Besides the Apache, this is our other in-house build. It will be the culmination of all of our mistakes. Wait… did I say that right.
Despite the way it looks, the Fleetside is relatively rust-free. It is also minus engine and trans, and interior, and gauges, and, and, and. So, it really is a clean slate. Our goal is to make it go fast, stop fast, and get around the bends confidently.
As it stands, we will probably continue with our theme song: carbureted small block Chevy, simplicity, safety, and creative problem solving. Stay tuned as we get ready to initiate the build.
Lightning Lewie, the owner of the 1956 stake-side 3/4 Chevy brought it out to California from Alabama a few years ago. The truck had been in the family since 1966 and was surprisingly well-kept, with minimal rust. But he wanted this beast to look good, and he wanted a few conveniences, like power steering and power assisted brakes.
Okay, so far that’s pretty straightforward. But as the title of the post says, this is a farm truck. Six cylinders, 235 cubic inches, 3-speed manual transmission, and a 4.57:1 rear end ratio. For all intents and purposes, about a 50 mph top speed.
Follow us as we address all of these issues.
Bulletin: It is Finished!
The list is long, but the highlights of this build include sandblasting it from bumper to bumper, including the wood gates and bed; adding power steering, power brakes, new wiring harness from Rebel Wire, a Borg Warner overdrive for the three-speed transmission; lots of insulation (it is quiet!); stereo sound system; many pounds of blue paint on the exterior; and a new interior, top to bottom. Owner Lewie Trawick handled the refinishing of the original bed and gates, and they turned out great, including the Crimson “A” smack dab in the middle of the bed for our Alabama natives – Lewie and the truck.
You’ll find a good number of posts here about our favorite project so far, including the most recent with a gallery of photos from the project.
Before and after:
We loved that Lewie wanted it restored to original condition, with just a few modern conveniences.
When my friend and fellow barn junkie, Lance, asked if we could get his recovered ’48 half-ton running again, I agreed. Little did we know it would take a fifteen month bite out of our schedule for the Apache. But after his truck – in his family for decades – was mistakenly sold from the private property where it was being stored, it took him quite a while to find it and reclaim it, and to convince the DMV that he wasn’t an axe-murderer. So what’s a few months in the grand scheme of things.
The reclaimed truck was minus its engine and transmission, and what remained of it was in a sorry state. Things were not looking good for this budget build until Lance found a restored ’48 chassis with a 327 small block and TH 350 transmission. The previous owner had thrown in the towel on a project started a decade earlier. The rest is history.
What to do when you have a big old barn with a cement floor and electricity? Go find an old truck, of course. In this case, we jumped in with both feet and ended up with a somewhat sorry 1959 Chevrolet 3100 Apache, short bed, step side, small window.
A few words about the “patient.” The truck would barely run as the carb was spewing fuel through the throttle shaft. During the test drive the previous owner almost slid the thing through a stop sign into cross traffic because only one of the drum brakes seemed to be doing its job. And the god awful bench seats smelled like an open sewer. On top of that, the left front corner of the cab was low due to a rust problem where it mounted to the frame.
The Apache is finally back on the road with a fresh coat of satin black paint, a freshened 350 engine, and a long list of fixes and improvements. There is still plenty to do, but it is now a fun driver (and work truck – this Apache can haul!)
Heart of the 1959 Apache, the fresh 350 engine… check the rebuild article posted previously.
We shored up the front cab corners with 1/4 inch steel, rebuilt the drum brake system, added new shocks all around, installed a drop axle at the front, and lowered the rear to match it by re-curving the main leaf spring and removing the supplementary extra stack of leaf springs. We replaced the rear cab corners and then spent weeks cleaning up the body and chassis and prepping for paint.
Using string and tape to line up the bed with the cab prior to mounting on the frame.The colors lurking under that old black paint.Checking out the fender emblem and Boyd’s 17 inch rims against the light gray primer. Next truck might be light gray!
At this stage, we have stuck with manual 4-speed Saginaw transmission, manual steering, and the drum brakes sans power assist. However, having just added CPP’s easily installed power steering and power assist brake kits to the ’56 “Farm Truck,” these improvements might soon appear on the Apache.
The rear end is a bit noisy, but we’re living with it for now, until the Farm Truck is finished and on the road. At this point, it’s just time to enjoy driving the big hunk of steel. The rake of the chassis, with the front end low, and the 3.90 ratio rear end make it feel sporty on the twisty roads between home and shop.
The ’59 Apache looks like a compact truck next to bro’s GMC hauler… it does haul with 900+ lbs of torque.New tailgate and a little bright stuff at the rear.The Apache ready for a cruise.
The Barn’s “first truck” isn’t a show stopper, nor is it completed to our satisfaction yet. On the other hand, our key phrase for the Apache during the build was “next guy.” So maybe it will just change hands as is, to add a little to the budget for our next project… the ’58 GMC seen behind the Apache in the title picture.
The Apache hauls… new 17.5 radials for the ’56 Farm Truck.
After declining to rebuild my neighbor Wendy’s Triumph TR6 for a few years because I was too busy building these old trucks, she finally approached me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. “Give me $250 and send another $250 to my favorite charity, and it’s yours.” Thus began a two year rebuild… not at the Barn but in my garage at home.
My plan for this narrative is just to post pictures of the process, with captions. I’m sure that there will be posts dedicated to specific problems and solutions, but this build story will be heavy on photos.
Here is the current state of the TR6 as of Fall 2021…
Next guy can paint it… I have grandkids, and they don’t use the doorsCalifornia Special… no heater or topNow it’s a “fuelie”… Patton TBI system
Short drive in the TR6 on a nearby twisty road.
Enjoy the (mostly) photographic narrative of the two year journey. Click on the Triumph link in the table of contents at the top or left side of the page for a complete archive of posts. There is a list of vendors we used on this project in the Stuff We Like post.
In my preteen years, I would sit in bed with Road and Track magazine reading about my Formula 1 heroes. Then I would grab my protractor for a steering wheel, a pencil for a gear shift lever, and imagine myself racing. A bit more than six decades later the dreams are now memories. It’s just the TR6 and me.
In my dozen years of racing motorcycles, and another dozen years racing on four wheels, mostly SCCA formula classes, FF, FC, and FM, I managed to retain a single in-car video. This is from my one and only weekend racing a Spec Racer Ford, rented from my friend Tom Dalrymple, who owned a small fleet of them. Back then, the cars were pretty slow – perhaps 10 seconds a lap slower than an FF car on this particular circuit – but the racing was close and loads of fun. A major difference between formula car (open wheel, single seater) racing and SRF racing is that the latter is definitely a contact sport, as I found out on this weekend. Didn’t quite make it to the finish line…
Below is a gallery of my race cars and bikes. The Lotus 23 and Mini Cooper photos are not my cars but mine looked the same as these two, including the colors. In fact, the Lotus might well be the one I raced, and then sold on after I switched from CVAR vintage “racing” to proper racing with the SCCA. Click on the “i” button for the full captions.
Yamaha TD1B 250 at Westwood in Coquitlam B.C., Canada with buddy Mitch Murray. I learned that hard, dried out Pirelli tires do not work well in the rain. I just touched the brake lever on the main straight after cresting the hill and immediately went down. I actually passed the bike sliding down to the hairpin. The bike was impressive, with good power but in a very narrow rpm range. Mitch was riding the TR2 350 in the foreground.Honda CR250 Practicing somewhere, possibly Saddleback ParkMy daughter Angela trying out the Honda Hawk 650 Twin, much success with this rocket at Willow Springs, where my friend Chuck Burnett and I raced monthly. At 74 years young he is still racing his Hawk. We last saw him race at Willow a couple years ago, he had a win and a second on that day. Respect! And love… he’s like my brother, we spent our school years and working years together, along with the racing.Honda 125 Shifter Kart, one race, one win… mostly just for fun with my buddies. This kart had a rare steering wheel mounted “butterfly” shifter. It was an advantage, but it would pump my forearms up hard as a rock until I acclimated to it. A couple of five lap sessions would get the job done.Lotus 23B Cosworth TwinCam 16001275 Mini CooperThe Hancock Swift DB1 Formula Ford limping home after going airborne, 1997 Runoffs. The nose is bent upwards from the landing. And, it was my team mate Andrew whom I flew over. His in-car video was spectacular. I have a copy of it somewhere but I haven’t seen it in many years. Formula Mazda… the only photo I could find of this terrific car. Smooth, sweet sounding rotary engine, five speed gearbox, an alternator and battery. And rugged. Loved the original FM cars. Tim Magrath owned the Texas FM franchise, and he lured me to some parking lot to try one out. I was hooked. It may have pissed off some FC drivers that these tanks were just as fast. In truth the minimum weights weren’t too far apart. The rotary power made up for the extra weight and less sophisticated road-holding technology.Jamun FF, it won the 1996 Formula Ford Festival in the UK prior to my ownership. I slid it into a wall across wet grass at Topeka. I knew it was going to hurt, and it did. You actually seem to pick up speed on wet grass, and I’m guessing a 90 mph impact was the result. Drove my trusty F250 and trailer back to Austin after a maximum dose of ibuprofen.Jamun – after the Topeka crash – and Shifter Kart. We had a shelf system in the shop that took full 4×8 sheets of 3/4 plywood. The Jamun chassis sat on one shelf until I sold all my racing gear to my friend Steve Henry, with whom I shared the south Austiin shop. My 2nd Swift DB1 FF, first of my Valvoline Cup winners, 10 wins in 13 National starts, 2002Swift ready to be hoisted by everybody’s favorite hoist. I could assemble it at the track or shop in five minutes.Linda keeping the seat warm. Look at how streamlined the Swift DB1 is! No sidepods for the radiators, just the two large NACA ducts feeding the single radiator situated between driver and engine, along with the fuel tank.Driving Neil Porter’s Runoffs winning Swift DB6 at Laguna Seca, won by a nose on this day. I think I ran Neil’s cars on three occasions… I always had a great time racing with him and his crew.Tatuus FC at Phoenix… my 2nd Valvoline Cup winner, 11 National wins in 14 starts, 2003. This photo was from my first weekend racing the Tatuus… pole both days, taking home a win and second in the opening two Nationals of the year.The Tatuus at Hallett, one of my favorite tracks for racing and spectating.The Italian Jobs, two Tatuus FC cars in the shop, mine and Mike Renna’s ex-Foyt car
There are so many stories for each of these racing machines. Eventually I’ll add a post about each of them.
