Projects The Okie Apache thread, a boy and his truck

My nephew turns 15 next month and since he was a toddler, he has always loved my dad's 58 Big window Apache. Dad told him if he would put in the work, he would help him build it. If he sticks it out, it's his. He would have something that he could say that he and his grandpa and his uncle built.

He's a typical inside, texting, computer savvy 15 year old. His mom is wanting him to get a little shop time under his belt. We are trying to go slow and make these teachable moments and try not to burn him out or overload him. He was here at 8 am today, ready to start work. We will see if he sticks it out, if not dad gets some way overdue upgrades on his truck.

Bear with me, while I try and load pics from my phone. I’ll post some pics from when he was a little tike and some more recent. He’s always loved his papa’s truck.

 

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Cool - yep, hope that he hangs in there - maybe help him find pictures of finished ones that he likes & hang on wall as inspiration

 

This is great, that's how I started out. It was a Father and Son project instead of Grandad. Hope he
sticks with it, that's a nice truck with a great history.....

 

that's great that your dad still has it in him to help the kid out. I also hope he sticks it out. looks like pretty solid truck to start with. what are the plans so far Tom

 

He brought me a pic similar to this. He loves our hot rods and I guess we rubbed off on him. He wants navy blue, lowered and www tires. It already has a 350/700R4 in it now. We will move the tank from out of the cab to under the bed.

 

Very cool story and great looking truck can't wait to see her done

 

My first ride was a small back window '58 Apache. I tore up the front suspension at 16 and spent a whole summer putting it back together. That was character building and very educational. I'm glad he has a great mentor and a place to work. It looks like a great start.

I look forward to seeing progress and the finished product.

Between this story and seeing this example Saturday, I'm getting an itch for an old Task Force.

 

I love stories like this!
and trucks.

 

Good on You fellas...The nephew has some real special I guess...Uncles......not real great with family tree stuff. What a playground...real easy to catch the vintage bug in there...looking forward to the journey.

 

Looks like he is off to a great start with great guidance. Never underestimate the bond between a Grandfather and a Grandson . After all you are their enemy lol. The shop looks Cool , I could spend several hours there just soaking up the sites.

 

Always good to see a new generation of hot rodders get a good start

 

Great bonding project. I will enjoy following your progress.

 

Yeah, he is my sister's boy. Good kid. My dad is 80 now, which is his grandpa. Colby thinks papa is just about the coolest thing ever, as it should be.

 

A good friends of mine and his 15 year old have a '59 Apache project on the go with a similar arrangement. Interestingly, the boy is also leaning toward blue paint, wide whites, and mild lowering.

 

I'll watch!

 

...a 68-72 Nova gas tank fits perfect under the bed behind the rearend, new ones are cheap,,...nice project.

 

Awesome! Can't wait to see the progress.

 

Excellent!! I bought my 59 when I was 17.

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Teach my young grasshopper as much as possible! I'm truly blessed to have the most knowledgeable Dad & Bro to take on this task. I'm sure he will learn more this summer than he has the last 15 yrs of his life and will carry these memories with him all of his days.

 

Looks like you folks have a solid truck to start with. Have fun with it!

 

Got out n the shop and worked a bit before it got hot.

 

Found some really sketchy stuff. We bought this thing from a storage auction 25 years ago.
The guy pulled a lot of the parts off of a Buick. The steering column, rear end and brakes. Front brakes have been converted to discs. It looks like they added part of the Buick X member to the back of the stock crossmember. The motor mounts leave a lot to be desired.
I have found that he can’t stand to leave boxes unchecked, so I make him a list Sunday night for the following week. He comes over with my dad 3 days a week to work on it.

 

Guessing new brake lines are on the list

 

It's amazing to me that it has lasted as long as it has.

 

You sure about that? The dimensions look too wide.
http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/p...t_id=343/category_id=131/mode=prod/prd343.htm

 

^^^here ya go, fits great, fills above the bumper and below the bed, will hide filler with a flip-down licence plate...I did notch the rear bed sill for clearance

 

Nice truck.Keep going it can be a really nice ride when your done.

 

Your pics bring back memories of what I've found on my Lincoln from a previous owners work. Pure backwoods shadetree engineering!