Hello, I'm struggling with what to do with my Dad's Cameo. He passed away 5yrs ago and I was able to keep his 55 Cameo. As a teen I helped him restore it in the early 90's. It's sort of a resto mod. 350 engine with 350 turbo trans. Stock rear, stock seat etc. Then in the late 90's with me begging not to he clipped the front end off and mated a 70 C10 front clip on so that it would have power steering, disk brakes, independent front suspension... I never drove the truck with the straight axel drum brake setup so I don't know the comparisons between the two. fast forward 35yrs I would like to make it a traditional hot rod. My plan is to swap the 350 out for a 409 that he built several years ago. redo the wiring and other small things. My dilemma is do I find a 55-59 frame, buy a Sid's drop axel and get rid of the frame it has or I really like the frames Boling Brothers makes and some others. I actually live close to Scotts Hot Rods but I don't want anything to street rod or pro touring. What would you guys do I guess is what I'm asking. I definitely want something drivable in todays traffic but I'm not looing to be road racer either. I appreciate all your ideas and input.
I agree with the replies above. Things tend to snowball when you pull a vehicle apart to change a frame. If the clip was done well, enjoy the ride as your dad wanted it.
I agree. Make the interior and exterior 'look' traditional, but don't get too concerned with stuff that doesn't show, if it's mechanically sound. Drive and enjoy. I always loved the Cameo.
took five replies before asking for pictures? wow...we need them sooner than that! the later trucks are a bit wider, so my guess is the wheels are kind of filling up the front fenders and it might look funky? Beware that 58-59 frames are a little different up front compared to 55-57, so try to get the right frame if you go shopping.
If the pictures show the clip, or OT wheels, it’ll get moved to off topic. Put the pictures up, over there you can ask more about the clip and how well it’s done if you need to.
Need pics. That c10 tends to be kinda wide. Super EZ clip though. “More traditional” would rule out your modern suggestions. That would make a killer custom
What I'd do, drive it and enjoy it. While driving it I'd find another stock frame, rebuild the stock frame by going back to the original front suspension with a dropped axle, disc brake conversion on the front. Build a nice decent Ford 9" for the rear with 3.50 rear gears and a posi for the rear. Decide if I really wanted the 409, if I did then I'd build mounts for the frame and set the motor and Trans in. Once I had the rolling chassis like I wanted it, I'd spend a weekend swapping the body over to the new rolling chassis..... That's how I'd do it.... ...
Like others said, just drive it, to be honest as long as the track width looks right the majority of the people won't know if the independent suspension is stock or not. Heck there's even a rusty cameo here, people don't have a clue.
It's like the first year Corvette, you know the steel ones before they made them out of fiberglass. It is far from my favorite PU, I like the Cameo as a custom or shop truck, I don't get the big wheel, crate motor street rod thing. But, to each...um, something or other. I will be watching to see some current photos and see what the OP has in mind for his 55.
I can recall hearing guys that drove those trucks ( not just Cameos, but standard bodies ) saying how the the steering and handling were shit. Dad had his reasons for major surgery. Put your time and money elsewhere.
Two thoughts 1-Drive it as is and collect parts to and build the chassis the way you want it and swap the body when the chassis is ready to go. 2-Leave your dad's truck alone find and build a 55 Chev. truck as you want it.
On that generation of C-10's the front crossmember (that carried all the front suspension) was bolted to the frame. Maybe all your father did was bolt one to the Cameo. If so that would make it easy to take it back to original. Personally I would leave it and drive it, but not my truck.
If there’s no handling, mechanical, or proportional issue with the truck, then your Dad’s memory is honored by you driving the wheels off the truck. If it needs fixin, he probably would be pissed if you don’t fix it up right.
well...it doesn't work out quite like that. The 63-later trucks with IFS had the front frame rails pinched in to 28" wide, while the 55-59 frame rails are 34" wide front to back. So it took more work than just bolting it in.
This is what I was thinking! The 409 is a must I want it in that truck. I really like the look of the Boling brothers stuff. So I’m wondering if finding a 55 frame adding the drop axle and disk brake kit so on and so forth how close would I be to their frame money wise.
Ok guys I was at work when I made my original post yesterday. I really appreciate everyone’s input. I’ll post a couple of pics. I know that the 3100 emblem on the fenders are backwards. The painter put them on year ago and it never got swapped around. I plan on doing that soon. I’d like your thoughts on the track width of the front wheels. And I’m ordering steel wheels for it very soon. I’d like to drive it in the garage and around a month later drive it back out with things sorted out with it.
did he leave you $40k to rebuild the truck the way you want? But seriously...the track width might be OK if you put skinny wheels on it. But the axle is a couple inches too far back, for how low the truck sits. This is a common problem on these trucks, it's because of how the front wheel opening is shaped. The "center" moves around, depending on how high into the fender the wheel is. Hard to explain, but the side view shows it. As you lower the truck, you have to move the front wheel forward, to make it look right. oh...don't be surprised if this thread gets sent to the "off topic" forum because of the wheels on the truck, which are not quite HAMB friendly, at all.
@lostone, @Robert J. Palmer suggested, just keep driving it the way it is, and I'm sure it's a good ride, and build another chassis and driveline, for swap in, at a later date.
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