Hi to all, I am in the process of "rebuilding" a '59 short bed, small window Chevy Apache 3100 with the original 283 & 3 on the tree for now, I have the front converted to power disk and now, I am "improving" the rear drums with up to date parts, ie., HiPo shoes, drilled/vented drums & all SS brake lines.

I want to convert the 3 speed to a 5 speed overdrive someday, along with rebuilding the 283 if possible, but will upgrade to a 350 or 383 if the block is not salvageable.

The online tech articles have really helped a lot, I would have paid for some of this good info if I had to. I am a retired Master Auto Tech, but it always helps when someone has done what you want to do and wrote it up as a guide to help with the guess work, ie. like relocating the emergency brake pulley when you install a much larger master cyl & booster on your frame rail.

Oh yeah, even though my truck needs a lot of TLC, it was a real true "Barn find", it was in a barn in Delaware from 1987, till a month or so before I bought it in Jan 2009, it still has the 1987 Delaware tags on it from when it was "parked/stored".