one assembled, another disassembled
2 3 speed transmissions
Service Manuals
New Back Glass
Another set of doors

Obtained the lot for $5100. Perhaps you can tell me if this was a good deal or not. I do not know. It was the best option I’d seen in a while.

VISION
I want an attractive car that is reliable and as safe as it can be. This project is about fun and making memories, not about original condition or show quality.

THE TEST DRIVE
The test drive went well. He lives near the meeting place and drove it over, so I didn’t get to see it start cold. But, we talked for 35 minutes or so before we parted ways, and it did not complain to start again. The engine sounds good, idles nicely, but does lug when it is floored. All gears are smooth, I have driven a manual my entire life, but this one was more difficult. I brought a friend along who assured me the difficulty was my fault, not the tranny’s. I about had it figured out about 5 miles in. The brakes work surprisingly well for a truck this old. I could not get them to lock and they stopped well. He’d put in all new brake lines and done a good job, and the master cylinder was stock. It’s unbearably loud in the cab as there is no muffler, just manifolds. The steering is very loose, it gets pretty uncomfortable faster than 45 MPH after which it starts to feel more like a wagon ride downhill than driving. The brake is really high, I can’t get my foot on it without knee-ing the steering wheel. There is no parking brake.


PREPPING TO BRING IT HOME
I live about 60 miles away. I remember the tires being old but I don’t remember them being just horrible. I’m pretty sure I’ve hauled cattle on worse, but he refuses to let me drive it home without bringing a set of tires. After 4 stores refusing to sell me garbage tires I found this classy little joint called Macuil’s and got some 15’s out of their dumpster for free. The best I could get were a set of 205 65R15s’, Lord I hope I can get them on the rim by hand.

So the plan is to run up there Saturday morning, see if I can pull in the stock steering to something tolerable, check fluids, swap out a tire or two and head to the gas station. Then we’ll take the back roads home at a comfortable speed depending on how I feel about tires and the mechanics.

What I plan to bring:
Ear Plugs
CB Radio
Tire Spoons
Jack
Jackstands
Soapy Water
Rags
Screwdrivers
Hand Mall
Box Wrenches
Socket Set
Nut Drivers
Pitcher
Funnel
Vise Grips
Gas Can
Needlenose
Channel-locks
Utility Knife
Wonderbar x2
Multimeter
Alligator Jumpers
Wire
Crimp Connectors
Crimper
Jumper Cables
Tow chains
Tow lights
Cardboard box
Blowtorch
Penetrating Oil / WD / 3n1
Couple quarts 10W30
Brake fluid
Wheel Chocks
Yellow rope
Piece of pipe
Bicycle Pump
2x4
Allen wrenches
Gloves
Crescent Wrench
Flare tool
Pipe Cutter
Zip Ties
Stiff Wire
Flashlight
Fire extinguisher
Water
Infrared thermometer


CURRENT QUESTIONS
*Am I forgetting anything? Fluids?
*Other than checking fluid levels, making sure there is no air in the lines, and making sure pedal travel is correct, what else should I do to prevent surprises with the brakes?


UPCOMING REPAIR QUESTIONS
Muffler - Thriftmaster makes 145 horsepower. This multiplied by 2.2 CFM is 319… which according to some charts means I need a 2” to 2 ¼” exhaust. Any reason I can’t just grab a clean junkyard muffler with a 2 ¼” bore and weld up an assembly to the manifold?

Steering Box - I plan to drive this to Louisville next year. I don’t want to be exhausted when I get there from an 8 hour game of PONG. I also want my wife to be able to control the truck when she drives. It doesn’t have to drive like a minivan. If it drove like a VW Bus that’d be ok. What do you think, is it worth rebuilding the stock steering or should I upgrade?

sounds like you got it covered , might bring a extra battery if you have one ? use your ebrake if you need to ,
also you paid a fair price for it , Not every one can find a great deal , Now go start building your Truck , You now have Truck Fever ,GOOD LUCK

Allot yourself plenty of extra time for the trip. Time to deal with unexpected breakdowns. It’s suppose to be really cold in your neck of the woods this weekend so dress in layers and throw in a couple of blankets.🛠

Only thing missing is the trailer 🎩😁
Just kidding you got it covered more prepared then I was and I HAD the trailer.
Good luck

Good trip, bad trips....either one makes for a nice conversation and a good laugh..........a year later.

My philosophy is we drive these vehicles locally, start and stop driving, for hundreds of miles and never think anything about it. A road trip is no different except we can keep rolling along.

**my first road trip in the panel was to the homecoming. Yep, you guessed it. On the side of the road running hot. Found a ground wire loose. Rest of the trip was great.

** Second trip to the Stovebolt Reunion in K.C. and a NEW alternator gave out. Changed it and no problems. Rest of the trip was great. Wasn't fun at the time but we laugh and talk it about it like it was the grandest adventure we had ever been on...... Oh, and this was just 4 months after open heart surgery.

We can't live in fear. Go for it and enjoy the ride.

Blankets is a FANTASTIC idea.

Haha, my first "trip" that I recall was when my dad bought a John Deere Model B and drove it home from about 50 miles away. My mother and I followed in our Nissan hardbody. Most boring day of my childhood.

The only times we've been stranded are from the MCI bus. We had a U joint go out once in Missouri. Another time we'd just got new tires and were on the way to Disneyland. We get halfway down the panhandle and it's my turn to drive, and I can see the hubcap flashing in the side mirror. I pull over and the outside tire has sheared almost all its bolts and the last few are still on but cross threaded. Boy fleet tire got an earful from my dad, I've never seen him so mad. Two parents, my grandmother, us four children, and two dogs spent a day and a half camped on I-10 waiting on parts...sideways! The ditch angle was so great half of us couldn't sleep in our bunks and had to sleep on the floor.

Had some friends add a couple things to the "Bring" list:

Ether (I am putting on new tires after all)
Stem tool
Aircraft Cable (he says he has all the ebrake parts but the cable was rotted)
New Stems
Gallon of Water

I went ahead and bought tires. I found a set of Hankook Dynapro MT's for $140 in great shape.

Wish me luck!

GETTING IT HOME

My wife, friend Daniel and I started out Saturday morning. It was 37 and sleeting by the time we got to Searcy. I married a pretty robust woman, and Daniel is one to have fun when others complain, so we set right to work, sleet and all. We soon found that mounting the tires by hand was nearly impossible in our time frame, so we decided to load up the new tires in the Apache and drive on the old to a nearby shop. We had a flat a mile-and-half in, so we pulled into a resident's field, asked permission and jackstanded it. We removed all four wheels, took them to the "nearby shop" and got some lunch while the weather improved. When we returned, the jackstands had sunk so far into the grass the truck was sitting on the axles, not the jackstands. No big deal, it just took longer. We took off again, made it another 3 miles before my "Spidey sense" started tingling.

Not really sure what it was I pulled off, and we found that the mud tires I'd bought were too wide and that the truck bed was rubbing the rear passenger tire every time I hit a bump. The real problem was that the rear axle is off-center by about 1.25". We didn't have the tools to handle that so we tried to loosen the truck bed and scoot it over. That was inadequate so we loosened all bed bolts on the passenger side and crammed a board in there between the chassis and the bed, and tightened all the bolts back down. This gave us clearance against the tire and we were all set.

We made it to the next stop sign, and not being used to the clutch, I killed it. It didn't start. We used up most of the battery figuring out the choke valve control had come loose, and had to jump it. I'm not sure if this alternator is not charging, if it's just under-powered, or if it's lost a diode and working against itself... because it "does" charge, just not at low RPM, and my battery only gets just to 12V after a long drive.

After that it drove right home. The gauge doesn't go past 37 MPH but Daniel said I would hit 60 or so pretty regularly. After this the steering gets pretty squirrel-ly, but it is not at all bad. I would say 55 was comfortable. The steering feels like it will tighten right up. I think the drum brakes performed well. Our route was 36 to Searcy, 367 South to Jacksonville, 161 to North Little Rock > McCain > North Hills > Broadway Bridge > Markham > Home. This was a very acceptable drive in this truck, and lots of gas stations. I stopped regularly and checked the block temperature, and she never went over 110*F which I was really impressed by.

When we finally got it home I realized that the Ignition Coil had been boiling over, and was still doing so. Not sure what that is unless this a 6V coil in a 12V system... but we'll figure that out soon. First I've got to get it settled, make a check list of what I want to do, and read the shop manual.

Thanks for the help! Stay tuned.

PS. The Paint code is 700A, looks like it was mono-tone Jet Black originally. Does anybody know how to use a VIN# to find more history on the car?

UPDATE AND GETTING A MUFFLER

Turns out the ignition coil boiling was from leaving the key in while I was rooting around making room, the distributor was holding the points closed. I had to drive her to the muffler shop, sometime in the next couple days, and I lost the drive shaft bearing. It just fell out, was easy enough to put back in while it was on the lift. I've driven it around town, it's done a great job. I had to cut down some trees in the front yard, it's just like having a tractor. Finally I had the time to start taking a serious look at the engine. I've posted the results in the Engine Shop. I'll update a link as soon as it's written.

Update: I've got a new 235, and am having a look into it to see if it needs a rebuild or not, then I plan to swap it in if all is well.

Link:A New 235 for Chevy Apache