The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop New Member 1959 Fleetside GMC

I moved this post over to the HiPO shop by request. here is the original post!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Wanted to say hello i have been here at stovebolt lurking for a few days. I just bought a 59 gmc apache (yes i have pics). I recently was awarded full custody of my son after a 8 year horrible divorce and move. I spent every day of my life with my son till he was 4 and I moved to a different state to start over my life. a few years ago I was injured on the job (teamster). Right after the injury my exwife was arrested for a bunch of differnt felonies and put in prison. I spent all my savings getting a lawyer and fighting for custody and trying to survive on work-comp. In 2010 I was awarded full custody of Drake (my son). Back in highschool i built my first vehicle (1976 chevy truck). I always saw the old chevy trucks as beautiful works of art. I figured why not try to find a truck to build with my boy and build our relationship. I grew up without a father and always missed those fun times. Anyways enough about me I am sure you all would rather hear about the truck! So a few weeks ago I was searching around and found a guy in my area with a 59 for sale. I went to take a look at it and got to chatting with his wife and him. His wife was raised where I grew up. Needless to say all three of us hit it off real well. Wound up talking about the truck. it lived in Canada for most of its life. however the PO, started the restore on it then lost interest and its just taking up space in his garage. It has all the original parts 2 spare windows (passenger/driver). The truck still has the original motor and trans (4 on the floor). So the PO is going to be getting the title moved over to colorado and then we will be putting it in my name. I have started to research a lot of different aspects of what i want to do with the truck. I know some may cringe but i plan on taking out the original motor and trans and putting in a LSx in it with a 4l89e. However to keep it somewhat original i am going to keep the solid front suspension. I thought about doing a front clip but alas i just cant chop out 50 years of history just for ride quality. And before you ask why even take out the original motor, this is due to living at 6000 feet and in a bowl. there are 2 passes north and south of me to go out of town and I plan on driving this truck not just letting it sit in the garage and fetching groceries. I want to have something that i can drive back home to california if i felt the need. Plus in a few years Drake will be getting his licence and i would love for him to be able to take his prom date to prom in it. or out with the boys every now and then. WOW this post got long! So without further a due. here are the pictures. all comments, questions, concerns, opinions are welcome!
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/Curtis59Apache/IMG_20110725_175547.jpg]
[IMG]http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/Curtis59Apache/IMG_20110725_175531.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/Curtis59Apache/IMG_20110725_175511.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/Curtis59Apache/IMG_20110725_175448.jpg[/IMG]
and the last one was taken right before the PO parked it and started working on the front end
[IMG]http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j441/Curtis59Apache/3n03o13lf5O15Q55T0b6q0c124e61171316d5.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks for looking
Curtis

Hy Curtis, welcome, I think a moderator would have moved your post here eventually. This is a more appropriate forum for the build you are contemplating, and I wish you the best of luck with it. Even though some of the guys cringed at what you are planning, we all want to see these trucks preserved, and I'm sure we'll help you do that any way we can.

Thanks 3B, Yeah I knew it was going to throw up some minor red flags! looking forward to getting it started though. Either way im sure the pictures of the build will overcome any ill will for the swap. at first i just thought of doing the 350/700R swap. but then I actually found that a bit general. I havnt seen to many LSx swaps yet. I know there are a few but to me its a lot less common then the SBC swap.

Curtis, I aint picking on you, just trying to educate you. You got the 'Fleetside' wrong too. A GMC is a 'Wide Side".

thanks for yet another correction.

Welcome Curtis. I sure don't have a problem with you pulling out the original engine and putting in something more modern. I have two '58s, a Chevy and a GMC. The Chevy is bone stock and the GMC I'm building into a little hot rod. Just make sure you don't scrap the original engine and trans. Somebody will need that stuff. It's getting harder to find and we have to save some for the next generation.

BTW, Nice truck! Keep us posted.

Mike I will be hanging onto each and every "stock" part that I pull out and making sure it goes to a good and proper home
thanks for the support!

Curtis, I bought my truck in Colorado Springs and drove it home to Southern California which is proof that in this life, anything is possible! Enjoy and keep us posted. Don

Welcome to the "Bolt".

What engine was in the 59 GMC?

it has the 270 i6 and 4 speed in it right now and thanks for the welcome!

Curtis 59 what a find!
The 270 Jimmy is a great performer too without breaking the bank. Getting started all over is tough but it is doable. If you are wanting some affordable 270 performance items I'd suggest you look at what Jim Carter's shop has along with Patrick's down in Arizona. Both stock a lot of the inline Jimmy items. Also, I suggest you look at the Inliners website at www.inliners.org and look it over. There are a lot of inline engine folks on that site and they do have a lot of knowledge they'd share with you. Good luck. That is a nice truck. I still run a Jimmy 248 and it has a lot of miles on it but still keeps going.
Normbc9