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According to builders Jim and Donna Stach, 'Koolant' pretty much established its own design theme. In the late '50s and early '60s, American's were enamored with space and space travel. And, like many designs of that era, the couple's beloved Apache featured more than a striking resemblance to rockets and aircraft. So, when the goal of their frame-off restoration transitioned from creating a nice driver to birthing a head-turner, they decided to expand on that theme as tastefully as possible.
The truck's solid, all-original body was completely stripped by Color Works Auto Refinishing in Denver, Colorado. Clean, crisp and clad in bare metal, that fuselage made a quick trip across town to Zoomers Automotive for some choice customization. Traditional touches, like shaved fenders and a nosed hood, were complemented with a smoothed bed, a smoothed tailgate, capped bed stakes and a custom gravel pan. And the Stachs even decided to tub the wheel wells three inches just for good measure. Remarkably planar and ready for assembly, the Chevy was reunited with its original Oak bed planks back at Color Works. With those planks seated in custom, engine-turned skid strips, a steady stream of chrome from Sacramento, California's Sherm's Custom Plating was test-fitted alongside nickel components from Denver's Ajax Custom Plating. After that fitting was complete, custom DuPont 2-stage, mixed by the good folks at Denver Car Color, was applied under silver leaf stripes. Custom pinstripes, courtesy of Louie Allison from Arvada, Colorado, kicked off a virtual rampage of polishing and buffing. And, in late 2007, the pickup claimed Goodguys' Truck of The Year honors.
Hoist the reinforced hood and you'll find a 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 that, thanks to the pros at Ridge Reamer Inc. of Arvada, Colorado, utilizes a .060 overbore to create stout 9.88 to 1 compression. At the top of the body-matched mill, custom, color-keyed air tubes force wind in to a polished Edelbrock intake that's juiced by tuned port fuel injection. At the base of that intake, GM 461 'double hump' heads hang Crane springs and Comp Pro Magnum roller rockers over Comp pushrods and dished Keith Black pistons. Those pushrods tap thanks to a Crane hydraulic cam, and those piston push thanks to small journal rods and a forged steel crank. Fires are lit by a traditional points distributor and high quality Taylor plug wires. Cooling comes courtesy of a custom-shrouded aluminum radiator, which rides in front of a quick-spinning electric puller fan. Exhaust rumbles through ceramic-coated Sanderson block huggers. And in front of those headers, attractive Tru Trac pulleys spin a Cloyes timing set behind a modern power steering pump, a polished alternator and a polished AC compressor.
The dressed 327's power flows in to a chromed and painted 700R4 4-speed, which is equipped with a 2,400RPM stall converter. That transmission twists a polished aluminum driveshaft, which is hooked to a painted Dutchman 9-inch that's fitted with a polished Mark Williams center section and big, 4.11 gears. That proven axle pushes the truck on traditional Chevy leaf springs, which are attached to high quality Bilstein shocks. Tracking is provided by a TCI Mustang II front clip, which is complete with custom lower control arms and manual rack-and-pinion steering. That chassis hangs from a body-matched frame that's been smoothed, C-notched, welded and attached to a full Air Ride Technologies ShockWave system. Quick stops are a cinch thanks to dual-piston Baer calipers, which utilize a Corvette master cylinder to squeeze two 13.5-inch drilled and slotted rotors and two 10.5-inch drilled and slotted rotors. And at the corners of the floor, Billet Specialties Rat Tail wheels throw torque through 255/45R20 front and 305/40R22 rear Nitto NT400s.
But the show doesn't stop there. Not by a long shot! When you pop this pickup's doors, you'll find a detail-oriented cockpit with charmingly retro surfaces that were installed by PJ Mobile Auto Upholstery of Commerce City, Colorado. Top dead center, a custom '59 Chevrolet dash hangs custom, Koolant-branded Classic Instruments gauges above Vintage Air climate control that's fitted with custom, bullet-style knobs. In front of that dash, a 6-way power bench, which was cribbed from a 1985 Chevy truck, centers a Koolant-branded crest on tight leather and shimmering '50s deadstock fabric. And in front of the driver, a tilting Flaming River steering column spins a shrunken '56 Bel Air wheel around a custom column drop and custom, bullet-style shifter.
Perpetually cool and visually stunning, this awesome Chevy is a near perfect example of the omnipresent creativity that defines our hobby. Call, click or visit RKMotorsCharlotte.com for your chance to own this killer custom!
30 дек 2014
