Pick-up Chevy Cameo
The composite parts made of plastic reinforced with fiberglass were provided by the same company that manufactured the body for GM’s Corvette, the Molded Fiberglass, and Ohio. And reminding the color scheme of the first Corvette was offered for a painting version of Cameo ivory white with red accents. The interior held Finished in beige and red. The inner walls of the bucket also received red paint.
This new proposal for setting brought a new direction to the destinations of American pickup trucks; the Cameo Carrier was the same for Chevrolet Corvettes that accounted for sports cars, a focal point and a tool to attract attention.
Rear similar to a car
The Chevy Cameo truck type vehicles rose to a new level, being the first commercial Chevrolet with refined finish. The Chevy Trucks had never experienced a top row version before. And nothing in the segment had approached this proposal so far.
The concept came out of the head of a young designer only 25 years old, named Chuck Jordan. Working for the studio Lu Stier, he brought his proposal to GM shortly after leaving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Jordan made a request that seemed strange to their employers, who bet on the guy with no experience. He wants to join the team designing commercial vehicles, which sounded a bit strange for a young and ambitious designer.
Luxurious interior of the Cameo version
Showing that their destination was not for the hard work, the Chevy Cameo had a rear bumper that resembled a traditional vehicle, as well as the lanterns that could well be applied in a sedan without harming your look.
And history was made … With a new transmission system, an open drive shaft which replaced the classic torque tube closed, the Chevys won a new architecture that allowed receive, longer gear ratio and type of overdrive which gave the pick-ups the chance to achieve a higher final speed, and most importantly, maintain that speed in a smooth engine speed.
It was no longer necessary to maintain peak engine speed to circulate exceeding 45 mph (72 km / h). When equipped with a V-8 overdrive and exchange type, a Chevy Truck could now travel effortlessly at 70 mph (112 km / h) in an even more luxurious cabin with interior colors matching with the body, more like, well with what is found in a passenger car.
This setting has expanded the possibility of using commercial of the Chevrolet line in 1955, previously reserved for the heavy lifting, cargo and rural use. The truck then left their tradition of delivering production of peasants from the countryside to the market in town and could now face the roads to travel on higher speed cruising. Thus began the great change in the way the trucks were used in the United States, a move that would change the road and urban landscape of the country forever.
Fleet side
The year 1958 brought the model that replaced the Cameo, called Chevrolet Fleet side. Chevy Trucks for the day were now also available as optional air conditioning and conversion Napco “Mountain Goat” that turned the pick-ups in 4×4 vehicles. More options, more market and the trucks began to be used for moving people and gradually lost its rural tradition.
El Camino 1959
El Camino: come to the last descendant of the Chevrolet Model T of this part of the story. In 1959, a vehicle half car and half pickup truck appeared in the Chevy line. A reaction to the Ford Ranchero that was already on the market two years ago, and the last step in breaking definitively with the peasant origin of the truck. With a bucket fitted to the rear of the Chevrolet, and their tails with fins, affectionately called fish-tail here in Brazil, El Camino models could carry up to 550 kg in one loading space equivalent to an average truck and indoor comfort of a luxury automobile.
Added to all this there was the whole appeal of El Camino to receive the optional V-8 engine with three-barrel carburetors and 335 hp. The displacement of 5,693 cc (348 cubic inches) played much torque and power to the rear wheels through a box coming four marches Corvette. Thus was born the Cadillac Cowboys.
The launch campaign of the new Chevy said “More than a car – more than a truck” (More than a car – more than the truck). And the El Camino became a cult vehicle world.
Currently maintained by collectors, turned into hot rods or even reproduced in old models out-of-series, the classic Chevrolet trucks became revered and admired.
Hot Rod based on Chevrolet Apache
Where associated with a beautiful engine, among the top six in-lines with our Opal or a V-8 small block Corvette, and accept good preparation and can turn into fun toys. I did not see the red Chevy there close to home, but I can imagine the joy of its owner to observe the attention awakening in the streets or in the countryside, attracting the attention and reverence. And even being prepared for hard work, imagine that your bucket is not sufficient to carry all phlegm, history, cases and events of the long journey that has come.
