Evolution Takes a Big Leap Forward

We all come into the truck world with our own unique perspective on what’s cool and what’s not. But throughout the years, it’s easy to find yourself falling into a slump of just liking the next big thing and following trends instead of setting them yourself. It’s why fresh blood in the scene is so badly needed; it infuses the culture with new ideas and takes on concepts that the rest of us never would’ve considered. It’s an important and necessary part of the custom truck community, and it helps us evolve. 

Kaylie Davis of Fruita, Colorado, has been a part of the scene for a while now, but mostly peripherally. Her husband, Willie Davis, owner of Big Willie’s Garage, builds many different types of rides, and along the way Kaylie has thrown out ideas that have made their way into those projects. But they never were “on her own” vehicles, which left this void that she wanted to fill. When this ’58 Chevrolet Apache came into the picture, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

At the time, her father-in-law, John Davis, owned the ’58. He’s turned quite a few wrenches in his day, so he had an idea to build the Apache into a fully restored beauty. Kaylie disagreed. She wanted to take a different turn with it: lay it out on big wheels and do some custom interior work. She didn’t have the title, so ultimately she didn’t have a say in what John was going to do with the truck, but then things changed. John, who was in his mid-70s at the time, took a moment to think about the reality of doing the build himself and decided to take a pass. Instead, he sold the truck to Kaylie so that she could make it into whatever she wanted. Her first big project was ready to go.

This truck has many features that you’ve probably seen before. It’s laid out on 20-inch wheels, which is not unheard of by any means. It has a billet steering wheel, lots of chrome, and a paint job that’s clean and straight, but it has a two-tone package as well. So yes, in that sense, this truck is one of several thousand built in similar fashion. Now let’s break down what makes this truck so special.

First, it’s the truck itself. Chevrolet trucks of this era with a big back window are out there, but they usually fetch a fair amount of coin. If you can find one, getting a fleetside is even more difficult.

Then there’s the bed floor. Yes, you’ve seen sheet metal bed treatments before, but the center section is what sets things apart. Instead of doing a wood and stainless package like many other builders, Kaylie went experimental. Using expanded metal and steel, they simulated the wood and stainless strip look of the original truck, then encased the expanded metal in epoxy. When it was all done, they laid clearcoat over the entire thing and polished it to a mirror-like shine. It’s a trick that’s been used in the DIY furniture industry for a while now, but it’s certainly uncommon in the truck world, and it looks amazing.

Let’s talk about the interior next, because it’s unusual, too. There are four materials used throughout: billet, paint, vinyl and carpet—standard fare, for the most part. The vinyl is two-toned just like the truck, with the darker half mirroring outside placement. The diamond-pattern stitching has been done before, but here it’s everywhere that’s black, nowhere that’s gray, and that’s worked into the headliner, too. The dashboard waterfalls into the center of the bench, but that black diamond-stitched pattern is there too, hiding the electronics behind it. Although there’s not a lot of gray vinyl to be found, it matches the rest of the truck so well that one has to wonder if one was specifically created to mimic the other. It’s quite stunning.

Like any step forward in evolution, Kaylie’s truck has elements of the past that have combined with parts of the future to create something completely new. Her years of experience chipping in on her husband’s projects helped guide her way, but her inexperience with building something on her own gave her the ability to think outside the box and create something unlike anything that came before. Is it the perfect truck? Well, that depends on your opinion. But to say it’s anything less than an evolution of the truck scene would do all of us a disservice. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

Owner

Kaylie Davis
1958 Chevrolet Apache
Fruita, CO 

Engine

• Shop: Top End Performance, Grand Junction, CO
• Assembled by Kaylie Davis
• 1958 Chevrolet 437-ci stroker W-block
• 496 hp, 500 ft-lbs torque
• Melling high-volume oil pump
• 409 steel cylinder heads
• ARP hardware
• COMP Cams valves, custom length pushrods, springs and solid rollers
• Harland Sharp rockers
• Showcars USA guides
• Edelbrock dual quad intake manifold
• Dual 500-cfm Edelbrock carburetors
• PML valve covers
• MSD wiring
• March Performance pulleys and drive accessories
• March Performance alternator
• Edelbrock water pump
• Champion radiator
• SPAL electric cooling fans
• PBFab motor mounts
• Magnaflow race mufflers
• Stainless steel exhaust
• 1972 Chevrolet T350 automatic transmission
• Hughes Performance torque converter
• 1,800-rpm stall speed
• Lokar shifter
• B&M shift kit
• Custom driveshaft
• Ford 9-inch rearend
• Moser axles

Chassis & Suspension 

• Shop: Big Willie’s Garage, Grand Junction, CO, Willie and Kaylie Davis,
• PBFab Extreme Drop front suspension
• PBFab 1-inch narrowed and 1-inch forward control arms
• 1972 C-10 spindles and brakes
• KYB shocks
• 7-inch CPP brake booster
• Corvette dual reservoir master cylinder with proportioning valve
• 2-link rear air suspension
• Custom-boxed step notch
• 12-inch GM rear brake conversion
• Air Lift Performance 3P/3H air management system
• Two VIAIR compressors

Wheels & Tires

• 20×8.5 and 20×10 polished and powder-coated US Mags Malibu U423
• 265/45ZR20 and 285/45ZR20 Nitto 420 tires

Body & Paint 

• Shop: Big Willie’s Garage, Grand Junction, CO, Willie and Kaylie Davis,
• Painted by Charlie Cutts at Custom Charlie’s, Grand Junction, CO
• Classic Parts of America grille, front bumper, door handles, roll pan and gas filler
• Precision Replacement Parts windows
• Custom steel and epoxy bed floor
• United Pacific LED taillights
• Octane Lighting HID headlights
• Axalta Storm Silver and Gloss Black

Interior & Stereo 

• Shop: Accurate Upholstery, Grand Junction, CO, Troy Rieger
• Cut-pile carpet
• Vinyl upholstery
• Lokar handles
• Custom bench seat
• Custom steel dashboard
• Classic Instruments and Boese Engineering gauges
• Billet Specialties Stiletto steering wheel
• Vintage Air air conditioning
• Classic Parts of America seat belts

Special Thanks From the Owner: “Willie Davis, Custom Charlie’s, Axalta, Accurate Upholstery, Powdertek, US Mags, Classic Parts of America, Precision Replacement Parts, Lucas Oil, Air Lift Performance, VIAIR, Boese Engineering, US Gear, Dynamat, Vintage Air, Magnaflow, Lokar, Empire Abrasives, Classic Instruments, James Smith, John Davis, T. J. Webb, DeaconJones, Top End Performance, Seth Rosa, and Tes and Donavon Otero.”

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