Welcome to the CarDomain Obscure Muscle Car Parking Lot, a regular feature which aims to expand the notion of what a muscle car is, and to discover hidden treasures while doing so. The convergence of the Pickup Truck and the Passenger car started during the booming years of the mid 50’s. At one time, cars and trucks used to share the same chassis, sheet metal, and interiors. But it was one Chuck Jordan, who later rose to become head of Chevrolet Styling, that started drawing stylized pickup trucks after he returned to GM after his stint in the U.S. Air Force. The design for a stylish, top of the line truck, met little resistance from corporate management. With a few changes suggested by engineering, a new type of Pickup Truck emerged from GM. Introducing the Chevrolet Cameo Pickup.
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GM Engineers actually didn’t want to do this pickup, because it would have meant that they couldn’t use the cabs for the entire truck line, if Jordan’s design was put into production as planned. The compromise Jordan offered was to still use the slab sides, but include a one inch, chrome edged gap between the cab and the bed. The standard bed was used as well, only dressed up with fiberglass panels made by the same company that produced Corvette bodies, Molded Fiber Glass of Ashtabula, Ohio. These panels simply attached to the outside of the current bed, and created a whole new look to the truck.
So, you’re wondering, where does the Muscle aspect of this truck come into play. Well, 1955 was also the year that Chevrolet introduced their brand new 265 Cubic Inch, overhead valve, small block V8. This is basically the same small block that has been under the hood of most Chevrolets for what seems like decades. One of the most interesting aspects about this engine, is that while the passenger cars line offered the Powerglide as the automatic of choice, these trucks were offered the choice of the Hydramatic four speed automatic, along with the usual 3-speed and 4-speed manuals. The power output of the 265 in 1955 is nothing compared to the fire breathing engines of the 60’s, and really can’t compete with modern electronically controlled engines, but 145 HP was nothing to sneeze at back then. The 265 was upgraded to the 283 for 1957 and 1958, which boosted horsepower to 185 HP. With the simple swap from a 2-Barrel Carb to a 4-Barrel one, horsepower rose to 220, so these engines were rather underrated.
These trucks were not offered with the 1957 Fuel Injection units that were optional on the Corvette and other Chevrolets, but that doesn’t mean that these trucks couldn’t perform. The legendary Smokey Yunick raced a modified Cameo in the 1956 Daytona Speed Trials to a Class 5 record in the standing-mile acceleration test, with a speed of a little under 90 mph. About any modern pickup could easily beat that time now, but that’s not the point. It’s all about the look of the vehicle, including the chrome, the color combinations, ample power (for the day), and simple upkeep. The foundation to make a killer muscle truck without destroying the styling is all there. A few performance upgrades to either the 265, or 283 small blocks will boost HP, while still keeping the truck original looking.
Production numbers are, for the most part, rather rare. When the Cameo was introduced in 1955, it was available only in Bombay Ivory, with the bed interior and highlights painted Commercial Red. Over 5,200 Cameo Pickup’s were sold that year. Color choices increased for the corresponding years, but sales cooled, with 1,460 sold for 1956, and 2,240 for the 1957 model year. There was a styling change for 1958 with the adoption of quad headlamps. There was also a new bed offered called the Fleetside, in which it offered a full bed width in all steel. It was almost as stylish as the Cameo, so the Cameo was quietly dropped after only 500 units were sold, half way through the model year.
GMC also offered their own version of the Cameo, called the Suburban Carrier. The major differences were the grills, the badges, the gauges (!), and the engine choices. GMC used a version of the Chevy Six, but it also used Pontiac V-8’s, and the Pontiac Engine that was optional in the Suburban Carrier was the 288 Cubic Inch version, good for 155 HP. GMC only made around 1,300 of these Suburban Carrier Pickups during the four years they were offered.
Unfortunately, there are no Chevy Cameo Pickups features within the CarDomain Community, so if you know of one, get the owner to put up a ride page, so that we can all admire it. Now for the question at hand. Are these good enough to be considered an Obscure Muscle Car (Truck as it were)? It doesn’t have the power that you would expect in a Muscle Car, but that can easily be rectified without changing the overall look. Or is this just a reach to include another 50’s relic? Let me know what you think.
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