CAMEO CREME

HAULER WITH A HIDDEN SECRET

The Chevrolet Cameo never took off in the same way as its more rugged siblings did. Entering production in 1955, the Cameo offered an upmarket twist to the traditional commercial vehicle, with a 265ci V8 option, overdriven automatic transmission; well-appointed interior; two-tone paintwork; and, most notable of all, smooth fibreglass rear quarters. However, priced at $480 more than a standard pickup in 1956, the Cameo never really took off, and production stopped in 1958. Many years after production ceased, Larry Beck imported a 1956 Chev Cameo from the States and soon had it legal and on the road in West Auckland. Larry eventually considered selling the truck, and, as fate or fortune would have it, it was a truck to which June Shipman had taken a fancy. June’s husband, Brent, was presented with an opportunity to take the Chev for a drive on Christmas Eve, and a deal was done in Larry’s shed on Boxing Day over a crate of Lion Red. The inevitable research revealed to June and Brent that the Cameo was a rather rare thing, with only 1457 built in 1956. That didn’t deter June from driving it for a couple of years — although she always found it a bit of a handful in the Auckland traffic, even with all of its ’50s-era amenities. With the decision made to give it an upgrade in the name of drivability, Brent was soon talking to Ian Rainbow of Key West Fabrication and Supplies, who Brent’s known for a long time, thanks to both of them having a background in the marine industry. “Ian came up with the idea of putting an Art Morrison chassis under it, and it all started from there,” Brent recalls. To get the truck done the way June and Brent wanted, that was the only way to go. It was like Christmas in the Shipman household when the chassis arrived, complete with myriad boxes of relevant goodies. Although Art Morrison Enterprises offers off-theshelf chassis for popular models such as Tri-5 Chevs, with all mounting points welded on and ready to go, the commercial chassis didn’t come with mounts and required a lot of measuring and fabrication to get correct. This was a job for Mr Rainbow, who’d also been tasked with the bulk of the build. That included not only body and chassis set-up but also sorting out the engine and transmission installation, steering set-up, and all the hard lines required for the brakes and fuel system. C&M Performance held the next big piece of the puzzle — a 350ci GM ZZ4 crate engine and a Whipple supercharger. This was the perfect power plant in Brent’s eyes — although he insisted on a cam change at the very least, to make the most of the forced induction. “Next thing, Carl’s calling me to say he’s installed roller rockers and all this fancy gear,” Brent laughs. The blown small block is backed by a GM 4L80-E four-speed auto for ease of drivability in Auckland traffic or on the open road, and the modern theme of the rebuild is exemplified by the Holley EFI, turning the monster engine into a pussycat to drive. Look a little closer, and you may note the blankedoff distributor and custom crank trigger and wheel, required to run the individual coil pack ignition. However, these technical advances didn’t make Ian’s life any easier when the truck returned to Key West. The rear intake on the Whipple supercharger posed a problem for intake plumbing, so Ian thought about bending it up and over the

blower, for a front-facing intake plenum. To do this, rather than fabricate a sheet-metal unit, he turned to Tony Baya at Limitless Engineering Ltd, which is literally around the corner. A wizard on the CNC machine, Tony was able to design and mill a one-off intake that not only functions exceptionally but also gives the engine bay an appearance like no other. From the remarkably presented small block through to the smoothed firewall, the engine bay is outstanding in appearance. That’s only fitting, considering the standard to which the rest of the Cameo has been finished. After Ian had done what he needed to do, Brent was straight into it, tearing it apart again for the finishing touches. Dave Jones at Busy Bee Blasters took care of the blasting, as well as priming the cab, body panels, and chassis. While this was happening, the team at HPC Coatings were tasked with working their magic on the exhaust system and the majority of suspension components. “I built a paint booth in the shed, with plastic drop sheets, and sprayed the chassis and diff housing while it all hung from the car hoist,” Brent says. “Needless to say, it didn’t go according to plan!” At least Brent’s handiwork was good, and the hoist arms and shed floor have scrubbed up all right! Of course, as willing as Brent was to tackle the underpinnings, he knew that he’d need to outsource the more visible bits to the professionals. Darrin Foster took care of the panel work, and, although he’s done a fantastic job, he probably ended with a few more grey hairs than he started with! From initial discussions with Darrin, Brent realized that the best plan for refinishing the fibreglass rear quarters would be to send them over to get a very thin skin added for a smooth finish. These were surfaced, painted, and sent back, but wouldn’t line up. That was certainly not expected, so the panels were sent back for another refinishing. Once again, they wouldn’t line up. As it turned out, the material’s susceptibility to heat variations was warping the panels, so Brent constructed braces to hold them in position — problem solved! This rendered the Cameo ready for a big step

forward, and June told us that she had no problem deciding what colour she wanted to paint it; it was always going to be silver of some sort. She went around car parks with a notebook, writing down the details of cars that she liked the colour of. When she’d narrowed her choices down a bit, their trusted painter, Pat Millerchen, made up eight different test panels for her to choose from. No painful deliberations or sleepless nights trying to decide what colour to go for! As with the rest of the aesthetics, it was June who decided how the interior would be designed. Her influence shows in some very cool touches, such as the conchos adorning the leather-clad seat back. These details, inspired by her love of horse riding, serve to elevate the beautifully finished interior beyond what’s expected of this type of car. When a car has been built to this level, the interior has to be up to standard, which is why no one other than Ian Goodwin would be tasked with trimming it. Acres of supple leather, plush carpet, Dakota Digital instruments — you’d be hard-pressed to find anything in here even remotely suggestive of the truck’s past life as a commercial vehicle. For consistency, the wooden tray needed to tie in with the rest of the build theme. Brent sourced American white oak decking timber, which he stained with a charcoal wood stain, topped off with nine coats of clear and chrome strips between the lengths. It’s far too nice to carry loads now, but that’s beside the point when a vehicle has been built to look good and drive even better. To that end, Gene and Craig at Glenburn Tyres helped to set up the front end, ensuring that the Cameo would ride and handle the way it was supposed to. With the truck at a point you’d call complete, Brent caught up with Lance Walsh to arrange its final inspection — one it passed with flying colours. It’s been a hectic rollercoaster of a build, but June’s now got a truck she’ll never be bored with, and Brent’s earned enough ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ tickets to begin his next project of putting an Art Morrison chassis underneath his ’56 Bel Air Sport Coupe. That’s still a way off, so, in the here and now, June and Brent put some long-awaited road miles under the Cameo, destination Whangamata for Repco Beach Hop 17!

SHE WENT AROUND CAR PARKS WITH A NOTEBOOK, WRITING DOWN THE DETAILS OF CARS SHE LIKED THE COLOUR OF