I went to Portland last July 2007 looking for something cool, but with nothing particular in mind. I found this little apache half ton in Aloha. It had a couple small rust spots, some wavy sheetmetal, a leaky master cylinder, some pretty shaky wiring etc, but was overall a good solid truck showing just 46 years of wear really, no signs of abuse or hard miles. I drove it around the Portland area for a few days collecting parts and looking at other vehicles, then bought a cherry 69 F250 and a trailer and hauled it home. In March 08 I started to partially dismantle it and got busy repairing the 2 rust spots and massaging the waves out of those long slab sides. It got repainted a few times over a couple months, it always looked smooth in primer, but showed flaws when it was shiny, so I'd start again. I think the 2 tone sets it off a little nicer than the all blue it was before. I included a few before pics. Now I'm finished, drove it for a few weeks, time for something new. Next project please! UPDATE- The truck was sold Dec 7 to a guy in Grande Prairie, AB. He said he'd been looking for one for a while and was really happy with it, despite some minor body damage during shipping. Its nice when all your hard work gets a nod of appreciation from another car guy. Now I've got a 70 Cuda 440 drag car to finish before race season, and a 71 Skylark street machine awaiting my attention. I'll post pics here soon...

UPDATE June 18/09- My wife and I just returned home from attending the Ron Fellows Corvette driving school at Spring Mountain near Las Vegas. We bought one way tickets as we usually do so we could buy something cool and drive it home. After shopping all over central California for something we liked, we ended up buying, you guessed it, another 61 Apache. This one's a short stepside in incredible condition from Fremont, rust free and drives like a dream. It has a 327 4bbl and powerglide and has been meticulously maintained. The 30 year old paint is sunbaked and will be redone in the next month or two, it really needs nothing else.