The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre 1958 Cameo from San Francisco

Hi Stovebolters,

Newbe Justin here, AKA CarterTheCameo. I just picked up my very first Stovebolt truck, a 1958 Cameo Carrier. I bought it from the original owner who bought it new in San Francisco at Ellis Brooks. (That dealership is still in business at the same location today!) A link to a photo of the truck is at the bottom of this post.

The truck is unmolested, and not modified at all. It has its factory 283 V8 coupled with a Hyrdra-matic 4-speed automatic trans. An unusual combination, even for the high-end Cameo. But what really sets it apart is the factory ordered power steering, and the dealer installed Cool-Pack air conditioning! The power steering pump sits at the back of the generator, very primitive, but cool.

It was missing the center caps and wheel rings, but I found them, then I put the correct size Denman bias play whitewalls on it to finish it off. The geometry of the correct size tires makes the power steering smooth as butter, and the ride something to behold.

I rebuilt the power control valve and ram, and went completely through the brakes. I went all through the motor; completely resealing it, new timing chain, hidden electronic ignition, and even all new single line exhaust, as per original.

The only thing I need is the correct carb linkage. It's a two-rod affair with a spring. If anyone out there has one, it would make old Carter very happy. (That was his owner's name, and is now the truck's name.)

This truck is so original, it even still has his magnetic pipe holder and used pipe still on the dashboard. It also still sports the original wood in the bed. The truck was used mainly for fishing, and did runs from San Francisco north a couple of hundred miles to Lake County California. It never really saw any hard duty. It has had one respray in its life, but that's it. Original red/silver/black speckled door panels are still intact, as are the arm rests, both visors, etc. Interior sports a red dash top with silver bottom. The red headliner has a kitchy, late 50s pattern, and the silver interior is still quite intact.

The working A/C flips out other drivers when they see me on the freeway in an old truck, on a hot day, but with the windows up and my hair blowing!

I have been able to determine that the '58 was the lowest number produced of all four years of Cameo production at 1405 units, but I have no way of knowing how many had a v8, automatic, power steering, and A/C? If anyone has any info on '58 Cameos, bring it on!

I hope to get the time to check back often. Ya'll look like a bunch of nice folks!

Thanks for letting me share... I will post more photos in the coming weeks as time dictates.

Justin
AKA CarterTheCameo

[IMG]http://a.imageshack.us/img686/9077/1958cameocarrier.jpg[/IMG]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Welcome Justin, That sure is a beautiful truk! If you go to the other forums, you will be able to ask questions and get any help you might need. Good luck and glad you joined.;-)

Beautiful truck, Welcome to the bolt.

Justin,welcome from Scotland.
You've got a true survivor there,an excellent find.
I look forward to your next photo shoot!

Justin, I know we are not suppose to be envious or jealous......
but doggone it, I am
Thats one sweet truck and probably a once in a lifetime chance!
Stick around here for a few years.... I like looking at it.

OH, and welcome to the Stovebolt.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes folks... yes, Carter is quite the score. I think if it were not my truck and I saw the post, I would be envious, even a bit jealous too, Achipmonk. I hope to be Carter's steward for many years to come. I wasn't really even looking for the truck; a friend has a gorgeous all original '57 Cameo, and one day I poked around to see if any were out there, and bingo! Super beginner's luck!

I also own a 1959 El Camino (all stock with 283 & 3-speed - black with red interior), but the Cameo gets all the attention.

I'm just now poking around this cool site, can't wait to see what some of ya'll have in your garages?

Justin
AKA CaterTheCameo

A Cameo AND an El Camino? Some guys have all the luck!!

Congratulations, and welcome to the Stovebolt!

Sometimes I wonder if the El Camino and the introduction of the Fleetside are related to the end of Cameo production. 1958 was a busy year for Chevy.

A very good observation enigmaT120, I have heard tell they stopped production of the 1958 Cameo only 2 months in precisely because of the introduction of the Fleetside and new El Camino... I have little doubt they are both directly responsible for the Cameo's demise, and low production numbers.

Even though it seems to be the redheaded step child of the four Cameo years, I have grown to love the '58 design. It was not my favorite growing up, but I always noticed them, and had to look. It's the only one with the dual headlights, and that industrial strength hood and grill lean much more to the late 50s than do the smoother, cutie-pie looks of the 55 56, and even 57 that speak to the kinder, gentler, simpler earl-mid fifties. The 58 is much more industrial. I suppose I always had a soft spot for the misfits.

I collect and deal in vintage 1950s space toys; tin rockets, robots and ray guns, and I must say I love the mid-late fifties jet/rocket styling. The fender ornament on this truck just kills me.. a giant finned rocket with a huge chrome vapor trail.. awesome!

Justin
AKA CarterTheCameo

actually the reason Cameo production was low is because sales were, not many folks wanted to pay a premium price for the same little step box [without steps] just cuz it was "stylish" ... the 58 Cameo was the "filler" until the fleetside design was worked out and tooled up so GM could properly compete with the Ford Styleside [wide bed], which came out in '57 - folks bought trucks to do a job and a bigger bed sold much better than a pretty one .... in other words, the Cameo was the author of it's own demise

and while I prefer ALL of the TF years, the fleetside is the reason I prefer the 58s and 59s, trucks were made for workin much more than lookin at

Bill

Ah yes, the most obvious reason for low production numbers in '58 overlooked, slow sales! Nice work squeeze. I'm sure that is correct because there was a recession in '58, so certainly folks did not want to spend so much more just for the Cameo's snappy looks, especially when the handsome Fleetside cost only slightly more than the common step-side, and the El Camino was also available at pretty much the car price point. I think it must be a combination of all these factors that led to the Cameo's demise. Either way, with only 1405 produced, there aren't many running around anymore.

"I have been able to determine that the '58 was the lowest number produced of all four years of Cameo production at 1405 units, but I have no way of knowing how many had a v8, automatic, power steering, and A/C?"

Where did you find this number? I have trouble believing the number because there is nothing in the serial numbers that indicates the truck is a Cameo. I saw that truck a couple months ago in the West Portal area of San Francisco. That is an incrdible truck.

John

John - the vin doesn't indicate it because it was just the usual 3100 truck with some fiberglass added, but GM knew how many they put out each year, it was a limited production item from the beginning, so kept better track of ... the commonly quoted number, also in any book on Chev truck history, like Gunnells ... production figures for previous year Cameos here, 5,220 in 55 - 1,452 in 56 - 2,244 in 57 - 1405 in 58 .... so 10,321 [if all actually sold] out of nearly a million trucks in those years

Bill

Welcome to the bolt. Beginner truck?....I want to be a beginner. Sweet ride. Then you had to throw the El Camino in as well, yes, I'm envious..Anyway, lots of knowledge here so kick back.

Thank's Bill for the clarification. You wouldn't have a source for the production numbers of the gmc suburban carrier(the gmc version of the cameo) would you?

the only thing I've run across with anything on the GMC specifically is Daves site here that says "around 1000 for the 4 years", making them much rarer than the Chev, which is what I'd expect

Bill

Yeah, haven't found a solid number yet. There was discussion about this number on another site, and how it is impossible to prove, as there are no GM documents that have surfaced to date to back up that number. It was stated GM destroyed a lot of their documents when they were being sued for the gas tanks that could explode in the side impacts, however this statement is in dispute as well.

I doubt they destroyed anything because of a lawsuit, particularly as that's specifically illegal, but there was a major fire somewhere way back that destroyed a large part of the existing production info, which wasn't very good anyway, the common breakdown was just "light truck/heavy truck", and even that was calender year production and registrations, not model year and nothing about options, which is what the Cameo really is, they didn't really start keeping good track of specific numbers until the 70's

Bill

I remember you John... I met you hours after I bought the truck; I hadn't even removed the poles in the bed holes yet!
Justin
CarterTheCameo

The cameo's are just about the other truck I'd consider driving vs. my '60 GMC.

Welcome aboard!