This 1,200-Horsepower Chevy Apache Is A Barely Legal Burnout Truck
A beautifully restored classic truck is easy to admire, but perfect paint can sometimes make owners afraid to actually have fun. One rock chip, spilled drink, or smoky burnout could undo years of expensive work. Ben’s 1960 Chevrolet Apache suffers from no such anxiety.
Known as “Ratpache,” this weathered pickup truck looks like it has spent six decades losing arguments with the elements. Look closer, however, and the rusty body begins revealing enormous wheels, a custom chassis, and suspicious amounts of hardware sticking through the hood. This is a lightweight, stick-shift monster built to drift, drag race, shoot flames, and cause what its owner proudly describes as “complete and total mayhem.”
This Old Chevy Apache Packs 1,200 Horsepower
Ben has owned Ratpache for roughly 10 years and believes he is only its third owner. The weathered blue paint and heavy patina were already present when he bought it, giving him the perfect starting point for a truck he describes as “perfectly ruined.” The Apache did not immediately become a four-figure-hp monster. Ben drove it with whitewall tires, installed and removed a camper shell, and even used it as his daily driver for three years. Over time, it passed through nearly every phase imaginable before evolving into the machine seen on AutotopiaLA.
Beneath the battered body is a Texas Speed 418-cubic-inch stroker V8 fitted with PRC cylinder heads and a collection of Holley components. The real troublemaker is an enormous 88/103mm turbocharger feeding the engine up to 17 psi of boost. With the truck turned up for the video, Ben says it produces approximately 1,200 hp. A 5.5-inch dump pipe exits through the hood and serves as the entire exhaust system. It is loud, unsubtle, and capable of launching flames into the air. Ben specifically wanted Ratpache to compete in professional burnout events, drag races, and other places where fire pouring from an old truck is considered a feature rather than an emergency.
Ratpache Is A Manual-Transmission Race Truck On 22s
Sending all that power rearward is a built Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission, a McLeod clutch, and a heavy-duty 3.5-inch driveshaft constructed by a rock-crawling shop. A fabricated Quick Performance nine-inch rear end carries aggressive 4.56 gears, helping the Apache leap off the line despite riding on enormous 22-inch wheels.
The rear wheels measure 22 by 11.5 inches, while the fronts are narrower 22 by 8-inch units. Ben can fit Nitto NT555 RII drag radials when racing, although persuading a 1,200-hp manual truck to find traction remains an adventure. When everything cooperates, Ratpache reportedly runs high-nine- or low-10-second quarter-mile passes.
This is much closer to a competition vehicle than a comfortable cruiser. It has manual steering, manual brakes, a manual gearbox, no intercooler, and virtually no creature comforts. The chassis uses air suspension with rear coilovers, allowing Ben to alter its behavior by changing the air pressure. Wilwood brakes handle stopping duties, while a hydraulic handbrake helps during drifting and burnouts.
Despite sitting extremely low and weighing only around 2,800 lbs, Ratpache reportedly has little body roll or wheel hop. The truck can survive a four-hour trip on an open road, but traffic is its natural enemy. This machine wants airflow, open pavement, and enough room to behave badly.
This Is The Ultimate Sleeper Pickup Truck
The cabin carries the same wonderfully chaotic personality as the exterior. It is stripped, caged, decorated with lowrider-inspired paint, and equipped with a Holley digital display. The cage was carefully designed to remain relatively easy to enter, partly because Ben wanted his wife, who has undergone two hip replacements, to climb aboard without fighting a towering door bar.
Once Ratpache hits the road, any remaining resemblance to an ordinary vintage pickup disappears. AutotopiaLA host Shawn Davis describes it as raw, visceral, violent, and “pissed off.” Even a small stab of the throttle produces a serious shove, while the turbo seemingly stays awake and ready to turn the rear tires into smoke.
We did not drive Ratpache, but the video makes its attitude perfectly clear. This is not a polished show truck built to collect trophies from behind velvet ropes. Ben created it in his garage, shaped it around his driving style, and continues beating on it exactly as intended.
He also says money could never convince him to sell. Too many friends helped build it, and too many memories are welded into its custom chassis. Ratpache may look ruined, but that battered body hides something far more valuable than perfect paint: an old Chevy that is still allowed to party.
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