Hot Rods help needed building '58 chevy apache truck

My son wants to go the new parts (front suspension, rear end, crate motor, plus any manufactured parts available.) This is all fine, but the costs are out of site. I want to get a donor car & cannibalize everything we can building the truck ourselves. I dont have a problem with a new crate motor, and have the knowledge to do the build, but its been a while since I have done anything. My question is, what type of a car would be the best one & compatible. Firebird, Camaro, later model Chevy? Rear end, font suspension, etc... A good interior can also help, then scrap the rest. He may be coming around, after looking at costs. Any help appreciated, thanks

 

Completely off topic for the forum and my truck is a 1960, but I bought a wrecked 77 C10, the front end bolted in with a few minor holes to drill, I used the rear end as well.
I did this because the cost to rebuild the torsion bar and the stock 6 cylinder were out of sight.


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My 59 has a dodge dakota front suspension with a power rack. All the front end components are off the shelf Chrysler stuff and looks like it came under it. No matter how much you rebuild the front end, it will still ride and handle like a straight axel, kingpin front suspension.
Contact Steve at Industrial Chassis for one of his cross members to install the Dakota independent front suspension (HAMB Alliance Vendor) Ididit tilt and any late GM pickup seats will work width wise. Move tank to the rear of frame. Dakota bolt pattern matches my ford 9 inch pattern using stock springs with leaves taken out.
Do NOT clip it, you will not be satisfied and it looks like crap.

 

Rebuild the stock stuff.

This place has no-no rules about later frame swaps, front suspension clip swaps etc.

 

Search for a thread about a week old about putting lowering springs, bilistien shocks and sway bars on theses trucks. A clip is not cheap. Search for a thread by lux blue about hoe he does it.

 

Sighhh. Just put a crate motor and go from there and see how he likes the truck from that point. If he feels the need for speed then just go to wrecking yard and look for almost same width rear ends. Like blazers I hear works and Caprice. But depent on 5 lugd or 6 lugs. Whatever and seats just measure and find something with an arm rest. Or just get a catalog and get the rebuild kit and keep the stock seat and buy a center console at the autozone. Front clips is not cheap not easy just remove couple leafs to soften it and put the bliesten shocks and sway bar that the best possible way forget buying a donor car because not everything will be salvageable to go onto the truck without spending more than just going and look at many other junk cars and get what u need at a time

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sent you a PM

 

C10, buy a good runner , cannabilize it all and sell the rest..I got my low mile 350 4 bolt that way..cost me 0 dollars..made money actually...

 

Some people actually just body swap and get a early 90s Tahoe I've seen one truck done that way

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Well in a sense this can be an education site.
1st lesson.
1950s vehicles can be fun, safe; as safe they can be with all the mods you mention, without redisigning the whole vehicle.
When you do this stuff you build a hybrid wearing 59 Chevy clothes. How about building the "real thing". In the end it's ten times cooler.

My advice for this project.....
Rebuild the stock suspension and steering. There's a Lot you can do with stance with the leaf spring suspension. The brakes can be upgraded fairly easily. Engines swap in well. It was made for a SBC so fit is no problem.
You can have a really nice truck without doing what your son wants to do. Too it's the style now for these trucks to scrape the ground. Build it HAMB style and it will never be out of style.

Lastly.....you can hop one up in the garage or even the back yard. Doing what you are thinking about really requires a professional. Simply put, it's too much work and redesign for the average auto hobbiest. The truck may end up being a Craigslist Special. That is a half done project with ill thought out modifications for sale cheap!

Keep it simple use the stock truck as the base of this build.

 

Ron,
Take a look on 67-72chevytrucks.com at the 47-59 forum. There are lots of threads on using the Camaro clip, as well as the Dakota and others.

 

Very little engineering to put a 73-82 C-10 frame under the 58. My brother did his and drove it for 20 years. PM me and I will give you the scoop.

 

I got my 59 at 17 years old and I've owned it for 20 years. The first time I built it, it was mostly stock. I replaced the 235 that had a cracked block with a rebuilt 261 inline 6. This time I am going v8/automatic/camaro clip.

For learning purposes, rebuilding the truck to stock is the easiest way to do it, as you basically unbolt an old wore out broken part and replace with a new part. I drove it for a few years after it was completed the first time and decided I wanted to to be lower and keep up with traffic better. The camaro clip was definitely not something that I had the skills to attempt when I was 17. I ended up spending the money on the suspension and drivetrain twice this way, but I completed the project the first time and didn't give up and sell it because I was over my head.

If I where you I would rebuild the stock suspension and brakes and get a good small block chevy in there ( crate engine or known good running engine ) . Drive it for a while then decide what you want to do down the road.

 

I am useing C4 corvette front and rear suspension on my '57 chev pu, i made my own brackets copying flatout engineering store bought brackets. Some have used the vette front cross member and made the rear brackets, just depends on what you want to do. You can find a rough C4 runner under $2k with some watching and looking. Look for a 4sp car it should have a dayton 44 rear, the auto cars will be a 36, the 44 should be good for 400hp. Food for thought.