59 Apache - Lifelong obsession

[dsraven]

Looks great.

[SARBlade]

Originally Posted by 59chev

Small update:

I found a 2" Bosch electric temperature gauge that I could cut up and complete my gauge cluster to go along with my modified volt gauge ( to replace the amp meter ) and modified Oil pressure. Stock temperature gauge on the left, new temp gauge and volt meter on the right. I just need to paint the needle green to match the other gauges.

The completed gauges has almost a stock look but will give me more detailed information which is what I was going for.

Where did you find the gauges for this mod? Are they gauges all electric, meaning will they work with an LS setup?

[59chev]

The Bosch Temp gauge is electric and I got it off of Amazon. The Oil Pressure and Voltage was a 3 gauge set and I picked it up at my local KMS Tools. The Oil pressure gauge is manual.

[SARBlade]

Thanks, we have a KMS on the island here, they’re pretty good.

[59chev]

Originally Posted by SARBlade

Thanks, we have a KMS on the island here, they’re pretty good.

You bet!

The 3 gauge set came with a temp gauge as well but it was the capillary tube type and I wanted electric. For oil pressure I don't mind the tube since it can be disconnected / shortened or replaced if ever needed.

[59chev]

Part number for the Temp gauge is Bosch SP0F000049

[59chev]

Making progress..

- Primed and used boxliner from halfway up the back of the cab to 2/3rds up the inside of the firewall, also did the outside of the firewall behind the inner fenders. I will put down sound deadening and carpet or a rubber mat at some point in the future but I plan to run it as is for now. I also switched to the 4 speed style floor hump to give me the inch or so clearance I needed for my transmission.

- Installed 3 point seatbelts and a lap belt in the center

- I've always wanted a Moon Gas pedal. I adapted a new heel pivot pedal to work with a reproduction of the factory v8 linkage

- started laying out the wiring, will be a nice change of pace for a while

[dsraven]

Hey, nice progress.
Sometimes a change like that can get you all fired up again.

[59chev]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Hey, nice progress.
Sometimes a change like that can get you all fired up again.

You bet! Nice to finally be putting stuff back together instead of tearing it apart.

[57FleetsideC4]

Looking really good. It's nice to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. You are on the fun side of the project. Steve

[57tailgater]

Originally Posted by 59chev

- I've always wanted a Moon Gas pedal. I adapted a new heel pivot pedal to work with a reproduction of the factory v8 linkage

I have a moon pedal like that and would like to use the stock V8 linkage as well. Can I get some pics and details to see how you did it?

[59chev]

Originally Posted by 57FleetsideC4

Looking really good. It's nice to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. You are on the fun side of the project. Steve

Thanks!

[LT7A]

Great project! To me, it's always cool when a certain vehicle just resonates with somebody. Even if their parents don't initially agree, haha. Great work on grabbing the truck that inspired your imagination and making it into a cool driver. And now you get to do round two with innumerable refinements. I confess that I am a fan of stock type stuff but I would imagine that the original running gear made it drive more or less like a troop transport. It will be cool to hear how the truck drives after all of these changes. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[59chev]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Great project! To me, it's always cool when a certain vehicle just resonates with somebody. Even if their parents don't initially agree, haha. Great work on grabbing the truck that inspired your imagination and making it into a cool driver. And now you get to do round two with innumerable refinements. I confess that I am a fan of stock type stuff but I would imagine that the original running gear made it drive more or less like a troop transport. It will be cool to hear how the truck drives after all of these changes. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thanks LT7A! It will be really interesting to see how the personality of the truck has changed. I drove it quite a bit the first time I got it on the road. Longest drive was a 450 mile round trip for the 100th anniversary of the town I grew up in. They had a parade with a vehicle representing each year as possible and I represented 1959. Top speed was 50 or so MPH and the 6 cylinder was singing at 3000 RPM with the stock 3 speed and stock rear end.

[59chev]

I got an amazing surprise for my birthday! My brother gifted me a known good running 305 to kick-start my project. He got the engine, cleaned it up and painted it over the past months. He lives almost 5 hours away so it was quite the surprise when he called me out of the blue and dropped it off. It is complete carb to pan, including starter, distributor and alternator. I was absolutely blown away!

I still hope to rebuild my 327 some day but now I can get on the road sooner rather than later.

[dsraven]

That's awesome. Get it in there.

[59chev]

Originally Posted by dsraven

That's awesome. Get it in there.

That’s the plan. I’m just going to clean up the transmission and paint it first. The Engine looks so good I can’t in good conscience bolt it to a grimy transmission.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by 59chev

I got an amazing surprise for my birthday! My brother gifted me a known good running 305 to kick-start my project. He got the engine, cleaned it up and painted it over the past months. He lives almost 5 hours away so it was quite the surprise when he called me out of the blue and dropped it off. It is complete carb to pan, including starter, distributor and alternator. I was absolutely blown away!

I still hope to rebuild my 327 some day but now I can get on the road sooner rather than later.

Thats bad ass, you have a good brother. Time to bust out the degreaser and pressure washer...You'll be cruising in no time!

[59chev]

Got my transmission de-greased and painted this weekend. I modified my extra engine stand by making a support out of some scrap steel that bolts to the tailshaft mount.

[59chev]

I finally got the 305 dropped in. I think I will have to switch over to a short water pump setup to clear my radiator. I have a clutch fan that I want to run that won't clear with the long water pump. Luckily I have a brand new short water pump that I bought for my 327. I painted the water pump, pulleys and brackets while I was waiting for my flexplate to arrive.

[dsraven]

Gotta feel good to see it between the rails, eh?

[59chev]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Gotta feel good to see it between the rails, eh?

Absolutely.. it’s been a long road getting to this point.. can’t wait to hear it make some noise. Just need to plumb the fuel line, hook up the shift linkage and hook up a couple of wires.

[59chev]

Happy New Year!!

I hung the fenders and hooked up the wiring for the headlights and park lights/signals. I also moved the radiator up 1" to give me more clearance from the lower radiator outlet to the sway bar.

Just need a lower radiator hose and some v belts and it will be ready to fire up for the first time.

[59chev]

Got the gauges installed. If you remember from earlier in the thread, I swapped out the temp gauge and oil pressure gauges and converted the amp gauge to a volt gauge by using the guts from 2" gauges in the stock cluster. This is the first time I got to see it all lit up. I'm stoked by how it turned out. The green backlight from the reproduction Sunpro tach gives off a cool eerie glow across the dash.

[Rickysnickers]

Nice job, looks good!