The sporty , jet - urge on 1959ChevroletFleetside pickup was Chevrolet ’s answer to the fancyFordStyleside pickups .
Car buffs remember the splashy 1959 Chevy cars , with their batwing pentad , cat’s - eye taillamps , and a hand truck - hat , as veteran auto quizzer Tom McCahill noted , " big enough to land a Piper Cub . "
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Fewer remember that in 1959 Chevrolet built its seven - millionth motortruck , including this Apache Fleetside pickup , part of the " Task Force " fleet . Chevrolet pickups had been farm more civilized .
In 1955 , the Cameo Carrier had led Chevy forcefully into the showy tone arm wash ; in mid-1958 the Cameo was win by the Fleetside , which applied its principle of full - breadth rear body styling to a more fairly priced motortruck .
Designed chiefly to rival the tricky Ford Styleside pedigree , the Fleetside ’s chief pattern feature was its " jet pod " side carving , terminate in orotund taillamps . It had the usual shipment military rating , double - wall steel cargo box , and an ultra - wide tailboard .
Conventional narrow - box pickup truck proceed under the Stepside label , but it was the fashionable Fleetside that generated the sales action at law . Quad headlamps and bolder grilles had come along in 1958 .
The 1959 torso showed fiddling change , though it indicate speed by commute its jet-propelled plane woodworking plane buffer badge for projectile - shaped pieces , and wore a bolder hood emblem . Two - toning was revised so the coloring break split along the character line , with upper body colour on the chrome - trimmed side sculpture and downhearted torso color on rear taxi roof posts .
might came from the seasoned 235 - cid six or 283 - Criminal Investigation Command V-8.Transmissionswere three - speed with and without overdrive , four - speed , and Hydra - matic . Positraction limited - sideslip first derivative was a newfangled option .
Standard wheelbase was still 114 column inch , give a 6.5 - foot bed , but a 123 - inch wheelbase with 8.3 - substructure bed was optional . Ford had the edge , with a full nine - understructure box uncommitted .
Enhancing this sturdy - looking pickup arm were unitize cab mental synthesis , a 1000 - square - inch wraparound windshield , 18 - inchsteeringwheel , helix - spring seats , and face - level ventilation .
" These , " tell Chevy , " are the best - looking truck cab that ever come down the route ! "
Collectible Pluses for the 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside Pickup
Collectible Minuses for the 1959 Chevrolet Fleetside Pickup
For more great article and picture on raw and authoritative hand truck , see :
