Category Archives: Tools

Tim O’Connell – 1961 Chevy Apache

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As most of you may know, if you have read my posts, i have a deep love for trucks. My absolute favorite is the 1965 Chevy Step Side.

There is no great reason why, it just is. However, I absolutely love the trucks from the 1960’s, especially step sides, of which, this truck is.

Tim contacted me via the new form, which you can do as well, if you have a project you would like to feature. Just click here.

Now, to see pictures of this truck, as I am sure you do, please go to the bottom, reading the article as you go, to see great shots.

Also, make sure to leave a comment for Tim, so he knows what you think, check out his Facebook group and let him know you got there from here.


Make, Model, Year of Project:

Official sponsor of this feature article. http://www.cbdoilishope.com

This is a 1961 Chevy Apache

What stage, if any, is this project in?

This is a Completed Project.

When did you purchase it and for how much?

I picked it up for $3500

Why did you choose this vehicle?

For one, my dad had a 1963 that I drove to high school.

I originally saw this this truck parked. Rode by it every day. Finally, I stopped in Icon Automotive and asked if it was for sale.

They said yes, but they wanted way too much.

So, I started hanging out there, and became one of “the guys”.

After another year, I asked again. Now the price dropped dramatically, and I jumped in. No regrets.

What sort of condition was it in when you started the project, what was wrong with it, etc.:

Old farm truck looking thing.

What, specifically have you done, or had done to it?

Lowered it and added 22” Transports.

Painted the top and bumpers

Dressed out the engine with all aluminum parts

Added dual custom exhaust

Can you list any and all parts that you have put in?

I put in shorter rear springs and 22” transport wheels

Upgraded to disc brakes

The interior was soundproofed

I added custom dual exhaust

The aluminum on the engine was an aluminum intake, aluminum pullies, polished alternator

The paint work was done under hood and exterior

Where have you purchased your parts?

I got a lot of parts at local shops, I also used Summit Racing

What about you?

I’m just an old guy who loves trucks. I am the owner/Admin of the facebook group, 1947-1997 Truck Nutz.

This is my 5th build. I have had a 1948 that’s now in Great Britain. A 1952 that’s now in Tennessee. A 65 and a 56 that have been and gone. I also have a 1997 Silverado. I love trucks.

Any stories regarding this project:

This truck has been to the Hot rod nationals, GoodGuys  and several local shows

Any garages, parts stores, fabrication shops, etc you want to call out specifically?:

Icon Automotive. Those guys are the best and the best at what they do. Builds!

I would hang out there after work. They are two streets over from the BMW/Mercedes shop I worked at. 

They do restoration and fabrication on older vehicles. Camaro’s, C10’s, Chevelle’, 3100 Chevy’s, you know, everything I love! It’s a good place to lean on their counter, talk cars, pet their dog, and just hang out.

Their door is always open.

Mike and Ben (Father son duo ), have helped me with my “61” tremendously.

Lowering, drilling wheels for hubcaps, wiring, you name it. Those dudes keep me running. They even gave me keys to the shop.

So, I am officially “one of the boys “. 

From the editor:

This came attached to one of the emails from Tim and I felt it just needed to be added. I would steal it as my own, if it was possible.

Tim’s tag:

You see, they look at it, and they just think it’s a truck. 

They see it as a rusty old hunk of junk that’s able to carry a couch or a refrigerator.

They see it as a tool and not much of anything more.

But, we see different.

We see memories.

We see bench seats and dates riding close.

We see rides in the back and feeling free.

We see country roads with the windows down.

We see learning to drive a stick, learning how to change oil and plugs.

We see a friend.

Yeah, they may see a truck, and they’d be right.

But we see our trucks. And they are beautiful.

Customs N Classics store – Amazon Store showcasing some tools, some models, some “vintage” metal signs and some automotive books

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Al Liebmann – 1932 Ford 5w Coupe

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This featured article will probably be known to quite a few people, especially if you have been around the drag racing scene for any length of time. Below is just a quick summary Continue reading →

Robert Walker’s 1979 Australian Dodge D5N – The Powerhouse from Down Under!

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To start, isn’t it amazing how we can bring you stories of cars, trucks and bikes from around the world?

No longer are you stuck looking at and hearing about these customs & classics from your area alone and so, with that in mind, let’s take a look and hear the story of this trucks amazing transformation.

Come with us to Australia!

Let’s go Meet Robert Walker and enjoy learning about his Dodge D5N and see what can come out of Gilgandra

A little backstory about this truck.

The Australian-built Dodge D5N replaced the AT4 in 1972 and remained in production until 1979. The truck shared bodywork and chassis with the Australian International AB/C/D-line trucks, itself based on the American versions. Continue reading →

Coming back

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So, we have been out of it for about 11 months, with a small amount of posts and articles.

We are back, this time, I think for good. We have some things in the works to ensure that we can keep on going without another stop and look forward to bringing you more stories.

I first want to apologize to anyone who gave me information to publish and never saw it published. I am very sorry. I have looked back and I just cannot seem to compile a story for anyone, all of my data seems to be gone, or partial.

I was extremely busy with a new job that just didn’t allow me any spare time to write these stories. I got further and further behind, until I just lost site of what I was doing and became completely overwhelmed.

No longer am I in that job, or overwhelmed. I have begun to gear up production of the stories and some new things to ensure that they keep coming.

Let’s start this new year off right, let’s start telling the stories again and get some new material.

So, I am looking for any and all car owners. Tell me your story, let me write it down so others can enjoy your project/car/truck/bike and give encouragement to those who may be stuck, or thinking that they just can’t do it.

Denton Friday Night Cruise – July 2018

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Well, after several months, (Almost 5) away because of life and work, we finally got some time to get to a car event. The Friday Night Cruise at Denton, MD.

#Dentonfridaynightcruise #Carshow #customsnclassics #hotrods #ratrods

Continue Below for the full story, pictures and a link to the video of the 1959 Anglia.
Continue reading →

1946 Studebaker Pick up Street Rod- Randy Wilkin

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How often do you think a $99 find can be used and turned into a great build?

Check out the article and see just how this one was done and the great finds that went into it for virtually nothing.

Make sure you go to the bottom to see all of the pictures of this great car!

Disclaimer: Customs N Classics does not charge for any articles. These are free and are derived from emails, chat messages and other forms of communication. The details are from the owner/trustee and are not physically verified. Should there be any issues with this story, please let us know, privately and we will do our best to correct any mistakes.
If you enjoy Customs N Classics articles, please consider a donation to help us with the costs associated in running this site.

What type of vehicle?

1946 Studebaker Pick Up Street Rod

1946 Studebaker Pick Up on a 1970 Shortened GMC Frame

When was it purchased?

Truck was bought about 2005 . It was in NE Kansas , I live in sw Ohio.

A friend and I went after it in December, leaving on a Friday evening. I had my wife’s 2002 grand Cherokee with 4.0 motor and no tow package . But had Jeep dealer put a hitch on it when bought. Jeep had 25,000 miles on it ( still have it with 185,000 miles on it, only regular Mtc. so far.)

Saw A M series at a car show and fell in love with it . Only saw it the one time . Anything in Ohio I found was rusted down . Back to going after it , Had a borrowed trailer ( which I bought later ) . We pulled up by the M16 flatbed at 11 am on Saturday . Wood on bed was rotten . Found out a dump was right behind feed store where I got truck .We unbolted the bed, chained it to a tree and pulled truck out from under bed, 3PM by then, headed back . That 4.0 pulled that trailer and truck like a pro. Just sit down since no tow package.

We got home Sunday evening , So went 2000 miles in less than  2 days.

Scraped area is underneath cab , had cracked undercoating , I scraped it all off , pour 15 on it , than recoated with new undercoating.

It took 7 years to get it on road, I was working full time, building when I had time and the money.

Never touched for a year when wife had back surgery.

Been on road about 5 years. I parked it last year when I had 2 back surgeries, Not back out yet.

How much was it purchased for?

I bought it off of EBay for $99 with 320 watchers.

It was missing all grilles, trim and glove compartment door and caved in top and hood.

I gave $65 for the frame and  sold the 10 bolt rear for $65.

I Bought a 3:73 12 limited slip out of Cincinnati Enquirer For $125

I also got a front suspension out of a 1983 Chevy for $125

The bed was built out of $140 of new metal

Give me some backstory, are you a mechanic, do you like to fabricate, are you really good at body work, etc. Some info about you.

I went to an auto mechanic school fresh out of high school.

Worked as MGR of a auto parts store for 19 years.

Went to ABX AIR in Wilmington , Ohio when I was 43 , Got my airframe and powerplant license and got into Aircraft sheet metal repair.

Left their when 60  ( job went south after DHL pulled out on us .) Got on at Kenworth Truck in Chillicothe , Ohio , retired from there.

This is my 3rd street Rod , (always had my toys) , 440 6 pk Cuda , AAR Cuda , 33 Willys coupe , 36 Ford 2 Dr. sedan

What have you done to it so far?

Truck is on a GMC 1970 frame I shortened 17 inches. It has the exact same width as

Studebaker frame, but a wider track .

Since it isn’t stock , I decided to run 2 inch wider fenders all around.

I installed a Chevy pickup firewall to better fit the engine.

Gave $65 for frame, then sold the 10 bolt rear for $65.

Bought a 3:73 12 bolt limited slip out of Cincinnati Enquirer For $125 and also got a

front suspension out of a 1983 Chevy for $125. That gave me power disc

brakes and power steering.

( 10 of 12 bolts lined up putting it under the 1970 frame )

The engine is a 355 SBC, 4 bolt main with Camaro block hugger headers , and 2 1/2 exhaust thru magnaflow  mufflers.

It has Douglas Dc8 thrust reverser pistons in it.

Has a Edelbrock 600 CFM carb and HEI ignition.

The transmission is a 700r4 with a corvette lock up converter. It locks when going into overdrive and unlocks if it comes out of overdrive.

The bed was built out of $140 of new metal .

Rear Bumper is a Dc8 torque tube , tailpipe tips are 3/8 solid aluminum pulled out of trash at work.

The toolbox holds battery, fire extinguisher, tools and cleaning supplies.

Put wood on bed floor, but did not drill holes through the floor.

I put cross pieces of aluminum floor sitting on rubber and drilled the aluminum and threaded it .

Has a EZ wiring kit, not a home kit , but a company kit that came with fuses and marked wiring . No one was here to help at home except my wife , she got called out more than once.

EZ wiring was great , marked every 6 inches where it went, came separated for rear , front and interior . Longer wires than I needed . I took all my wiring up thru the kick panels through clear plastic tubes in order to clean up firewall.

Has a trailer hitch I had for 25 years , bolted right in .

I was told that it is hard to see brake lights with all the red.

I have 2 led lights on toolbox , Machine shop At ABX made me bezels for tube in rear , 2 Led brake lights there and 2 led regular tail lights and license light goes from white to red when you brake.

Center grille strip is factory thin stainless , mine is 3/8 aluminum made by ABX machine shop .

Friend at ABX made the eyes for the truck.

Truck runs at 1600 rpms at 55 , Gets about 20 MPG , makes noise when I want , quiet when I want .

It has Dakota Digital Gauges , Vintage Air , Heat and Defrost , AM/FM /CD , a tilt wheel out of a S10 that has been shortened 3 inches. I built an add on to my dash and installed the Dakota Gauges myself.

It still sports the wing windows , fresh air scoop and short running boards from the M16 I started with.

Any help you have gotten?

Fred Kidder Jr. did body work and paint .

Rick Futrell in Tip City did interior

Andy’s glass in West Union did Glass

At ABX I got a 1 day pass to blast frame and Cab and parts. It went in with old paint and came home primed.

Check out the pictures.

Customs N Classics store – Amazon Store showcasing some tools, some models, some “vintage” metal signs and some automotive books

We are on Twitter: @customsnclassic

Instagram: customs_n_classics

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2017 – A Year in Review

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Well, another year has gone by and we have had some milestones happen. This has been a good year for us, so, in an effort to recap what has been happening, let’s look back at last years review. (Make sure to scroll down and check out all of the articles. Also, write a comment on your favorite article, or articles.)

You can click here to see last years review.

Disclaimer: Customs N Classics does not charge for any articles. These are free and are derived from emails, chat messages and other forms of communication. The details are from the owner/trustee and are not physically verified. Should there be any issues with this story, please let us know, privately and we will do our best to correct any mistakes.
If you enjoy Customs N Classics articles, please consider a donation to help us with the costs associated in running this site.

As for this year, well, let’s just say it started a little slow. January through April, we had a total of 1,019 views to our site. Four months and we barely had any viewership, which made me wonder if this was at all worth it.

Continue reading →