The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1958 Chevy Apache stepside

Hey everybody,

The story of my 58 Apache begins 30 years ago when I was five. My cousin and I were exploring all of the old trucks up on the hill at my grandparents house. After dinner, I asked my granddad who owned the "pink" pickup with the wooden thing in the back up on the hill. It was made very clear to me that my granddad did not own a "pink" pickup, but he did own a brown one with a stock rack in the back. Nothing else was ever said about it except for my granddad's best friend, who would ask me every time I visited how the "pink" pickup was.
Fast forward 23 years. My grandfather had passed away and I was visiting my grandmother when my uncle stopped by and we got to talking about trucks. He said that he received several inquiries about selling the brown "pink" truck. I asked what he had said, hoping it was "not for sale", when he surprised me with "can't sell it because it isn't mine". I said, "of course not, it's grandma's". That's when I found out that my granddad had left me the "pink" pickup in his will. The pictures at the link below we're taken hours after that conversation in 2006.
Three years later I was finally able to pull it into my buddy's shop and get to work on it. Included in the historical information that I was able to find was that it was built in Kansas City. My granddad and his best friend went to Aspermont, Texas to buy trucks. Both of them wanted the brown one with its white top (apparently two tone was pretty swanky in 1958), which my grandfather won on a coin flip. The engine is no longer the original and I have a picture proving that it was still being used on the ranch in 1975. The stock rack was the raffle prize from the grand opening of a western store owned by some family friends in Colorado. The metal plate welded into the back of the bed was to provide support when a horse was transported since the horse had to be jumped to get it in. The letters etched under the bowtie on the steering wheel center cap are my uncle's brand.

http://s1308.photobucket.com/albums/s609/58apachepilot/

Cool story! Glad you got your grandfather's truck. How are you coming on it? There's a wealth of good knowledge here.

By the way, welcome to the Bolt!

wow, awesome story. Fix it and tell the story to your grandchildren!!
We're here to help so just give us a shout.

Great story. Keep after the restoration.

This is a terrific place to get help, just ask!

Nothin' a little bondo can't fix! You're a sick puppy my friend. I thought I had went over the edge with what I drug home. Hang in there and in spite of what they say about the light at the end of the tunnel being an oncoming train, you can put some miles under your butt in that truck again some day. And if there is anything you need answered, these folks around here can and will help.
Good luck, and take lots of pictures.
Tramp

The body is actually in pretty good shape with rust in the typical places. Thank goodness for dry heat. To my wife's credit, she doesn't say a word other than offering encouragement.