The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1959 Chevy Apache 31 "Ernest"

A couple of weeks ago I took one of my fenders to my Brother-in-Law, he had been wanting to get involved with the truck. I had ordered a lower patch panel some time back so I had all he would need to get started . He is not a new comer to welding panels, he repaired all of the panels on his 50' F1 and did a good job on it.

Today he sent me a picture of my fender cut and having the patch mocked up, he said he would get it welded in the next week or so. Some times help is a good thing.

I try not to complain about the weather down here, I know many of your are dealing with freezing temps or knee deep snow. We had one and off rain for most of the weekend so I didn't get the Top Coat completed on the frame. I did what I could and worked between the showers.

I managed to get the springs mounted on the frame, the rear are only hand tight as I will need to lower them to mount the rearend. I replaced all the hardware and bushings, new shackle bolts and pins as well. I chose to use stainless Poly Lock nuts and stainless washers on the shackles, I wanted something that would stay tight and not rust. I think the end result looks decent too.

The next step would be to mount the front axle, hopefully this next week. I feels great to be seeing some progress after so long.

First of all "Happy Veterans Day" to all of My Brothers In Arms and thank you for your Service to this Country.

I spent the better part of the day with just myself, working on the 59', it's therapy for the mind and body. I tried to concentrate on getting the frame together, the rain has put a damper on my applying the Top Coat so I made the best of it and started some assembly. I used some creative engineering and my engine hoist to get things moved around and in position, it's amazing what you can come up with to get a job done. I set the rear axle in place and bolted up my traction bars, the traction bars serve as the bottom plate for the rear suspension. Having already mocked everything up this assemble went smoothly.

I re-positioned the frame and started on the front axle, again no problems at all. I still need to fabricate the lower mounts for the sway bar, this will attach to the front set of U-Bolts so I chose to leave them off for the time being. I want to be able to set up the sway bars with some weight on the chassis.

I took advantage of a break in the rain and mounted the tires, these wont stay on the frame as yet, I just wanted to get an idea of how the frame set. I took a few minutes and measured the front axel scrub line in conjunction to the lower rim lip height. As this is a Sid's 4" drop axle I my need to rethink my tire and wheel choice, that of course is for a later day.

I spent an entire morning and most of the afternoon getting the chassis to this point, a "ROLLER", after years of planning it's finally coming together. I may celebrate with a Beer and toast to my fellow Vets, just a Great Day...

More Pictures from this Morning:

And just one more:

Those slapper bars look a little on the long side. IMHO

Apache1,
When I mocked everything up I added weight to the chassis to compress the springs for normal ride height. At the loaded spring height the snubbers (which aren't mounted in the picture) are positioned about 3/4" just under the front spring eye. I can adjust the snubber mounting point 1" forward or rear as may be needed once it's actually under load.

Thanks for following.

This past week end I was only able to spend a couple of hours on the Truck.

I mounted the engine mounts to the frame using Grade 8, 3/8" X 24 x 11/4" bolts and swedge type locking nuts. I bought all the hardware from our local Automotive Fasteners, I was surprised at how reasonable the cost was. I spent a total of $16.60 for 20 bolts, nuts and lock washers and additional 40 flat washers.

I mounted the transmission cross member and front upper shock mounts as well. Everything received a Top Coat of POR15.

This week I'm going to concentrate on get the engine painted, we have a couple of days with no rain in the forecast and the temps and humidity are right. I have a couple of days off coming the week of Thanksgiving and want to set the engine in the frame and get it fired at least to break in the cam. It's seems like a lot of work just to pull it back out again but it needs to be done at some point and I'll have the time. We'll see how this all turns out.

Your progressing nicely! Good luck on getting her fired up!

What Automotive Fastener store do you have locally?

Edit: Nice store, I just looked it up on line. Wish we had one in Upstate NY! Most of my bolting I bought online or from Ace Hardware and not cheap.

I finished prepping the engine for paint and taped up everything. Normally I would paint the engine myself if it were just a rattle can or something that I wasn't too concerned about the finish, not this time. I have a friend that has a paint booth and will do the honors for me. I have never used a HVLP paint gun and didn't want to use this engine as a learning curve. The up side of this is that I will get first hand knowledge on HVPL paint gun and set up, and get a good paint finish to boot.

I loaded the engine and stand on my trailer for a short trip in the morning to the paint shop. I figured it would be easier to paint it on the stand, there is a forklift at the shop to handle moving it around. With luck and good weather I will have a painted engine and can start final assemble this weekend.

Paint Day happened, I'm really happy with the results. I have to thank Keefe again for the use of the paint booth and him doing the dirty work (Thank the Lord for good friends). I used Universal Red ceramic high temp engine paint from Eastwood. We followed the instructions and mixed at a 4:1 ratio paint to activator, no reducer was needed. The weather was perfect, it was 72 degrees and sunny.

I wiped the engine down with acetone just prior to painting. Keefe applied a light coat for the first and we waited 20 minutes before applying the second coat. Keefe used a HVLP paint gun he actually picked up from Harbor Freight yesterday, he has an expensive gun but just wanted to try this one. He said he was impressed with a gun that only cost $9.00, it was easy to adjust and the spray pattern was spot on.

I'll let the engine set up over the Thanksgiving and bring it home Friday. The fun is just getting started, I'm still smiling.

Love the red color! It will look great with those white headers!

I finally took a couple of hours this week and worked on final assembly of the 327. The paint turned out great and the finish is hard and has a nice gloss, it looks great against the stainless hardware from ARP. I adjusted the valves and bolted on the valve covers, I used Speedway neoprene steel-core gaskets. I mounted the intake and carb, the intake is a vintage Edelbrock C4B, this was Vic Edelbrock's first production intake. The carb is a Holley 680 CFM Double Pumper with vacuum secondary's and electric choke. I used a 1" Mr. Gasket spacer to add a little more length to the the plenums.

I used an AC Delco short shaft water pump, the heads are not drilled for accessories so I chose to keep that same look. I did want to upgrade to a serpentine belt, for this I used a March Performance Crank and Water pump pulley combination. The pulleys are six row rib and as such I had to change the alternator pulley as well. The alternator is a Power Master single wire unit rated at 140 Amps with a 54" Dayco Belt. The bracket are from Specter with a little modification to the upper mount. I really liked the way the serpentine pulleys and belt drive turned out, it's clean and should give years of reliable use.

I am still working out the fuel line from the pump to the Carb, all the lines are stainless. The fuel pump is a Holley 110 GPM unit that is rebuildable, I added a Jegs in line fuel pressure gauge at the Carb. The headers are eye candy as "Jerry" would say, I doubt the engine spends too much time in the RPM range needed to make them effective, but do love the sound. My palms get sweaty just thinking about bringing this to life and hearing it run.

That looks really great! I like the old school look. Nice work.

Lookin’ Good! Won’t be long now to hear that baby fire up!

Hey everyone. I 'm getting the final pieces together to set the engine in the frame. Mounted the distributor, plug and wires. Had to take the engine off the stand to mount the flywheel and bell housing. I used ARP flywheel bolt with Loc Tite and torqued to 85 ft lbs, once in the frame I'll mount the starter.

So as all great plans go there are so issues. First, the Free Be headers wont fit the chassis ( go figure), they won't clear the original transmission crossmember. Answer cut off the collectors, hey they were free! The headers I used to mock up the engine were from a 69" C10, that was 15 years ago and they were trash then. The up side is I know what headers I need, the down side I just cut up my cool old school white headers

Second, the ultra cool urethane motor mounts are to short. Answer use the original style mounts that were used during the mock up (DUH HUH) again that was 15 years ago. I'll figure out the long term fix after the engine run in.

I just used 2x4's to mount the radiator for now, I haven't even touched the radiator core support. A few more tasks and I'll be ready to fire the engine, the goal is for Sunday so keep your fingers crossed for me.

So today I fired the 327. It fired first try and actually idled , I set the timing and adjusted the carb settings. I ran it up to temp and then bumped the idle up above 2000 RPM and ran it for 30 minutes to break the cam in. After the cam was run in I shut it down and looked over everything, the oil looked good and the temp was holding about 185 (200 at the head). I fired it back up and throttled it back several times , above 5000 RPM at one point, "if it's going to come apart lets do it now". I'm smiling from ear to ear, dang this thing wants to run .

https://www.vzmessages.com/vl/51c75b74bc97c3cb230cebeff43e89e7b37d468e

https://www.vzmessages.com/vl/31d9c37c199ba14a60dea97cabc6adcb5481353f

Very cool. That’s a fun day!

So now that the engines been fired (still smiling), I need to tackle the motor mounts. I had thought about leaving well enough alone but I really want to use the urethane mounts. I took a good look at what I have now and have decided to make some new brackets. I welded the se up years ago and well my welding skill has improved a lot. I was thinking about using some 2" square tubing I have and mocking up new side mounts.

While I have the welder out I'll look at the brake booster mount and hydraulic clutch set up.

I'm looking at headers as well, I really want to keep the white tubes but would like to have ceramic coated as well. Always an adventure.

You may as well get all you wants and desires installed now that you got clear access. You’ve only waited 30 years so whats a few more months!

In a effort to keep the momentum going while figuring out the motor mounts and headers I decided to mount the brake booster. I had decided a while back to use a Hydroboost as my cam was to tall to provide a decent amount of vacuum. I found a universal mount that allowed me to move the position around enough to use the original clutch pedal.

While mounting the booster bracket and pedal assembly I found that I had to remove the rivets that held the clutch bushing in place, the booster mounted at this point and needed to bolted on. The factory rivets are no joke, these things are 60 plus years old and as solid today as when installed. Having the mount fabbed up I made a plate to attach the Hydroboost to the universal mount. The Hydrobooster came from a 96' Chevy 3/4 ton van, the factory plate positioned the booster at a downward angle, using it wasn't a option as it wouldn't allow clearance for my transmission crossmember.

I mounted everything up loosely to check the fit, no issues with clearances. Once it's painted I will need to mock up the lines to the power steering pump and start work on the brake lines. I think this is going to add the stopping power I want and allow me to have a hydraulic clutch to boot.

Hey Craig, looking good!

Looks like a pro did it!

That is cool that the stock floor opening fits to access the reservoir.

Keep up the good work.
Steve

Well new headers are on the way, Hedman Headers 55-66 Chevy Truck these should fit the bill !! I went with the uncoated as I still want paint them white for that "Old School" look. https://www.jegs.com/i/Hedman/500/6...1pTkFZNVTxRtdQen6MGfOPQHw6RoCCyoQAvD_BwE

Before Thanksgiving I ordered some parts for my Muncie, they had been on backorder and finally came in this week. On first inspection the trans seemed to be fit, I had planned to only replace the seals and tail shaft bushing, all that changed. I opened the the tail shaft and found the reverse gear and idler where chewed up. The way the teeth looked someone had been doing some of that Beau and Luke stuff. Teeth on the idler gear were chunked off and the reverse gear showed the same. So more parts got ordered, those came in in just 2 days (go Figure).

I pulled the case apart and started disassembly and getting it into the solvent tank for a good cleaning. Once it's all cleaned up I'll reassemble it with the new gears, bushings and seals.

The Fed Ex guy has been busy here this week. I received the gear set for my Muncie and the new headers. I'll tackle the trans this weekend. I took an hour this afternoon and fit the headers to check for clearance problems, these look like they'll work and not require to many turn in the exhaust to mount up. I'll need to bead blast off the paint they were shipped with and apply some high temp ceramic paint, white of course. I 'll need to add heat shields to the plug wires and work on some wire looms. Love it when a plan comes together

They look great, even in black!

I have been having "Hand to Hand " Combat with the Muncie... it won a few in the beginning. I had some issues keeping the syncro's in place while putting the mainshaft back in, the sliders would move and release the pins. I had ordered some transmission assembly lube along with the gear sets and seals, this stuff in sticky as a fresh Booger. I was afraid to us to much at first but the more I put on the better it held, once the trans is assembled and filled the lube breaks down with the gear oil. I also had a problem with the reverse shift lever detent. The ball is a pain to get fitted and the moment you move the arm it would come out again. I used a feeler gauge to hold it in position as I mounted the tail housing, worked pretty well.

I shopped around for parts and found "The Gear Box", their located in SC so shipping wasn't bad to Ga.. They were great folks to work with and had everything I needed for the Muncie, they specialize in manual transmissions and had a great supply of parts.

I finished the final assembly on the Muncie. Everything fit together smoothly and functioned as needed. I replaced both of the shift forks prior to fitting the side cover. One of the shift forks had some serious wear on the pin that the shift lever rides on, I thought it best to just replace both.

I still need to do a couple of small things, I want to replace all the external hardware, purely for looks, and clean the case. I have a new polyurethane transmission mount to add as well. Once it all mounted up I will really be able to check the clearance for the brake booster and clutch pedal assembly. The last piece to this will be the drive shaft, I have 2 on hand that should be close to the correct length.

I set the transmission in the chassis and checked all the mounting points, everything looks like it will bolt up. I tried cleaning the trans case with some Aluma Bright, this is used on over the road trucks for fuel tanks and wheels. It cleaned the case well but left a chalky finish that just doesn't look that great. I know the the trans will be under the truck and no one will see it but I know how it looks. I wire brushed part of the case and was happy with that finish so I'll do the rest of the trans sometime this week and then apply a clear coat..

As fate would have it the 2 driveshafts I have fit both categories, too long and too short. I may just cut the longer driveshaft down and weld it to length, or have one built ($$$). Either way I will need to have it balanced. I may take an afternoon and "Bribe" my son into going to the wrecking yard, I should be able to find a driveshaft the right length. I have a list that hangs on the wall in the shed just for wrecking yard items, it's been a while since I made a run anyway.

Craig;

Things are looking good, it is coming together nicely. It is too late now, but I had really good results with soda blasting my carb. On the internet there are all sorts of quick designs to fab a makeshift media blow gun, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works. The finish is bright and clean, and that is using the old baking soda odour container from the back of the fridge!
I love spending an afternoon wandering through the junk yard. The ones around here are getting to be lame as they are mostly full of newer cars. The older trucks, think 70s and 80s, are getting to be rare nowadays.
Regarding the driveshaft, my suggestion would be to take the long one to the balance shop and let them shorten and balance it. If you are taking it to them for balancing, how much more will it be to shorten it too? I have looked into getting one made to order as I am going to need one sooner or later. They are about 350.00 CAD here.

All the best, I enjoy your posts.
Steve

Steve,
It may not be to late as yet. I haven't clear coated the trans or bell housing, I only have then positioned as mock up for the clutch linkage. I may look into the soda blasting and clear over that. Way cool suggestion.

Hey, so here are a couple of pictures of the carb I soda blasted, a before and after sidexside comparison. To minimize wasted soda remove the hard, crusty stuff 1st. There are pre-built guns, but I had good success with the unit I built.
One last suggestion, wear a mask, the stuff tastes terrible!

Happy blasting!
Steve

Steve, I just picked up some stuff to put a blaster together. Harbor Freight had a cheap blow gun, got some tubing from Ace Hardware. It's going to rain most of this week here so maybe I can give it a shot this weekend. Cool idea.

So on with the great motor mount debate. After considering all of my options I decided to make new side mounts and use the aftermarket style urethane mounts. I pulled the trans and bell housing last night and blocked the engine in place removing the side mounts and rubber engine mounts. I took some preliminary measurements and determined the side mounts need to be 3/8" longer at accommodate the urethane mounts. I'll need to mock up some templates and check for fit but once done I should be able to fab up the side mounts this week. I'll post pictures of my struggles later.

]I had to get some work finished on another one of me fleet, I rebuilt the front end of my 05' Yukon. So the 59' took a back seat for a few days. I did get the front shocks mounted and started on the motor mounts. The shock took some research, since I moved the mount behind the axel the measurements changed. I used the information on the Monroe web page to find a a shock that fit the mounting and length as well as the load needs. The shocks (P/N 34803) are for a C10 so the weight and dampening should work. They mount right up no issues.

I had removed one the motor mounts that fabbed up originally and used it for a pattern. The new mounts will be about 3/8" longer and 1/2" wider. I still need to complete the gusset and tubing for the bolt but it already looks better than what I had. At the least my weld skills have improved so they should be cleaner.

I worked some more on the motor mounts over the weekend. I didn't have a long enough piece of material so I had to weld a small section to the base to get the length I needed. It worked out fine and once a ground the welds it looked just right. I still need to fab the gussets and cut the tubing for the through bolts. I'll work on that this afternoon, with luck they should be ready for paint in the next couple of days.

I have been researching driveshafts, I think I'll order one complete in the length that I need. we don't have anyone locally anymore who builds them, I would rather buy from a local shop but that's not an option with this. The prices range from around $150.00 to over $500.00, depending on the specs involved and the HP and Torque. I'll keep looking and find a happy medium, I don't want to go cheap here but I also don't need a a race only shaft.

I'll post some pics this evening.

PS: As luck would have it I ran out of welding wire....

Sorry for the gap in posting. I had a co-worker pass away and have been helping out his family as much as possible.


I have gotten a little more work done on the motor mounts. Everything is welded up and ready for a cleaning followed by POR15. I'm going to do a trial fit prior to the finish work just to be safe, i wouldn't want to recoat them after I screw them up. I did get another chance to use a new tool of mine, the Eastwood CONTOUR SCT, this thing does amazing work, it cleaned up my mounts in just a few minutes. I know I'm going to love this thing when the body work starts.

PS... This week I received an Instrument Cluster from Wenchbender Ret (George, Thank you) it should clean up nice.

Craig,
New here on the Stovebolt as of this AM. Absolutely blown away at the progress of your build. I am excited to do basically the same project as yourself, and would appreciate your input (as well as any others )
My 59 was a 6cyl. Standard. I am also going with a 327 but mine will have a turbo 400 automatic trans.(Pontiac GTO).I have cut out the stock center crossmember in exchange for new ones. I have purchased both motor mount and trans mount crossmembers from CPP. My questions are, can you advise me as to the correct location on the frame for these crossmembers,based on your build? Trying to avoid the mock up process (if that is even possible.
Being a beginner both here on the Stovebolt as well as with custom builds,
It is quite the eye opener to see folks like yourself who can fabricate your own mounts and position accurately. I will try in the next few days to add some pics of my project. (Still learning how).

Thank you and anyone else for any guidance

Hello Buck Man,

Welcome to the Stovebolt and the Project Journal forum! Your '59 will be of great interest to our forum participants. Be sure to ask your questions in the appropriate forum(s). There's a wealth of knowledge here on the SB. Check into the Welcome Center an introduce yourself. Also, the Hipo Shop forum will be of great interest to you.

I'll send you a PM with some additional information after you have five approved posts. You can just click on the flashing red envelope in the upper righthand corner to open it.

Once again, welcome. You're gonna love it here!