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

Buck Man,
Welcome to the "Bolt", a great bunch of folks here all ready to help. I love it when another 4 eyed Task Force joins the group.
I really thought a lot about cutting the crossmember out and decided against it. The crossmember is also the mounting point for the rear of the front springs and the support for the cab mounts. If you have already removed it there should be much of a great concern, lots of trucks have had the crossmember cut out with no issues. If it's still in place only cut out the center section and leave the riveted mounts, this way everything still lines up.

I fabbed up my rear trans mount and side engine mounts years ago with just what I had on hand. Using CPP mounts is fine, they have some great products and their customer service is great. I would think hard about not mocking the engine and trans up, a lot clearance problems can be avoided by measuring things ahead of time. I placed my engine and trans an inch forward to add room at the firewall for an HEI. As it turns out I went with a smaller MSD distributor but still liked the added clearance. You also need to find the correct distance from the radiator to the engine fan or water pump. The reason I say mocking up will find any issues is I had to make different side engine mounts as well, I used a different set of headers when I set the motor mounts up, it showed when I tried to mount the new set. One step forward, two steps back. It all worked out for me as the new headers clear everything.

I hope you can avoid the mistakes I made along the way, taking the truck completely apart being the worst of it. I have kicked myself over and over for that, I could have just updated things as I went along and been able to enjoy the truck. The Young and Dumb version of me thought he knew better, he didn't. The Stovebolt guys and gals weren't here back then, I glad their here now. Look a the "Southern Stovebolters" forum, there are a lot guys in Fla. Glad your Here.

Attached are pictures of my mounts and trans mount, all the measurements were taken from either the radiator support mount or the center crossmember.

Mounts look good and your progressing nicely!

I also am very grateful for the guys and gals here on Stovebolt.

I have been a little side tracked lately when it comes to the 59". My loving Bride has all of her spring projects and of course that means my projects....

Anyway, I did a test fit of the new motor mounts and found I still need to do a little tweaking, the height is good but the spacing is off. The rear of the engine is not centered in the frame so one or more of my measurements must be off. It's not a great deal about a 1/4" side to side. I'll get it squared and then drill the holes for mounting. The new mount position the engine back farther, closer to the original location that the 283 was mounted at. I had moved the engine forward an inch to accommodate an HEI distributor, the MSD unit I'm using now doesn't require as much clearance. I'll post some pics once I get it set in place.

I found a few hours to work on the truck, it's been crazy time wise around here lately... The motor mounts worked out great, the engine is centered and sets high enough in the frame. I have clearance for the headers and the bell housing so all that looks good.

I have an issue with the radiator spacing, the Cold-Case radiator has angled mounting tabs where the factory had flat. The angle mounts place the radiator out an 1 1/4' from the radiator support and closer to the fan and water pump. This is why we do mock ups right? In hind sight it helps to not change the plan, I didn't have this particular radiator nor these motor mounts when I first mocked the engine up.

To fix the placement woes once and for all I opted to set the cab back on the frame and get true measurements from the firewall. My wife thinks I'm "NUTS" at times, she came out to find me with the cab on sawhorses and 4"x4"'s ready to roll the chassis under. She voiced her opposition to my working alone and told me to wait until I could get help. Her next trip outside found me with the cab on the frame, Ohh well . With the cab in place I found I have room to move the engine and trans back about 1 1/2" and correct the radiator placement. As luck would have it I already have holes for that location (Go Figure). Live and learn.

While the cab is in place I'll verify the placement on the brake pedal assembly and shifter location, the cab will come back off to complete the patch panels and body work.

I'll post pictures later, I have a new phone and the images are formatted to large to post, once I crop them down I'll load them here. Back to work.

Nice update, I am eager to see the photos.

Steve

Finally got a minute to take some measurements at the firewall. I should be able to move the engine back and use the existing holes for the mounts, that will put me about 1 1/4 inches from the firewall.

I may still need to modify the radiator mount to get the clearance needed at shroud. I was thinking about moving the mounts an inch back that would place the radiator in the stock location.

I also mounted the power steering pump.

As I've said before plans change. I had been planning on using an 86' C10 Steering gear along with the kit from Brothers Truck to complete the front end. After doing some further research and some more head scratching I have opted to use the Classic Performance 400 steering gear.
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/all-years/chevrolet/truck/parts/5559pskoc.html

This steering gear was not available when I first mocked up the front end, technology has evolved and made somethings a lot simpler. There are several reasons to go with this Steering gear, it mounts in the factory location, you don't need to move the shocks which helps with tierod clearance and it should all but eliminate bump steer. The cost of the CPP box is just a little more than the total cost of fabbing up a steering column and u-joints to make the 86' steering gear work. Plus the steering column mounts directly to the steering gear, no need for the long shaft and u-joints.

So with all this in mind I moved the shock mounts back to their original location and tightened everything down. I ordered the CPP box this morning it should be here in about a week.

PS: Update on the CPP steering gear, the part is on backorder. The supplier can not get the raw materials to complete the mounting bracket (COVID strikes again)!!!

You’ve been busy lately! Making nice progress. Keep up the good work!

One step forward two steps back... I mounted the cab to check for interference with the engine and bell housing, this did resolved the placement of the motor mounts. While the cab was on the chassis I needed to insure the placement of the brake booster and clutch mount. Well that was a good thing as nothing lined up with the holes for the pedal assemblies.

I ended up cutting the brake pedal mount and adding a length of channel to make the assembly longer. The pivot point for the brake pedal was also to far back so that was moved forward as well. The clutch pedal is a fixed position on the frame and had to worked out. The addition of a hydraulic master cylinder for the clutch proved to be another issue, I needed more room to between the clutch master cylinder and the brake hydrobooster. I added a separate piece to the brake booster mount for the clutch master cylinder, this will allow the clutch master cylinder to be removed individually rather than the entire assembly.

I 'm at the point where I need to drill the frame for mounting bolts so I want to get the fit correct the first time. I only need to add some bracing and clean everything up for powder coating and then final assembly. The entire assembly clears everything, transmission cross member, transmission shifter. All of the components can be unbolted and replaced individually without removing the mount, something I really wanted.

As usual I was so involved with the mock up and fabbing that I didn't take pictures, I try to get a few this weekend.

I get into the same state of mind, so deep in thought, I don’t ever think about taking pictures along the way.

Your making great progress, keep up the good work!

I have always said "Do your homework", well this time I did and it really paid off. I had been scratching my head for months trying to figure how to mount the shifter for the Muncie farther forward. I researched different books and diagrams trying to find anything that looked like it would work and found nothing. Then just last week I happened on a web site "GM Classics.com" they specialize in restoration parts for Chevelle's, Camaro's and Nova's. They had a Hurst Shifter install kit for the 63'-67' Nova (Chevy II), it moves the shifter up to the factory 3 speed floor mount location. "BINGO", I looked the kit over and called their Tech Rep, he was thoroughly knowledgeable on the small bodied Nova's and discussed which tailshaft my Muncie had. It turns out that the tailshaft I had was the 6 hole version required for the kit to work. A few minutes more and the kit was on it's way. That was Monday.

Fast forward to today Thursday, the kit was sent UPS and was waiting when I got home. I had the basic layout of the instructions and in less than 2 hours the shifter was mounted. ANOTHER BIG ISSUE OFF MY LIST. It mounted up so easy I thought I had missed something, I had My Loving Bride row through the gears as I watched form underneath for any clearance problems, none. The only thing I may need to do is lengthen the shift lever, that won't be determined until I mount the seat... years form now.

I will pull the shifter back out and powder coat a few pieces but other than that I couldn't be more pleased .... Next step the clutch and hydraulic line's. Things are really starting to take shape I LOVE IT !!


PS: I thought I would include the Part Numbers for future reference:
GM Tail Shaft Housing; 3857584
GM Classics Shifter Kit; 20017
GM Classics Spacer Kit; 20007

Just an update on the steering gear. I spoke to one of CPP's tech reps (again), told me they had no ETA on the backordered parts and if I could find it somewhere else to buy it. The problem with that is CPP is the supplier for this steering gear to all the other vendors... go figure. Still waiting.

Well I came back from the Southeast Truck Nationals with a new drive and determination to get things completed on the 59'. I worked on the Hydrobooster mount, added a support and welded the nuts for the Hydraulic Clutch Master in place. Welding the mounting nuts to the backside of the mount will allow the Clutch Master to be removed separately if needed.

From here I'll bead blast everything and get it ready for powder coating. The next time the assembly is mounted it will to run the brake lines. The chassis is getting so close to being complete.

I had a good weekend on the 59' I pulled the 327 and trans one more time. I'm going to have the cab off this next weekend and get started on the brake and fuel lines. The brake booster mount should be back from powder coating and allow me to get that mounted as well. I'm also going to get started on moving the crossmember and mounting the rear fuel tank.

The plan is to have everything bolted in on the chassis and then get started on the cab patch panels. Wish me luck.

Good Luck!!

I installed the clutch, pressure plate and hydraulic throughout bearing. Speedway sells a set tool for use with their hydraulic throughout bearing, it couldn't have been any easier. You set the depth of the pressure plate in the bell housing and transfer that to the throughout bearing,add a few spacers and your done. This thing went together like greased snot.

I mounted the trans and bell housing to check for clearances and and had no issues. The next phase for the drivetrain won't happen for a while, I'm Going to concentrate on fitting the fuel tank and running the gas and brake lines next.

Looking good Craig! You are making great progress! Keep up the good work and your truck will be done in no time!

Great progress. Looks good. You sure are givin them headers a workout. Ha.

Moving forward I decided to mount the front and rear sway bar prior to running my brake and fuel lines. I would rather bend the lines up once than have to do it again to work around something.

I started with the rear, as with anything that's modified you need to modify everything else. As my axel is now mounted above the springs the sway bar must go under, on the first mock up I could tell it was hanging to low. I shortened the "locks" as their called in the instructions by 3/8 of an inch, moving the mount closer to the axel tubes. I found that moving the u bolts forward to about 30 degrees get me some extra height and didn't hamper clearance. I centered the sway bar and placed the end links close to where they should be, being I am working with a lowered chassis I needed to shorten the end links to fit. I clamped the mounts in place and took some measurements, I cut an inch out of the sleeve and adjusting the mount position helped to square everything up. I marked and drilled the holes for the end link mounts and bolted those in place. I will need to get shorter bolts for the links before I do the final assemble.

The one issue that popped up is the position of the lower shock mount, using a sway bar with traction bars makes for some head scratching. I almost figured this was going to be a problem, I'll need to address this soon. Progress is progress.

I have a little more time to work on the truck this week, my Mother in law tested positive so I'm in quarantine. With that going on I'm fine.

I worked on the rear shock mounts, needed to move the lower position on the traction bars. The traction bars are are designed to be used on a S10, those are fore and aft , the 59 is in board. I cut the old one off and fabbed up another bracket. Cleaned it up and weld it on, I'll do a little more paint work and finish it up.

Looking at shock lengths and end mounting specs, the travel and overall length is a lot shorter than stock.

So after a long hunt on the internet I found a vendor that actually had the CPP steering gear. H & H Classic Parts had both the steering gear and pitman arm in stock. H & H is located in Bentonville AR, I have ordered parts from them in the past and they are great to do bussiness with.

They shipped the parts last Friday and I received them today (Wednesday). I'll be working on assembly this weekend, I'll need to enlarge the hole for the pitman arm shaft for starters. We'll see how the rest goes.

PS... I just found out that my two post lift will delivered tomorrow

I installed the steering gear this afternoon. The hole for the pitman arm shaft had to enlarged to 1.5 inches that was the only modification that was needed to the frame. The mounting was straight forward just bolt it up and torque it to specs.
I made a quick jig from some scrap plywood, my thoughts were it would help center the hole saw. Everything work out good and I spot painted the area and bolted up the steering gear. It was that easy.
I'll need to assemble the drag link and fit the pitman arm. The rest of the steering column and all will wait until later in the build.

Looking good. Wish we were closer so i could help!

Happy Labor Day. I finally have all of the pieces for my two post lift installed it this Friday. Like all things it took a bit more time to figure things out, the layout changed due to the lift being so close to the outside wall. It really helped to a good number of other folks there to help, it really made it easier to handle. Standing the posts up was probably the most nerve wracking part and even that went okay. The old saying measure once and then measure again needs to say "and then measure a third time". The only real issue I found was that the instructions weren't that detailed, that and the mounting hardware is JUNK. Each post has 5, 3/4" X 5" anchors, these were the cheapest bolts I have ever used, out of 10 4 stripped before they could be torqued. The instructions recommend drilling through the concrete to allow the anchors to be driven through if the damaged or if the lift is ever moved. I will replace the stripped anchors prior to lifting anything.

As I mentioned the shop layout has change, the lift is now centered and it will basically be a 1 bay shop now. The good side of this is that I will have plenty of room around the parameter for equipment, the down side is that I will only be able to have one vehicle in the shop at a time. Time will tell if this was the right choice, but for now I will go ahead with the build out of the shop.

PS: The 59' looks right at home between the posts.

I have completed the install of the lift, I have the wiring run just temporary until the roof and walls are completed. So for the first use it had to be the 59'. I'm going to remove the cab and prep it for the patch panels to get welded in in. While I have the chassis in the air I'm going to finish the front sway bar, steering drag link and set the toe in.

I'm also going to finish the mounting for the rear fuel tank and run the fuel and brake lines. I has been a climb to get to this point but it is really been fun.

Your ‘59 looks right a home on your lift. Congrats!

I have been kind of distracted lately with "Project Death Trap" and not really focusing on my 59'. I have ordered a few more parts for the chassis, the rubber bump stops for the axels and the shocks for the rear. I have all intention of taking a few days and getting some small things done, I need to fab up some brackets for the front sway bar, get all the u-bolts fitted to the axels and run the brake lines.

My loving Bride has given me the go ahead to get some work done on the shop as well, things a looking up.

So...the way I see it, if you put the death tap aside you could get this done for the jamboree!

I was thinking at least a trailer queen for the Jamboree. I starting on my shop build too so time is against me.

Have you considered putting more of an effort in?

Hahaha

Sorry, that just cracks me up.

Ohhh so your a wise guy now, good thing I like you !

Hello All, well I have finally made time to work on my truck. I had a little help this weekend as my 14 year old Grandson was here, it's great to watch him learn about these old projects.

I had been wanting to get the fuel tank mocked up in the rear of the frame. I had already removed the cross member to make room for the tank, all that remained was trimming the frame to allow the tank to slide farther forward. Once we had the frame trimmed we worked out how to mount it in place. To get the tank setting higher in the frame I will use aluminum spacers and captive nuts. The top of the tank will set flush with frame and only hang about 4 inches below.

I want the tank to be removable if necessary in the future. I will weld nuts the the underside of the cross member and bolt it down from the top. The bumper brackets will still need to worked out along with the filler neck. I plan to add a rear filler neck hidden behind a fold down tag bracket like an early Camaro.

For now the tank was removed to let us clean up the frame and get it painted.

Tuts,

I like the way that tank sits in there. I want to move the tank to the rear on my 58.

Is your truck a step side or a Fleetside?

What is that tank for exactly, Mustang?

Good work tut. The tank sitting high as you can get it will keep Earnest from looking like he has hemorrhoids!!

ALVIN...

DB, the tank is a 20gal for a 1969 Mustang, measured the area on my frame and found this at Rock Auto. I ordered the filler neck from Rock Auto as well, I didn't want to just have the filler in the bed floor. The filler neck will be worked out later, I know that I'll need to modify the rear bed sill and maybe the crossmember to make it work. The idea is to have it look clean once it's done. My truck is a stepside.

Tuts,

I just looked under my Fleetside. The rear crossmember on it lines up with the spring perches and the crossmember and perches are riveted together. There’s only 19” between the crossmember behind the differential and rear crossmember.

Bummer, I sure like your installation.

Thanks for the info.

DB, the frames are the same for Fleetside and Stepside. I removed the crossmember at the spring perches and will move it to the rear(as pictured). I am going to add grade 8 bolts where the rivets were and bolt a smaller "C" channel across the top of the frame rails above the perches.

This modification has been done before, check out the link.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-gas-tank-install-cheap-and-easy.186815/

Cool, thank you!

I’ll check out the link and take another look at your pictures.

I took this sometime for the truck this weekend, I really think of it as therapy for me though. I'm trying to get some of the list of things left on the frame and chassis marked off. I tackled the front sway bar this weekend, I purchased the kit from Brothers Truck a number of tears ago as I stockpiled parts for the build. Overall it was the same kit as most vendor sell but I really didn't like the lower end link mounts. The kit mounts were just a piece of 1" L stock with 2 hole in them, they really looked cheap.

Being who I am I made new mount from some scrap stock I had in the shed. I fit the sway bar to the crossmember and figured my measurements from there. I made a quick template and transferred that to my steel. Once I had the layout I did a test fit and made a few adjustments and duplicated that. The end result worked great and lined up correctly. I like adding my own touches to the truck it seems to establish the connection that I have when I do something different even if it is something no one will ever see, I know it's there.

Thanks for following.