When I saw the 1956 Chevrolet Apache lying in the creek bed in Nigde-Aksaray (then Aksaray was not the province), I was not sure if it would be given 100 million pounds. And six cylinders are 235 cuin. Because there was water left in his engine, he was frozen and cracked. 1956 1/2 ton Apache 3100 Stepside, this truck i think was the most elegant and stylish truck ever produced. Moreover, the cascading rear case called stepside gave a distinct air (called fleetside to the flats).
After a short decision process, the truck was purchased and loaded into the truck and came to Ankara. 100 million pounds was not a huge amount of money at the time (1995), but it was important to buy the car as well as find the money to fix it as a student. Besides, I already had a 1955 Chevrolet Belair, two classics that would be pretty hard to look at.
Big Industry in Ankara
The truck was so bad, I didn't even see an American in hotrod documentaries that are so popular on television right now. The first thing to do was rob it from top to bottom and start from scratch. And when a car is robbed, what comes out first, of course, the chassis.
We washed the shawl with a wheelbarrow and a gas station, washed it nicely, cleaned it with a wire brush. Then we brought him to the garage and started taking care of it. Erkan Metiner Usta of Ankara (the shop was in the Great Industry at the time, and now they are in Şaşmaz. Tel: 532-6647949). I was working with him at the time, and don't laugh when i say master, because I'd really go to college every summer and work full-time, and i'd go there in the repairs. The uncle who posed next to the chassis above is Uncle Fikret, one of the first american auto mechanics in Turkey. Even if it doesn't work anymore, he supports and spends time in his son's shop.
Painting with chassis paint
One feature of Erkan Usta is that he likes to paint everything. While dealing with chassis and cleaning, the engine block we sent to the seam came from repair, and the engine on the counter was ready with new repair kit and segments. All that's left is to sit on the chassis.
The next stage is the hood, of course. The truck's trophy was very clean, but I can't say the same for the fenders, the hood and the front blinds. Unfortunately in Turkey, there are no cashants who are willing to deal with old cars, they usually like to do easy work. There's no one left to do what's next. So I was able to finish the truck by replacing two bodymen. I got one from the junkyard again from the back case.
We were getting used to the fenders according to the two headlight frames that we barely found from the scrap yard, but again we took a shutter that was in unavailable from the scrap yard to two brothers who were in Sasmaz at the time and did the bodywork. Normally they weren't out of business, but they agreed to coat stainless sheet on this scrap panjurun. It was a serious work that emerged and had saved about $500.
After the hood is complete, of course it's the turn of putty and paint. The paint business has also made our masters work a lot, especially in the winter. We had to use a significant amount of putty in this truck. In color then I wanted a herpes yellow that was fashionable in the C180 Mercedes, now I couldn't find the code, and we found it from the catalogue in the painter. We started the rear fenders with the fender suppositories of volkswagen turtles in the vault.
In the meantime, since there is no money, we took materials such as headlights, back stop, front parking lights, tractor shards and dodge truck parts and used chromat. After the paint, the car was left in the hands of Zeki Usta for electrical installation. I don't know where the smart master is now, but he was a very resourceful but difficult to run and process-taking.
After the electrical works were completed, it was time for glass, flooring and other detail. The glassman and the upholsterer were in Sasmaz. We had to make a windscreen-free ride on the bin with the truck we managed to run in the freezing cold in winter. I went to erkan usta with the escort at the back, the glassman and the upholsterer in Şaşmaz. In the meantime, of course, we did not have a windshield, we found the windshield we were looking for in Konya in a glass shop while hiding the broken glass so that we had to stay and make it possible. It was ok because the side and rear windows were already flat glass.
After reloading the floor of hundreds of cat-dogs and covering it with fake leather, the truck was almost ready to go to traffic. One missing: Plate. We took the 06 DD 374 license plate after taking the truck with a license plate of 51 AZ 720 for inspection so that it would be an old plate that matched 1956.
I brought some parts of America with my limited budget, these were light materials at the price, such as side mirrors, inner mirrors, back case cascade chrome finishes, rear cover CHEVROLET bonding letters, door handles. I would love to make parts original as well as front shutters, signal, taillights, steering wheel, interior accessories, but unfortunately! Then when I had some money, I turned it into a power wheel. Unfortunately, I never found the original steering hub.
Erkan Usta with a moustache on the left, and his old workshop
Because the tampons were in poor condition, we couldn't give them to the kromaja, so I couldn't find a new tampon, so we had to make a putty-paint tampon. While no one understands the side fender emblems, unfortunately it belongs to the 1957 model, not 1956. I used the truck for a long time without the floor of the back case. I finally covered it with beautiful aluminum profiles and wood made of pine wood on the sites. And then, of course, I pitched from the bottom, and covered it in awning to protect it from the rain.
I was sad to buy a comfortable new car in the truck I got in for about a year and a half, so I said goodbye in 1997 and sold it to Istanbul. I saw it in Yeniköy for a long time, but then disappeared. Who knows where he is now? But my friends always remembered metu days with that truck.
What trouble swelled? I could never completely close the hood, gearing up in 2nd gear, the front brake pad constantly contracting and forcing the brakes on its own, sometimes the starter engine does not press, it requires short-circuiting with a screwdriver. And these are the quirks of an old American use, I think. Ahmet Bey, who bought it from me, was only able to leave in Istanbul in 19 hours :))
The complete photo album for wishers is in the link below with better quality photos:
Love to everyone.
Yavuz Desertacross