GMC Palomino

I went to a little AACA show that I always go to, and there was really only one thing there that was any different than what is usually there. I thought it was another over-restored PU.

Turns out it was an '57 Autorama/Motorama truck they called a GMC Palomino. It doesn't look like they did a whole lot to it, but trucks weren't the big thing they are now.

Dig those ribbed US Royal Masters...

• Two-tone leather interior, including seats, door panels, arm rests, and leather covered steering wheel. Even a portion of the floor is covered with leather coming up over the door sill and under the floor mat.

• Gold colored rubber floor mat.
• Pontiac V8 engine with aluminum valve covers and hydramatic transmission.

• Power steering.
• The steps inside the door are covered
  with a rubber mat. The vertical riser between the step and the floor inside the doors is covered with a ribbed aluminum material.
• There is a special ribbed aluminum trim piece fitted over the front top portion of each of the fiberglass side fenders with a name plate with the "Palomino" name in gold.

• The truck has U.S. Royal Master l5x8.3 with 1-3/16 inch white sidewall. These were custom tires that were made by U.S. Royal for GM show vehicles in 1957. You will recall that in 1957 production vehicles still used wide white tires. The tires on the truck are like new including the spare tire which has ever been used.

Here's two website I found about the truck.
http://www.1955gmc.com/1957palomino1.html
http://www.1955gmc.com/1957palomino.html

 

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I'm on the floor! I have a '56 GMC cab I am mating to a '57 Cameo bed and I was going to call it it "The Palamino" with gold & cream paint and tooled leather western accents. I never heard of this truck!!!! AWESOME!

 

drool. that is a fine truck.

 

...dats purdy.

 

Wow! I've read disappointment from the fact that GMC used a lack luster Pontiac engine (slapping their label) with such history with their stout 6 cylinder engines. Didn't know GMC had a counterpart to the Chevy Cameo. That design was perfect, IMO. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

 

Interesting that in the next few years after that GMC pickups had a color option named "palomino tan."

 

Lack luster Pontiac huh?

If I had testicles, I'd give them both for that Gimmy! That's MY idea of a truck.

Cept it's missin the gun rack.

 

next you're gonna tell us that the Buick motors Chevy used in their trucks were lackluster as well.

The Pontiac was a superior engine in those trucks plain and simple. Not the cool factor that the GMC six enjoys now...

 

There was great anticaption of the OHV to be developed by the GMC folks, instead it was pretty much a pontiac engine. These are just facts written in Hot Rod magazine, Motor Trend and so forth when these truck debuted the OHV engines. No cool factor here, just the facts. This was a OHV war and Cheverolet with the 265 came running out of the gates. And to let you know, I'm actually building a 322 to replace the 327 I currently have in my truck. And guess what, I'll still use a chevy motor any day (283 or 327, I lied). It came in my truck when I got it in 94 (68 327) and a 58 283 in my 40 merc when I got.

Ken

 

Chevrolet stole their OHV engine from Pontiac. Olds and Pontiac came out of the gate running whilst Chevrolet just sat around and waited for someone else to do the work.

Just statin the facts.

 

Thats a rare cool truck, I'd throw a stack of yard trash and a old broke lawnmower in it just to see the look on those people's faces...

 

You are all aware of the production GMC Town & Country Suburban, right? Same premise--Cameo back half with a GMC gate and deluxe-trimmed GMC cab and sheetmetal; updated (fancier) interior; and of course the Pontiac V-8 mill with a Hydro. To me it was a much nicer looking truck than the horse version.

 

This


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This photo is from Classic Truck magazine website.

 

and this

 

Brandy, you are partialy correct, at the time that Ed Cole's group was working on the 265, there was some technology sharing between the divisions, Pontiac and Chevy both ended up with shaft mounted rockers, that's the only thing they share.

 

I never stated who SHARED what. I stated who STOLE what. Chevrolet had no provisions for an OHV engine until Pontiac had one.

 

Instead of developing an OHV V-8 GMC instead put their development efforts into the V-6 program for 1960. The V6's were great, torquey engines for truck use, although a little heavy for the displacement.

 

sweet

 

Yep, the "lack-Luster" Pontiac V8 that won races in Nascar 58-63 including the '62 championship, was around until 1981 and the same block was made as big as 455 cubic inches, and even in the smaller displacements has torque literally falling out of it's ass. Now that's no 712 CI V12, but you can rev it more than 3600 RPM too.

Anyways, that's a nice truck.. we just got one in that's a Napco 4x4 stake truck with the Pontiac V8, real nice shape, but not as classy as that one.

 

According to these folks, http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z12868/GMC_Palomino/default.aspx , the Palomino was a one-off motorama dream truck, and they acknowledged the Poncho power.

Seems like maybe there were TWO "Dream Trucks" back then?

 

ToledoBill, that's the same truck... Wescott is here in Largo.

 

if you guys are gettin' in a pissin' match, chevy had ohv long before pontiac, 1918 v8s and their 6s while pontiac had flathead 6s and inline 8s

 

I look at it as a good thing, Chevy may have stolen the original Pontiac design, but what they came up with next, was better.

 

Pontiac wasn't even a company in 1918.

 

They were still an Indian tribe.

 

The GMC type Cameos were more rare than the Chevrolet ones. I had a few Chevrolet Cameos years ago. Had one as my daily driver in the 70's. On the other side of town ... in the mainly " minority area " of town. a fellow had 2 of the GMC ones. Both non runners. I bought some parts off of both of them but he would not sell the entire trucks. I believe he did not have titles for them and was afraid of getting in legal trouble. Sadly they BOTH went to the crusher

 

which is funny because the most valuable piece - the fiberglass bed would be worthless to the scrappers.

 

on the pontiac vs chev argument- all the v8 gmc trucks had pontiac motors. the 6 cyl. trucks still had the gmc inline until the v6 came out.

 

Pontiac is/was a division of GM, the Chevy engineers "borrowed" ideas from Pontiac, who "borrowed" ideas from Cadillac and Oldsmobile, who "borrowed" the idea from the guy who first thought of making an 8 cylinder engine in a "V" configuration, who "borrowed" the idea of an internal combustion engine from these guys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine

On top of all that, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Sheesh!