Sweeter Than Cotton Candy

Magazine: Classic Truck Performance
Date: October 2022

Until 1955, a pickup truck was just a truck-utilitarian to its core. Enter GM designer Chuck Jordan who decided pickups needed a little more luxury to attract upscale buyers. After sketching a refined version of the all-new Task Force light-duty trucks, his idea created an entirely new category of sophisticated pickups. The truck Jordan designed was the ’55 Chevrolet Cameo.

The Cameo still served its primary purpose of hauling but looked good while doing it. Borrowing styling cues from the Bel Air passenger car, it featured a smooth-sided fiberglass bed matching the body lines of the cab. All Cameos were white with an upgraded red interior. With over 5,000 purchased that year, it was a hit, but sales dwindled as other automakers caught on and started offering similar luxury models. 1959 was the final year for the Cameo, but the ’55 is still the most desirable.

For shop owner Daryle Courtney, of Double D Custom Rods in Houston, his desire for a Cameo came from the memory of his father owning one when he was a child. Even after building others’ vehicles for 36 years, Daryle’s longing for a Cameo never waned. He’s had a few through the years but this is the high-water mark. Purchased for a mere $5,000 from a friend’s cousin in March 2000, the truck spent most of its life on a cotton farm.

It’s rare to see a Cameo pickup modified to this extent. They are so rare and valuable that people usually leave them in the stock configuration. However, Daryle is an outside-the-box thinker and wasn’t afraid to put his spin on this classic. With a steady stream of customer vehicles coming through the shop, he had to take his time crafting the Cameo of his dreams. With help from friends Timothy Koch, Addym Jackson, and Stanley Payne, this masterpiece took 21 years to complete.

Daryle kept the Cameo’s classic lines outside but gave it some styling upgrades and performance underpinnings. The first step was boxing the chassis to make it more rigid. He grafted on a front clip from a ’96 Corvette to lower the stance and make it turn. In the rear, he C-notched the frame and installed a stainless four-link. Ridetech ShockWaves get it lying in the weeds while Corvette brakes stop it. Billet Specialties SL62 wheels provide the perfect mix between vintage to modern.