Lowest 1st gear EVER is the HOLY GRAIL transmission

And Jeep owners want it! This is a rare 1959 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside Truck with a factory installed four-wheel drive Napco conversion! We found this perfectly restored truck at the Adirondack Nationals in Lake George, New York.

[@jamesgeorge4874]

The truck came with an SM420 gearbox with a 7.06:1 1st gear ratio, since the headline temped you, but the host, and owner never bothered to elaborate what they were actually talking about...

[@snapnjamin]

thank you

[@Rmehki]

That’s not even the lowest either. My dad has a 66 International 4x4 pickup, it has a 7.7:1 first gear. I think the transmission is the international T35

[@AdamantineAxe]

My unimog u900 406 6-speed gearbox has a first gear ratio of 14.53 : 1 Second gear is 8.66 : 1 In crawler range 1st gear is 300.307 : 1, but I don't have that option and it's technically separate from the gearbox.

[@nnnnnnnnnick5557]

Which is ironically a higher ratio

[@donnie1581]

Had a 72 Chevy 3/4 ton 5 speed that had a very low 1st gear. I'm not sure what it was but I know you couldn't stall it. Dump the clutch with no throttle and it'd still chooch.

[@gmctech]

Folks, short of fuel injection and safety features, we've gone so far backwards with automotive design it's genuinely depressing. This truck is GORGEOUS!

[@Scxjunkie]

Your referring to anything made for production

[@swamp-yankee]

Modern oil filtration and synchronized transmissions are nice too. We’ve come a long way. I personally think our peak was in the early 2000s, but I also appreciate the completely mechanical old stuff.

[@KD-lq1sr]

@gmctech they'd be smart to bring back retro styling for trucks. Like the Bronco and Mustang throwbacks.

[@Tipman2OOO]

​@@swamp-yankeeagree

[@calebz1448]

The most worthwhile safety feature is the human brain which has gone downhill steadily. People currently trust in safety features instead of being attentive and learning how to drive without a phone in hand. Seat belts have logical fallacies presented in marketing that don't take the severity of accident into account

[@jimanderson1355]

My dad bought a brand new ‘57 GMC with Factory NAPCO 4wd and the 270 six, in, of course, 1957. Drove it for over 30 years. The NAPCO front axle was advanced for breaking big snow drifts as the tie rod was behind the housing, thus protecting it. Many times after busting large drifts I would lift the hood and see nothing but packed snow in the engine bay, but the 270 was silently ticking over underneath.

[@skylinegtr-gd2lg]

It's wonderful to see such an historic vehicle in the hands of an owner who not only appreciates its significance, but can also execute a first-class restoration. Sooo well done sir!

[@legacyturbo8485]

Okay now ..!!! How does one restore a truck to this level .!! I mean even down to the decals. It’s absolutely jaw dropping. If this isn’t a best of show wherever it shows up there’s a problem.

[@zacariasblanco9738]

Dedication and a lot of work

[@brianchisnell1548]

1 piece at a time

[@legacyturbo8485]

@@kurtiscrislip1971 yuppppp

[@jk-76]

To have someone else do it would cost $150,000.00.

[@legacyturbo8485]

@@jk-76 yea for sure .!!! The dedication is biblical

[@stumpyslvr]

They never looked that good coming off the line. My dream truck

[@CorePathway]

I hope you aren’t in a hurry 😂

[@MattMorris481]

I love it when people put things back exactly the way they came.

[@damianlindsey6177]

Stock sucks. Want factory original, buy a Prius. Even this truck was a conversion from "stock". This is no different of a ride than a yenko Camaro, Nicky Nova, or motion Chevelle. All factory approved modifications.

[@MattMorris481]

@@damianlindsey6177 I got no problem with factory or dealer installed modifications, but when I buy a classic car or truck I want it the way it was in that time period other wise what’s the point. I mean if you are going to put all kinds of new mods on it and hot rod it go buy a new one just because you want to ruin a piece of history doesn’t mean everyone else does and I promise I’m not the minority on that just look at this guy truck he put it back exactly the way it came.

[@nitroxylictv]

Yea man I cant stand it when some idiot chops a classic long bed to make a short bed

[@billherman5161]

Wow!! Incredible truck. I would love to live through the 50s, 60s, 70s again just for all the vehicles produced. Special time in history.

[@mtnvalley9298]

No trailer queen there, but for sure the trailer king. That is one perfect truck. Thanks for the show Dennis and Co!

[@HeavyChevy]

Wow! What a beautiful truck, a real show winner. 🏆 👏🏼

[@neils5539]

Not a truck fan myself, but you have to admire the restore of this one. Dennis is gaga over this and he should be, it's great.

[@opera93]

Thanks, these “ pick ups” are GAGA! Interestingly, me too:: **then I stumbled upon my 2007 C@nyon loaded , buying new, for 60 miles daily drive, & High paying Job*: and from driving 1961 (??)Studebaker pick up whilst @Summer Job in , 1962 INDIANA TRI-County GAME PRESERVE; INDIANA DES ordered maybe to help Studebaker, as we all knew Trouble coming ……! Anyways, some of the 1940-60s, STUDEBAKER & GMC SPECIALS pick ups, ARE incredible ( not to mention some of the Law , Forestry, & special AGRICULTURAL ): I kind of turned into a Vehicle Nut , incl Trucks.

[@Day-dreamer488]

How can u not like trucks lol? Cars are cool too but idk why u say just them

[@Rembrant65]

I learned to drive in my Dad's 59 Apache. I think it was a 36, 1 ton, 4X4, high low range and dualies. Started life as a boom truck. He threw a shortened flat bed on it and a goose neck hitch in the middle of the bed under a trap door. Geared so low you drove it like a 3 speed. Start in second gear high range. 1st gear you could drive it on the starter. Kinda and prolly not far.

[@willhorting5317]

Cool. If it was a "36", then it would have been a 3/4 ton. One tons were "38".

[@Diesel257]

I learned to drive stick in a Ford 1-ton with a 460 my Dad had borrowed from his boss. I was maybe 10 years old. I can still smell that clutch burning. 😂

[@Rembrant65]

Must of been a 38 then. Over forty years ago.

[@willhorting5317]

@@Rembrant65 I understand.

[@donhathaway3234]

As a kid, my dad ran a service station through the late 50s to early 70s. He had a 61 (I think) Apache that was his parts runner and winter snowplow for our house, the station and a few other driveways. It was the ugliest thing on the road but man, nothing could stop it. I was 15 in 1969 and the truck was just completely rotted away. A friend of mine bought it and we stripped it down to engine, seats and that was about it. We would run it out in the woods. If a tree was in our way we just pushed it over. Great fun!

[@Tmrfe0962]

Sir, you knocked this out of the park. What a beauty.

[@mwaynem]

My first truck was 1958 Apache. It had the original 283 v8, a wrap around back window, crome grill headlight trim and bumper. I gave $500 for it with a fresh paint job in 1977. My favorite part of this series of trucks was the hood.

[@Giuseppe_De_Bellis]

Great job! That's a lot of love for this great truck! ❤

[@randallsmerna384]

Growing up my dad had a '58 Chevy Apache but with an unusual combo I have NEVER seen elsewhere. It was a Longbed, Step side, Dually.

[@ccjensen4670]

What a beautiful truck! At 16 years old in 1962 I purchased a 59 Pache fleetside with every option other than a V-8..had a 261" six..paid $1,900.00 for it and followed its history up until 4 years ago when it dissaperared from the carport it sat neglected in..offered to buy it 20 years ago to restore with my son..old guy wouldn't sell..he must have passed away as the house was empty..

[@bryduhbikeguy]

What a Great looking truck.Wow !

[@sergioleone3583]

Fantastic. Love how the owner kept so much original on it. Beyond beautiful. Big thanks to him for preserving this piece of history and VERY cool truck!

[@user-bh2fq8in6h]

A very well done restoration. Absolutely stunning. This is when they made real trucks 🚒🚒👍👍👍

[@General_Loco]

That originally was a forestry truck. The state of Oregon contracted them but few went to other states on the west coast

[@kensutherland414]

Well done. Perfect. Old trucks always had a seemingly useless 1st gear and we called it the Bog Cog. You could pull the bend out of a river.

[@KD-lq1sr]

My dad's 77 Ford Highboy has the same old school design 4 speed. He called it granny gear and it's about a 2ft throw to shift from first into second.

[@markbrodie48]

Those trannys launched faster than they would go in first ..,take a tree down in a heartbeat…great for rock crawling..

[@ronaldgentry9923]

My 78 f150 had the same transmission. First gear against the dash, second gear against the seat. @@KD-lq1sr

[@nkelly.9]

What a stunning restoration of a completely fantastic truck. Just WOW!. Old is gold.

[@davidkastin4240]

Gorgeous pickup. Magnificent restoration 😎

[@Brian-uy2tj]

That really is a beautiful truck. It is hard to believe that an amateur did that high of a quality work. Amazing.

[@barrygrant2907]

What an amazing restoration! Those duel headlights set it apart from all the rest.

[@the_wanderer-03]

Yes 58 and 59 dual headlights is far better looking than the 55, 56, 57's that people restore so much more often but don't look near as good on the front end.

[@bubot17]

That's a beauty

[@youdandee1]

Man what a Beauty for us Truck 4x4 Guys you don’t see them like this anywhere

[@avirtualworld4U]

Wow! just beautiful.

[@rgbigdog]

She a beauty!

[@robertroth618]

All I can is that’s an awesome restoration!!! It will be hard to top this truck. Love it!!!

[@busybee4436]

This beautiful truck is truly a work of art. Stunning craftsmanship....wow.

[@ditzydoo4378]

My grandfather had the same Napco 1959 but in red/creme. it was gorgeous.

[@jvogler_art4708]

Beautiful truck and it will never be used as a truck. Just a beautiful ornament.

[@MyClassicCarTV]

A REALLY beautiful ornament!

[@rondye9398]

Great truck! I have owned one of these from the 1960's. My current truck is a 1957 1/2 ton, Line built truck (Chevrolet started factory building these half way through '57 for Chevrolet but 1956 for GMC) My truck is Sandstone Beige (kinda pink). Line built trucks from Chev. in 57 came with oil bath air filter, added on oil filter, heavy duty heater, and package tray above fuel tank behind seat. 1/2 tons had 3:90 gears ( Yukon gear has a 3:30 replacement set) 3/4 ton had 4:57 and 1 ton had 5:13. Wheel sizes 16", 17.5" and 19.5". The 3/4 and 1 ton can use a later 3:90 gears set up to 1967. All line trucks through 1959 came with 235 six cylinder and heavy duty 4 speed truck trans. Yes the bed was yellow pine but painted black with black strips. This is a beautiful representative example.

[@Bayan1905]

I would love to see one of these in action, my Grandfather had a 64 Willys CJ we used to haul wood with and that had such a low gear you could get out and walk next to it when it was in low gear and it would go wherever you wanted it to, can only imagine that that old Apache could do with that 235 and the Napco set up.

[@_BAD_MERC_]

What a fantastic machine. So luxurious for 1959. This truck was way ahead of its time.

[@kurtbyars766]

WOW WHAT a SAWEEEEETTTTT looking truck ! And original too !

[@sartainja]

My uncle had one of these trucks in the early 1970’s. It was a tank that would really pull and go in the mud - everything was heavy duty. It was a beast to drive off-roading.

[@gatormike1434]

I love old trucks and that is, hands down, my favorite. What a beauty!

[@jamesbarnhart3642]

Being a modern day automotive technician, This thing looks so clean i feel like my name is Jimbob, and i’m about to work a Pre-Delivery Inspection on it

[@MyClassicCarTV]

🤣🤣

[@videointercepter]

I've owned a 58 for 20 years. This truck is magnificent.

[@sniper60605]

Fantastic truck! Great work!

[@heywoodplanes6651]

beautiful workmanship and one of a very few - love the effort and the results.

[@josephg41]

Jaw-dropping! Its rare to see anyone restore a '55-59 Chevy truck to this level, let alone a Napco truck. There's so many restomods done to these trucks you almost never see them. That one year only gold interior is stunning, best looking interior of the '55-59's. '55 was white, '56-'58 had grey interiors unless they were high-optioned.

[@toddricketts9498]

That is a BEAUTIFUL Truck and Rare as can be , Great Job

[@EATSLEEPDRIVE2002]

"So Jeff, just HOW low is this first gear?" -"Well it's been idling in gear this whole time we've been talking..."

[@MyClassicCarTV]

🤣🤣

[@jennifurzoe1302]

That is a Beautiful Work of Art,the style,colors, everything on that is just Awesome.

[@jayjones6904]

Beautiful work of art

[@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney]

Man, that thing is PERFECT. I didn't know any of them were factory, that makes it even cooler!

[@donalddday7741]

got a new 1984 short wheel base F-150 it had the Grainy first gear it was amazing when i needed it for crawling and pulling stuck people when out 4 wheeling

[@thomasgargano8813]

Just soooo beautiful… please take care of this precious truck. Good luck,and enjoy showing it to everybody.👏👏👏👏👏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍺🍺🍺🍺🍻🍻🍻☮️☮️☮️

[@honestreviewer3283]

Beautiful! So clean!

[@tydryzo]

What a beautiful truck

[@NBC_NCO]

A lot of hard work. Awesome!

[@cjford2217]

Absolutely stunning. That man is a perfectionist and it shows. 👍

[@herberthallum2078]

Sir I want you to take an arm, doesn't matter which one, and pat yourself on the back. You've done an amazing job restoring this beautiful truck. Great job.

[@woodcutterdave7835]

Beautiful truck, thank you guys for the great video.

[@vehdynam]

Absolutely stunning ! Very , very well done. Many thanks.

[@karolynfrench8098]

That is one awesome truck. My 59 Apache stepside will never be as sweet. Love that truck.

[@toddandrews9829]

This makes me miss my 57 Chevy with the dealer installed NAPCO 3/4 ton that I rebuilt from the frame up. In first gear you could set up stakes and let it idle to see if it was moving in low range.

[@realestateinfonet9041]

Superb truck! Thanks for sharing it with us!

[@bruce5648]

That thing is gorgeous wish I had one

[@therainforest4314]

Absolutely beautifully redone. Functional and beautiful. :)

[@Javelinjoe73]

Beautiful restoration, beautiful truck

[@jgoogleheim8880]

What a beautiful truck. Need one for the farm! Keep on truckin.

[@bondisteve3617]

Another great story! Thanks Mr. Dennis.

[@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS]

I seen this one on th tv the other day too man, real interesting about the rare factory one's, sick beefy truck too dude!

[@Turboy65]

I'm not really into 50s vehicles but I do like the color scheme a lot.

[@rodolfoescobedo7396]

That was beautiful... Makes my soul happy...

[@LuciFeric137]

I really miss granny gear in modern trucks.

[@adamanderson5055]

Why? It has actually never, ever been used to do anything but show your friends how low the gears are. It's not good for climbing. It's not good for loose traction.

[@austinradtke2896]

Granny gears are good for compression braking down steep grades, especially off road. Or good for running equipment off a pto unit

[@Texeyevideo]

@@adamanderson5055One can easily snap an axle with the granny but that being said the four speed box is a hell of alot better than the three speed. My '72 3/4 GMC had such a low rear end I could start off in 3rd at most lights. Miss it much.

[@uncleshark1103]

Showing this to every person online who pretends that large trucks didn't exist before the mid 00s.

[@user-ny3ol7yk6q]

Stick shifts are always a cool touch

[@wadesmith7041]

What a awesome truck well done good restore that's how I like to see him all original

[@rferguson3719]

I saw this truck at the Syracuse nationals in 2022. It was stunning

[@scottymoondogjakubin4766]

I wish i had that !

[@MikeHarp-p6o]

By far my favorite chevy trucks absolutely gorgeous

[@hart64ghs]

The SM420 was used by GM from about 1947 until 1967 or so, and yes it is the lowest 1st gear in any pickup 4-spd, the NP435 has a 6.69 first gear. My brother has a FJ40 with a SM420 behind a Chevy 383, it will idle up almost anything in Moab.

[@bigblocklawyer]

Factory Napcos had an extra leaf spring over 2wd springs, plus 16 inch wheels which are a 1/2" taller than 2wd 15". And the knobby tires have significantly taller sidewalls than 2wd tires. They are insanely tall trucks.

[@Texassince1836]

15s were the base offering on 2wds, but 16s and 17.5s were available on 2wd half tons as well.

[@bigblocklawyer]

@@Texassince1836 So were 19's. Stopped bidding on 5 when they got ridiculous.

[@JamesSmith-pc6bh]

Man, that is a beautiful truck.

[@mb-fs1yo]

Always loved this truck but wanted the step side bed, saw a naapco when I was about 12 and loved the looks of the 58

[@hemiacplurge3572]

Glad he kept the six.

[@Buck1954]

Napco Chevrolet trucks were my favorite trucks.

[@ilikequiet6474]

Nice he kept the original engine and didn't drop in a 350 like so many do with classic Chevrolets

[@malcontender6319]

It's so pretty it actually hurts to look at it.

[@raymndstannski3947]

Spot On ! Can't put a price tag on this

[@ctg6734]

What a great looking truck!

[@bogginbrandon]

The SM420 is an old school holy grail rock crawling granny gear trans, but technically the late model Ford ZF6 speed has a 13:1 low gear. Almost double that of the SM420. However, you’re not gonna fit a ZF6 in an old Jeep to go wheeling. Beautiful truck, thanks for sharing!

[@maggs131]

I have a 66 c10 that had the sm420 in it. It was drivable but not very pleasant. I replaced it with a tremec TKX and listed the muncie on FB and sure enough in 2 days a jeep guy bought it lol

[@davidmurray9844]

Absolutely beautiful. Wow. Great job.

[@edwardthomas1794]

Absolutely gorgeous

[@haroldconover5221]

What a Beauty. I no were one is like that 4x4 stock 😊

[@telcobilly]

Beautiful truck! My friend has a 1959 7' narrow bed original paint Chevy with an overdrive unit..He's in Stockton CA.

[@kelleys81]

Man, thats a clean truck

[@deaterk]

I’m not much of a fan of trailer queens, BUT, this truck is pretty special, unique and worthy of being pampered and displayed.

[@Nick_B_Bad]

That thing sure is cool!

[@GrantJohnston-dr9rt]

Grunt up the side of a log cabin in second gear , absolutely stunning,Get a Chevy before one gets you! Greetings from Montreal!

[@tonyjones6904]

That is one beautiful truck! Immaculate! The coolest truck I ever owned was a 62 Ford half ton it was a unibody one piece truck had a 292 V8 in a it was a unibody one piece truck had a 292 V8 and a side loader transmission that was basically a 3-speed with a granny gear. That was in 1979 and get this my friend's dad bought original 66 Fairlane XL 500 with a 390 hi Pro and a Borg Warner T10 top loader for Speed that I bought from him and I traded that Fairlane for the truck and the guy gave me 500 bucks. One of those stupid things I did when I was a kid that still kills me to this day😂

[@sargefreedom1578]

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful

[@DougGurley-vv4pt]

Unbelievable truck, awesome!!