The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 1959 Chevy Apache project

I inherited this truck from my nephew last year. My brother had it for a number of years before passing it along to him when he moved away from Montana. It had a 327 in it when he got it. I don't know if it went bad or never was good, but he installed a 455 Pontiac. The frame cracked where the "motor mounts" were welded to the frame. I don't know who was responsible for that design. I can't ask my brother because sadly, he passed away November 2019. My nephew never did anything with it. Not his fault, life gets in the way sometimes. When he offered it to me, I saw a chance to have a project truck in my old age! Hopefully I can make good progress on it if I don't get to see it all the way through. It came with the 455, turbo 400, and a Camaro subframe. The sub was his answer to the frame problem. I'm not sure I want to go that way as I have never done one. I was mainly a fleet mechanic for 30 years and I can weld, but I'm not a pro at it. Fabrication also not my strongest suit. I plan to ask the forum for advice on whether the frame can or should be saved. Which sub forum do you guys think would be the best place for those type questions? I don't plan to keep the straight axle either way. I don't want a low rider either. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Tom

I have lots more pictures. I need to get some better ones of the cracks before I post them. I'm happy to have found this forum. There are some others, but it looks like there are some very friendly and helpful folks on this one. I just need to pick a place and get started making progress . I'm almost 70. I may not have that many years to get it done!
Tom

I have done a lot of 55.2-59 trucks. My advice is:

1. Post pics of the cracks.
2. Get advice to fix the cracks.
3. Use easy to install universal tubular cross member motor mount and trans mount.
4. Keep the stock front axle and rear axle.
5. Put in Chevy small block.
6. Fix brakes, wire it, Drive it.

Use "General Talk" for now for questions. Use project for progress updates.

Thanks! I'm not planning to use the 455. Small block or LS or Vortec truck engine are likely choices. It's far from stock already. 10 bolt GM rear axle, no seat , the list goes on! I will post up pics as soon as I have useful ones.

I'm glad you found the "Bolt". I know I'll be following your as I'm working on a 59' too.

Thanks! I looked at your project and I see you have some serious skills. I did post on the Hi Po forum about the frame. So far, I'm being advised against trying to weld it up. So maybe that Camaro subframe I have has a future after all. On the plus side, I may have an engine. My Brother in law has a GMC Savana van with a V8 engine that was in a garage that collapsed. I'll go check it out and figure out what is is and if it was damaged . Could be a source for engine and transmission both! It's quite close by. I will try to remember to keep posting pictures because, I forget.

I am going to see if I can find a good frame to use as an option to the Camaro front clip. It would be a shame to cut up a frame if I don't need to. Maybe someone could use mine to do that if I end up doing something else. Not rushing into anything right now. Weighing my options before I get too hasty...

I ordered the No Limit DVD on Camaro swap. I sold 2 motorcycles to help get some "seed money" to start this project. Still waffling about whether to keep original front axle and weld/patch frame, install M2 type or other IFS, or do the subframe swap. Brother's Truck parts lists a M2 kit on sale for $1600 right now, but I don't know who makes it. I want to avoid the poorly made ones out there. Lots of advice out there!

If you go Mustang II research Fatman Fabrications. Their stuff is well engineered.

Brothers trucks was recently bought out by Holley, so maybe it's changed, but when I made an order I had to call every day for a month (after waiting a month or two) to get them to ship an in stock order, and was told every single time that it either should have shipped out yesterday or will go out tomorrow.
Did eventually get the order, but it was kind of a pain not knowing if they'd ever send anything out.

Thanks! Of course, there is the option of a 73-87 Chevy truck frame swap if I could find a donor. Lots of pluses to that approach! Fatman even has a raised spindle option to keep it closer to stock height.

Tom, 59 Fleet(Mark) was at the KC with his 59'. He has a Monte Carlo front clip grafted to his frame, looks factory. He said it lined up better than the Camaro and the track is the right width. You may want to PM Mark and get some 411 on the conversion. I believe a Monte front clip would be easy to find.

Good idea. I have heard a late 60's Chevelle is also a better fit. The biggest thing moving me toward the Camaro is that I have one right here, right now. The truck already has a 10 bolt GM rear axle installed on top of the springs. I haven't checked the axle width yet and I don't have any idea what it came out of. I see you kept the front axle and dropped it a bit. I will be following your build to see how it works for you. I know there are a lot of folks on here who keep it mostly stock. I like the idea of a few modern updates while keeping it mostly stock in appearance. But I think I will start a notebook with a list of what I need to address and hope it doesn't look overwhelming. I know, 15 minutes a day....

Here are some more photos. The floor under the carpet and a few of the frame cracks I posted about on the HiPo page. Going to need to check the frame over thoroughly before I decide which way to go. I've started thinking that if the frame can be saved, upgrading the front axle with disc brakes, new springs, and better shocks may be an option to get this project off the ground sooner.

There are only 2 cracks. The last one is the worst and it sticks out about 1/4". I can post more pics of the body if anyone wants to see...

Looks like someone welded a mount to the middle of the frame web without proper support. Those can be fixed. Might take a doubler plate to do it correctly.

Yes, I'm putting together an oxy/actetylene torch kit to heat and straighten the frame. I've been advised to stop drill the cracks, V them out and weld them up. Short welds to keep the heat down. The frame isn't all that heavy , so I wouldn't think I need to go more than 3/16" on the doubler. I was calling it a fish plate, but that is something else entirely.

Little progress as Winter goes on. I did go over to the garage and look harder at the 10 bolt rear end. It's an 8.2" ring gear version out of a Pontiac. The codes indicate it is a 2.41 ratio out of a full size Pontiac or possibly a 2.93 out of a 75. Information is all over the map when it comes to finding out Pontiac stuff. I will be popping the cover and investigating further when the weather warms up and dries out. Original rear end, like engine are long gone.

The BOP (Buick, Olds, Pontiac) rears use a completely different carrier than the Chevy, I found this out the hard way and purchased a Posi unit from a low mileage Firebird that wouldn't fit my Chevy rear ( it's now a dust collector on the shelf). I in turn bought the correct locker to use with my 8.2 10 bolt. To use a numerically higher gear than a 2.56, say a 3.08 or 3.42 or deeper, you must use a spacer on the ring gear. The spacer is available from many sources, I found mine at Jeg's, I installed a 3.08 ring and pinion. An 8.2 10 bolt is a good rear-end, the track width is close, I have an 8.2 from an ElCamino in my 59". Just some shared knowledge, hope it helps.

Just curious about the cracks in the frame? And the reason for that small plate welded on the top rail?

Hmmm. I may be interested in that posi if I keep this rear end. I think it will handle up to 400 HP if treated decently. As far as the plate welded to the top of the frame, it is top top of a piece of angle iron that was slotted in to the top rail. It was welded the the vertical part of the frame to serve as part of a motor mount for that 455. He might have gotten away with it if he had carried it all the way to the bottom rail. He didn't. It cracked the frame on both rails and the harmonic balancer contacted the front crossmember. That's why the engine is out and I'm trying to figure out which way to go with this project. Probably will come down to how much $$ I can come up with to spend on it!

There are more pictures of the cracks and such in a thread in the Hipo shop subforum. "Frame repair or Camaro subframe 59 Apache" if you are interested. I got some good input from that thread. For now, I'm just watching it snow...

Truckolet, I realized I never answered your question. The small plate on top of the frame was the small side of the angle iron he used for a motor mount. It failed and caused the cracks that was the original reason the truck was parked. I am going to see if I can fix that before the next step. More on that in a short time...

I have just purchased a Fatman Fabrications Mustang 2 kit from someone on the 67 to 72 Chevy Truck forum. He mentioned it in a build thread over there. He purchased it unused from somebody on Craigslist and decided to go with a C4 Corvette suspension on his 55 second series pickup. He made me a great deal and my Nephew Ray picked it up Saturday. So, I will need to go out and get it soon and bring it back here to Montana. I'm really looking forward to making some progress on this truck come Summer!