I'm buying a 1961 chevrolet apache straight 6... 3 on the three tomorrow morning for 500 bux running with tags... I would appreciate any insight to the truck like lowering and any other to do a mild 60's custom on the cheap... This is going to be my first chevy build and first chevy truck... I always preferred ford trucks... But love to give this truck a chance...
I also plan on driving on a daily basis since I lost my job and needed to give my car back to the finance company.... I need ideas to keep this truck running..
I would do some research on this 60-66 truck forum : http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?f=6 Really good info throughout. Good luck!
I own the same truck, like it a lot. All your parts are at Rock auto online with very good prices. The Chevy truck site is a good place for info. You can lower the rear with Jeep springs and the front by turning the torsion bar.
I second that , there is great info here on the hamb as well, but the 60-66 part of the 67-72 forum is the best.
stovebolt.com is also another excellent source for info. One thing you need to be aware of: the torsion-bar front suspension is breathtakingly expensive to rebuild. Upper and lower ball joints are in the neighborhood of $400. That said, I've put about 40,000 miles on my '62, and it was well-used when I bought it. It's gotta have over 200,000 on it, and still has the original front suspension. Car Quest has been GREAT about getting brake parts, etc. It's got a hydraulic clutch system... the slave cylinder frequently goes away, but it's a cheap and easy fix. Get yourself a shop manual... it's really mandatory for the truck. You'll need it to sort out 50 years' worth of Bubba fixing the clutch linkage, electrical diagrams, etc. My daily is a '61 Suburban. -Brad
I'm building a '66 C10 with my son, I have learned a LOT from the Stovebolt website. Mostly not hot rod people, but there is a lot of info and knowledge about Chevy trucks there. If you have questions, somebody there will have the answer. http://www.stovebolt.com/ **Edit: I see great minds think alike, somebody beat me to it. Still a great site.