Without even realizing it, we have a true Chev Pickup week on our hands. Like Kevin Costner in Bull Durham, “We got ourselves a Natural [Rainout].” He said something else actually (“disaster”), but you get the idea – it’s raining Chevy pickups this week. Old Chevy pickups are no disaster at all.
I came across this example on Kijiji, it currently resides in Western Canada. The ad was along the lines of, it hasn’t run for years, the truck is mostly in bad shape, but here it is in all it’s glory.
It certainly has its share of patina, and the post did not mention its mileage. Safe to say it has hauled its share of loads over the last 50 years.
The interior looks past reclaimable condition to my eyes. Is that a clutch pedal resting on the floor? No cupholders for this worker bee.
The engine compartment appears to be mostly complete. It looks like a 6 cylinder to me.
This working truck seems to still be wearing its original paint from the factory. It may not have 600,000 miles on it but it has seen better days, I’m afraid.
For a short moment I thought it was the one for sale in the Bay Area.
To this midwestern salt-belt boy, the body on this one looks really sweet!
Chevy really bought into that “V” theme on dashboards of the 50s, didn’t it? And I am starting to wonder if suspended pedals marks the real line of demarcation between “old” and “modern” cars and trucks. There is something honest about those pedals that poke down through the floor (one of which is probably attached to an under-floor master cylinder).
I really like the lines on these. Not as attractive as the Advance Design, but clearly not pretty boys like the newer ones were.
What exactly was bad about non-suspended pedals that made (almost) everyone stop using them? Did they not operate as smoothly as suspended pedals? Did the opening in the floor let in water, light, or a draft? Or were they just declared unhip and unfit for new cars by the 1960s?
I think it was the drafts and occasional splashes that came through the holes in the floor that made suspended pedals seem like a good idea (which I will agree they were). I believe the 1952 Ford was the car that introduced them, and they were quickly copied by almost everyone else. Even Studebaker was finally onboard by 1962 or so, except for the Hawks. Was the 1964 Hawk the last American car made with old through-the-floor pedals?
Lol, the Hawk was why I used the “(almost)” qualifier; didn’t realize that was the last one, at least amongst American cars. GISing Lark interiors, it appears they had suspended pedals starting in 1961.
That hard-working ‘59 Apache reminds me of its city cousin that never broke a sweat (1.3 miles on the odometer), a ‘58 Cameo pickup that gaveled for $140,000 at the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction in Pierce, NE in September, 2013.
I had to read that twice – 1.3 miles? Wow it never had a chance to get a sweat even going.
I had a 59 Apache like the one featured, but with a stepside bed. That was in 1968 while in the Air Force. I yanked the 6 and put in a 283 V8. Drove home after the AF and gave the truck to my Dad.
I’m guessing the 6 cylinder in this truck is the same engine used in my ’59 Biscayne sedan. However, the air cleaner design is different. My engine doesn’t even have an oil filter! (They were optional).
This is a very smooth, quiet running engine, with good low-end torque. Car does not seem under-powered, even with Powerglide!
Looks very restorable to me. Most any sheetmetal it might need is most likely reproduced.
The Blue-Flame 6 (I called it “No-Flame”) dates to 1937 and originally had 216 CID. This one is most likely a 235, although some heavier-duty applications could have a 261.
This generation of engines was replaced by the all new and lighter 230-6 in 1963, a bored-out version of the 194 introduced in the ’62 Chevy II.
It’s good to be alive.