The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Upgrades.... Where to start?

OK guys what upgrades would you guys recommend on a 58 Apache? I am going to drop in a 383ci V8 and want to upgrade what I can without losing overall authenticity. Just want to bring a classic into the 21st century while keeping the overall feel of the truck.

I know drum to disk conversion is a must. What about power steering? tranny? Any other recommendations on what I can or should do?

You've hit the nail on the head JD.
Brakes,the single most important upgrade you can make IMO.
No point in having all that extra power and torque if you can't stop!
What tranny do you have, stick or auto?

Original 3 on the floor

In my case its a nicely built 350 coupled to a 700R4 then into the original 3:90 rear.Thats in my 55 2nd series.It performs and handles just great,and gets 20 MPG all day long.Other than being lowered at all four corners it looks like a plain old 55.And oh yeah it does have a late model S/10 seat in it.And with the headers and Flowmaster exhaust it sounds mean.Set up just the way I like it.Course a lot of other people would do it differently.

Brakes again..

Then maybe sway bars front and rear.

Sway bars.. now thats a great suggestion and something I didnt think of.


I just got my classicparts.com catalog in the mail and noticed that they are selling mustang II suspensions. Is that a recommended upgrade? Also how difficult is power steering to install and do you guys recommend the upgrade?

Do a front clip, mid '70s Camaro being a good choice: you get power disc brakes, power steering, independent suspension, all better adapted to a 383 engine. Maintenance will be much easier and you can find everything aftermarket, including a good anti-sway bar. The Camaro front clip is easy to take out and you keep all the factory geometry; you also keep your truck GM... Also use the Camaro rear end, for a good choice of ratios and the same wheel bolt pattern all around.
OK, you do need a good welder.
And all this is pretty much hidden from view, so people looking at you drive by will probably not notice anything. If you can live a 383ci, you can probably live with an IFS!

No. Way undersized for truck use. Plus, to make it work, the geometry of the suspension is reversed from the way it was intended to work. There's also issue with some of the big name companies (who should know better) using parts for purposes they were never intended for, causing potentialy dangerous failures.
While I'm no fan of using a clip, it would be the better way to go. You could also use a weld in crossmember that uses GM intermediate/F body suspension, which is much better than Mustang 2/Pinto components. There's also a few guys on here that have adapted the front susepnsion crossmember from the '73-'87 Chevy trucks to fit, keeping a tru pickup suspension with the IFs ride and disk brakes.
That said, the stock axle and suspension, properly rebuilt and upgraded (gas shocks, sway bar, radial tires) will ride and handle much better than one might think. Disk brake conversion are available for the stock 1/2 ton axle in boht 5 and 6 lug patterns, though the 6 lug version will not work with stock wheels.

I think I will stay stock. Is it difficult to install gas shocks?

No.

JDMedic
Also go do a google search on crown victoria ifs swap. A lot of F%$D guys are putting them in early trucks. Not sure of 58 rail width but they fit 34" rails and 62.5 wmb to wmb. They are an eight bolt swap out and the one from Police cruisers are beefy enough for trucks.

Oooh you said the F word! Lol. That's an interesting thought about the crown vic though. Food for thought.