Photo: worldwidevintageautos.com
In the world of tuners, rat rods are the poor cousins of high-profile builds. For such a car to come into existence, cheap, bad-looking parts are used to deliberately hide the immense power within. At times, such builds are so good that they actually look like beat-down cars that didn’t age at all well.
Case in point the 1959 Chevrolet Apache we have here. The nameplate, part of Chevy’s Task Force line that is so appreciated by the tuning industry, came to be in 1958, and was used to designate light-duty trucks.
Like all other trucks of its generation, the Apache proved satisfyingly successful, but the sales figures are nowhere near the magnitude of appeal these cars had over the years in the tuning industry.
This particular Apache, now on sale in Denver, Colorado, is a prime example of how a beat-down car, eaten by rust in places and with tons of other markings that weren’t there when the truck was made, can still sell for twice the price of a brand new, budget European car.
The rust that is eating the body away has been turned into “incredible turquoise patina,” the “chrome” on the bumpers and mirrors is only a shadow of its former self, and the whole thing looks like a bucket of scrap metal.
But that’s only on the outside. The interior looks much better, with the bench dressed in a black and white material fitting just right with the original-looking dash and gauges.
Another surprise sits under the hood, where one of the previous owners fitted a rebuilt 350ci (5.7-liters) small-block V8 engine of unspecified power.
As we said earlier, this 1959 Chevrolet Apache, in the condition you see in the gallery above, sells for the price of two brand new budget European cars. The seller, a Denver-based dealer called Worldwide Vintage Autos, is asking $20,900 for it.
Like all other trucks of its generation, the Apache proved satisfyingly successful, but the sales figures are nowhere near the magnitude of appeal these cars had over the years in the tuning industry.
This particular Apache, now on sale in Denver, Colorado, is a prime example of how a beat-down car, eaten by rust in places and with tons of other markings that weren’t there when the truck was made, can still sell for twice the price of a brand new, budget European car.
The rust that is eating the body away has been turned into “incredible turquoise patina,” the “chrome” on the bumpers and mirrors is only a shadow of its former self, and the whole thing looks like a bucket of scrap metal.
But that’s only on the outside. The interior looks much better, with the bench dressed in a black and white material fitting just right with the original-looking dash and gauges.
Another surprise sits under the hood, where one of the previous owners fitted a rebuilt 350ci (5.7-liters) small-block V8 engine of unspecified power.
As we said earlier, this 1959 Chevrolet Apache, in the condition you see in the gallery above, sells for the price of two brand new budget European cars. The seller, a Denver-based dealer called Worldwide Vintage Autos, is asking $20,900 for it.
Google News