The 1958 Chevrolet Apache is a striking design, and a marked departure from the 1957 truck model that preceded it. With dual headlamps, a reshaped wider grille, and an all-new fleetside bed design, the 1958 pickups looked sleeker than ever.
This 1958 Chevy Apache restomod project belongs to Troy and Kimber Barr, of Huntington Beach, California. It retains the distinctive original styling, but with several modern twists that have made it a real head-turner. Believe it or not, the couple tells us it was their first real project vehicle.
The first thing you'll notice is this truck's unique color. Troy tells us it's a custom-mixed shade of tan, based on a color originally found on the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, of all places. Troy mixed in just the right amount of black paint to produce the exact shade he was looking for, and applied it to the truck with black two-tone accents on the bedsides and cab.
The bed floor was raised, tubbed, and smoothed, and the door handles were shaved. A 9-inch C-notch was welded into the rear frame rails, and the entire front of the frame was removed and replaced with a Camaro front clip. This was all done to accommodate a full air suspension which can drop the truck on demand and tuck its tires under the fenders.
Under the hood, there's a heavily-upgraded 454ci V8 in the shaved and smoothed engine bay. It's decked out with high-performance parts and chrome trim, and mated to a TH400 automatic transmission. The power is sent to a 12-bolt rear end sourced from a Chevelle, fitted with a 4-link and Posi to put all that horsepower and torque to the ground.
This 1958 Chevy Apache restomod build has come a long way since Troy bought it 12 years ago. He picked it up from a friend, and it had a beat-up inline-6 under the hood and was painted with brushed-on white house paint — literally. Fortunately, he has turned it around and built it into a stunning show truck.
Troy tells us that nearly half of the parts seen on this truck came from the Classic Industries truck catalog. If you have a classic Chevy or GMC truck project that needs some TLC, click on the button below to order a free restoration parts catalog today.
