Projects 1955 Chevy Cameo. Build Thread

When I painted my '58 Chevy, I used regular laquer on the interior, and the steering wheel has held up well.

 

Got a few of the bugs worked out this weekend. The heater is back in, with a new core and control valve.

The gas gauge is now working. The sender was OK, but the float had a crack in it. Since the tank is still inside the cab, it was easy to change the float. Just tipped the back of the seat forward and pulled out the sender. Didn't even drain the gas tank.

The charging system is working. The voltage regulator was bad. However, I had to go through 4 different regulators to get a good one. Three were brand new Carquest, Delco Remy ones. All three were bad. Ended up digging through my stash of used ones. Picked out the greasiest one of the bunch and cleaned it up. It was good and charges OK, but the ammeter needle jumps around a bit. Perhaps the gauge was damaged in the accident???

Still have to reinstall the spare tire carrier, replace the master cylinder and a few other small things.

 

Was the fuel sending unit a new one? I had to replace the one in my Yeoman a few years back, luckily the tank has a drain. A few months later, it wasn't working again. I removed it to find the brass float cracked in two places. Called the seller and told them; they sent me a new float. I looked online and found a brass/composite float that should work even if the brass fails again.

 

The sending unit was new in 1991 when I built the truck for my Dad. It still works OK, so I just reused it. The replacement float was dug out of my spare parts. It's an original from a 55 - 60 Chevy that I parted out at some time in the past.

 

Looks like it's been a while for an update. The Cameo is finally done. I've put about 800 miles on it. About the only new problem was the rebuilt generator went out. I replaced it with another one that was on hand.

My guess is that I spun the first generator too fast. On it's first long trip, (about 140 miles) I was on I-88 in Northern ILL. going about 70MPH. Since it wasn't in overdrive, the engine was turning about 4000 RPM. with the 3:90 rear end gears. This is probably what did the generator in.

By the way, the stock three speed overdrive is working quite well. Shifting into, or out of overdrive makes about a 1000 RPM difference in engine speed. It's a really good transmission.

 

Those 3 speed od"s were and still are great units.

 

The trailer hitch has been installed. A friend of mine, Mike Johnson of Mike's Custom Exhaust and Hot Rod Shop outside of Janesville Wis. did the installation. It went very well and only took a few hours.

With the hitch installation, I learned something new about Cameo pickups. The frames are slightly different from regular step side pickups. To have enough clearance for the spare tire carrier, Chevrolet had to trim the lower flange of the rear frame rails. This was on about the last 2 feet of the frame rails.

Since the lower flange was trimmed, there was not enough metal for the hitch's mounting bolts. To fix this problem, Mike used bolts long enough to bolt the hitch to the upper flange of the frame rails. He also made spacers to fit in between the top and bottom flanges of the frame rails. For the rear two hitch bolts, he cut a flat steel plate to tie the frame rails together at the lower flanges. It turned out quite well.

The only downside of having a hitch is that the tire carrier had to be left off of the truck. There just wasn't enough room for both the hitch and the carrier.

The brake controller is installed and wired, too. It's a Tekonsha 2030 Mark 12. These were made in the 1980's and 1990's. Since my truck has no computer electronics of any kind, this looked like a good choice for a controller. The one that I used was brand new in the box and had never been installed. It was marketed by Raybestos but is actually a Tekonsha controller.

 

Another problem showed up when the trailer was hitched up for the first time. Just the empty trailer squatted the rear of the truck quite a bit. The short term solution was a pair of Monroe load leveler shocks.

Of course, Monroe did not list these for a 1955 Chevy pickup. However, a pair for 1973 - 1991 Chevy Blazers, (Monroe #58578), are very close to the same dimensions of the 1955 shocks. Installing these lifted the rear of the Cameo about 2 inches and added about 1100 lbs. of load capacity.

Eventually, the plan is to add a pair of Air Lift overload bags. However, I still have to find the right set that will fit the Cameo.

 

This brings things up to today. Made the first towing test this afternoon. Hooked the trailer up and loaded my 55. Everything went well. The rear of the truck still squatted a bit, but not as much as my 59 GMC would. The Cameo steered well, and towing was more stable than the GMC. There is very little side sway with the Cameo. The GMC had a certain amount of side sway. This is probably due to 6 ply tires vs. the 4 ply tires on the GMC. The Cameo's higher tire pressure probably helps, too.

On top of this the Cameo takes off from a dead stop much easier and smoother than the GMC. This was a concern since the Cameo has a basically stock PowerPack 283, while the GMC has more cubic inches, with a 326 Pontiac V8. The Cameo does have an 11 " clutch vs. a 10 1/2 " in the GMC, though. Acceleration and towing speeds are basically the same.

 

I'm glad to have all of this finished. It's done just in time for The Glory Days Vintage Drag Meet next weekend. This is at Byron Dragway in Byron ILL.

The downside is that with the Cameo taking over towing duty, my trailer is looking a bit shabby. Might have to clean off some of the mold. LOL!

Home - Byron Dragway

The Glory Days Vintage Drag Race at Byron Dragway - YouTube

Visit the 60s Vintage Drag Race Glory Days at Byron Dragway - YouTube

 

Looks great, John. Must feel really good to get it finished.

 

Beautiful truck and it is great that you brought it back. I just went through the whole thread tons of work. I’ll vote for the 348

 

...you mite try moving the 55 back on the trailer just a bit, looks a bit heavy on the front of the trailer.,...
move it more over the trailer axles. ...just a thot.

 

Be careful with moving your 55 back on the trailer. Too little tongue weight will make the trailer sway uncontrollably. I can tell you from first hand experience, you don't want that to happen.

 

there's usually a happy spot for the load, you can tell it's tongue heavy in that pic.
probly won't take much, just a few inches.

 

Thanks, Phil. It's GREAT to have it finally done, after 20 years. Hopefully, it doesn't get totaled again. By the way, I almost got rear ended a few weeks ago. Probably someone texting and driving.

 

Thanks, you guys for the advice. When I loaded my 55, I put it in the same place on the trailer as when using the GMC. Both trucks sag a bit in the back, but the Cameo doesn't sag as much. The long term solution is to add some Air Lift bags to the rear axle. I've got a pair, but there just isn't enough time to install them by this Thursday.

 

I have a bolt together hitch from a 90s Ford truck that looks like it will fit my panel well. How is towing with the stock drum brakes?. I'm planing on mine being the tow vehicle but would need to rebuild the 261 or go V8 (283), I finally found a Saginaw 3spd o/d for future use as the older o/d is still working great.

Congrats on the truck, looks great.

 

Thank you. The stock brakes do OK. I do have trailer brakes, though. I've been towing with my 59 GMC, (which also has stock manual drums), and the brakes have done well.

One important thing is to make allowances for the stock drums. Allow more room for stopping, when following another vehicle, and be careful to avoid brake fade. Both of my trucks are stick shifts, so I do a lot of down shifting when I slow down or stop.

By the way, the hitches that I used on both my Cameo and GMC are for a 1963 - 1987 Chevy 1/2 ton. They are both the same hitch. I couldn't find any hitches listed to fit a 55 - 59 Chevy / GMC pickup. However, Squirrel mentioned that the rear of all Chevy / GMC truck frames from 1955 up to 1987 all had the same dimensions.

This is the one that I have on both my 55 Cameo and 59 GMC.

Draw-Tite | 41938 | Ultra Frame® Trailer Hitch Class V, 2 in. Receiver, Compatible with Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Plymouth trucks

 

Had a small setback last year. I drove it over to Yorkville ILL last September for Jalopy Fest. After parking in the swap meet area, the points in the voltage regulator stuck. Unfortunately, this wasn't noticed until the regulator had started to smoke.

On the plus side, there was not a fire, and the wiring damage was basically limited to the charging system and generator. By unhooking the generator wires the short was eliminated and I was able to drive it home on the battery.

A couple of weeks ago, I finished up installing a new wiring harness to replace the first new harness that melted. I also installed a heavy duty 4 row radiator to help with cooling, when towing a trailer.

Bought a 13-gallon auxiliary fuel tank, too. The plan is to mount it in the front of the bed and run two fuel tanks. With the stock in cab tank, that will make for a 33-gallon fuel capacity.

 

That's always no fun. If you were closer I would give you the generator and regulator from my '56.

 

Where did you get a new heater core. Also should ask if it’s a deluxe heater or not?

Edit: went back and see the interior shot that shows he deluxe controls.
But would like to know if where you sourced yours would have one for mine.

 

Just read this thread all the way thru. What a great project! The pictures brought back so many memories of doing my avatar though your truck is WAY nicer. Its cool you're using it for its original purpose too.
Have you thought about running radials? My '56 originally had bias ply tires but radials made for a smoother ride, better handling and stopping. It had BF Goodrich 295/50-15s on the back and 235/60-15s on the front.

 

Thanks. Fortunately, I started stocking up on generators and regulators several years ago.

 

I got it from Jim Carter Truck parts. It's available through mail order and through Eb.y. The quality is very good, and it fit just like it is supposed to. Plus it's copper / brass, not aluminum.

1955-59 Heater Core Plus Tanks and Bracket Chevrolet and GMC Pickup and Big Truck (oldchevytrucks.com)

 

Thank you. Actually, the tires are radials. They're Cooper Discoverer HT 3 truck tires. LT235/75r15's. So far, they are doing quite well. They ride well, both whether pulling a trailer or not. Haven't put enough miles on them to know how well they wear.

Cooper® Discoverer®HT3™ Commercial Vehicle Tire | Cooper Tire

 

The doors were lettered about a month ago. Towing with it has gone very well. It'll cruise with a loaded trailer at about 65 MPH. However, I usually keep it at around 60 MPH. This is all with a basically stock Power Pack 283 and the stock manual drum brakes.

The first two photos, (and last photo), were taken at "The Out-A-Sight Vintage Drags" at Great Lakes Dragaway, in Union Grove Wis. This was last weekend.







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I've also installed Hellwig helper springs. These cured the sagging problem with the trailer hitched up. They didn't list helper springs for a 55 Chevy pickup, so I adapted a set for an early 1990's Jeep Cherokee.
The springs and installation kit were NOS from the early / mid 1990's, judging from the box art. Yes, they're "Made In The USA", as things should be.

 

Just read through the whole thread. Quite the journey. Thanks for sticking with it and documenting the process. Mart.

 

It just keeps getting better and better, John. Don't know if I mentioned it or not, but sold the '58 Yeoman last year to a guy in MO. Playing with a couple off topic rear engine Chevy's now.