I have to look at my assembly manual,but I am only familiar with the 3124 number. If you look at the pictures blown up,that is the number that is on the fender insignia.Interesting....
I thought the same thing and would have written it off as a misprint on that website except for the fact that the OP says he has that number on his actual ID plate. If you click the link below and download the pdf file from the GM Heritage center there in no listing either ..As you have stated ...Interesting. GM Heritage Center
There were also small window versions of the Cameo and the GMC Suburban, but they are rare. I am still crying about the one that I missed that went into the crusher 15 minutes before I got to it. It was a rare Suburban, and would have been a real find. I have owned my Cameo since late 1968. Bob
I had to replace a tailgate latch on my 55 Cameo, and by doing a lot of searching, I found that the latches were almost identical to the Corvair Van. Problem solved. The lights are unique to the Cameo and Suburban. The Tailgate emblem is also unique and difficult to find. All the 55 Chevy trucks were supposedly made in Flint. My truck, sold in Canada, was made in Flint, even though they made the same cabs and chassis in Oshawa Ontario. Bob
My truck, which I have owned for 48 years, is an original 55 Cameo. The side trim is marked as 3124. It came with chrome knobs, deluxe heater, radio, stainless steel cab trim, and a six banger, with white paint. All the 55s were delivered only in white. The 56 and later trucks had various colours, and the trim on the side of the box. Bob
While I believe a NAPCO Cameo is possible, I don't think it is likely. The Cameo was considerably more expensive than the standard 1/2 ton, and the box is fragile. It would have been ripped apart in the bush. I personally know of one real 58 Cameo that was converted to a 4x4 using NAPCO parts. This truck was done in Vancouver in the late 70s. and I lost track of the truck long ago. Bob
Cameo .......the most Beautiful truck ever built, bar none. My older brother bought this one (one of several he owned) in 1962. Built somewhere in California, when nearly new and powered by a Pontiac V-8, it was bought by a local pig farmer at a auto show in St. Paul Mn. When my brother moved to Oregon in 1977, it went with him. He owned it until his passing 5 years ago. His family sold it after he died, and I lost track of it.
I just looked through the accessories book, and all it stated that the box could be purchased for the Model 101 or 101-8. The model number is located in the center of the front grille. Looked up a picture of one, and it only shows the model as 100 on the grille. Bob
if anybody can help, im looking for the kickdown linkage complete, for a 55 cameo with a 265 and a hydramatic trans. thanks for any info. rich 12199873967
So a friend of a friend of a friend calls me today and says hey, there is a guy throwing out an old truck body down the street from me.... Sends me a photo (see above). Guy got evicted and this cab was apparently in his living room! So, I run over and look and sure enough, a fairly solid 55-57 big back window cab! I'm not sure exactly how this works... there is a vin on it, a VERY early vin "10019" but it IS thrown in the trash. So I'm wondering what are the legalities here..... Then the scrap metal guy pulls up with his trailer and I had to take some action. The cab was on a dolly but only two wheels were on it so I got a guy to help me pull it over to his house across the street for $20. At least it was safe from the scrap guy..... and then I looked beside the garage!!!
Beside the garage was the full frame all sandblasted and painted nice with a late model 12 bolt rear axle, front disc brakes, 5x4.75 bolt pattern hubs, a completely rebuilt 383 stroker that was brand new inside with tape still over the carb, headers, trans all installed....... AND A CAMEO BED!! The friggin thing was a CAMEO! The thing had been covered by a water proof tarp and was in pretty good shape. Now, I needed the WHOLE truck, not just the cab. I could not tell what was there in the house or the garage so I started asking neighbors who the owner was. After about an hour of asking and calling this guy and that guy, I finally got a hold of the owner. The truck had been in his family since 1975 and was his dad's. He planned on restoring it, but this was as far as he got and all worked stopped about 7 years ago. He also said he had the title, registration and even the original owner's manual, the receipt where his dad bought it for $600 back in 1975 and everything. So I ask, how much for me to get it out of here right now before there is nothing left of it. $1,500. He said most of the parts were in the shed, but someone had stolen the doors from the curb earlier that morning and he did not have a hood for it. I said I'd take it for $1,500, ran over and got the title and went back and looked through the garage for what was there. Fortunately it looks like ALL the Cameo stuff is there and accounted for. All of the chrome, trim, special rear bumpers, brackets, two tailgates, latches, two tailgate emblems, fenders, two of the hidden spare tire compartments, all of the taillights, latches, dash parts, just about everything! Good thing too because original Cameo parts are EXPENSIVE to replace. Like he said, the only thing missing was the hood and now both doors, but the regulators and door trim were all in the garage. So here we have the "garbage picked Cameo" now saved and safe at my shop! View attachment 3846892 View attachment 3846892
What you have is very rare if it's legit. The cameo's and suburban pickups all came as delux cabs but apparently the big window cab was a separate option and a small window was available in a delux trim cab and big window in standard cab. The delux cab had trim around the windows.chrome interior knobs and chrome bumpers and grill etc. I've seen another small window GMC sub.pickup that looked legit and I had a 58 Chevy big window standard trim 3200 fleetside with v8 hydromatic and factory power steering so the odd one are out there. The painted bumper on yours looks suspect but it would be worth trying to legitimize it as factory built small window.
I saw one of the approximately 316 small window Suburbans avaliable. Regarding big window vs small window Cameos, I don't know what the breakdown was, but according to the literature of the time, in 1955, GMC built 316 small window Suburbans, and they all went to the GMC dealers in the US. I am not aware of whether, or how many more small window Suburbans. The program is similar to what the Pontiac Division did with the fuel injected Bonneville. I can say, that I only saw one small window Suburban, and it had the deluxe heater, chrome knobs, and the Cameo style radio. It also had the Pontiac engine and the hydramatic. It was at the auto wrecker, and by a tragic misunderstanding between the owner of the auto wrecker and his staff, when I arrived to pick up the truck, it had just gone through the crusher. I am not a crying kind of guy, but at that moment, I could have cried. I was able to salvage some parts of the bumper, all the rest was lost. I had dreams of having a Chevy Cameo as well as a Suburban in my driveway, but that was not how it worked out. I have the paperwork detailing the history of these trucks, but because I have not had reason to access it, it is lost somewhere in my papers. Bob
Nice looking example, Even by the 60s, it was very common to see that the fibreglas was cracked vertically right under the tail lights, and in a lot of cases, the rear bumper was missing. Nice to see an original truck with all the parts intact. I rescued mine from an auto wrecker in a place called Moose Jaw Saskatchewan in 1968, and had to find all the parts for the back of the box, including the lights, tailgate cover, cables, and latches. It took a lot of searching. Bob
I've been slowly rebuilding my 55 Cameo. My Dad bought it in 1987. It was totaled in 1996. I've been working on it, off and on since 2001. I brought it home from the body shop last December.
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