5 Classic Trucks from the 2009 Hershey Antique Auto Show

Words and Photos By George Achorn

Part auto-jumble and part concours, the Antique Automobile Club of America’s annual national meet in Hershey, Pa., attracts nearly anything and everything automotive. Pickup trucks are one of the fastest-growing classes. From the recently antiquated 1980s era Silverado to a turn-of-the -century two-cylinder International, the trucks shown are eclectic representations of the pickup breed.

We found five significant trucks at this year’s show. If that’s not enough for you, make sure to check out our gallery with hundreds of photos from this iconic autumn vintage event.

1957 Chevrolet Cameo Carrier

Pickups with car-like luxuries and interior styling cues might seem like a modern phenomena but the first time this trend rolled around was actually during the 1950s. One exemplary truck was the Cameo Carrier from Chevrolet.

GM’s Chuck Jordan is credited with the truck’s breakthrough design cues, including a panoramic windshield ending in a forward swept A-pillar, hooded headlamps and molded fiberglass rear fenders. The bed’s accent strips shares a family resemblance with the iconic ’57 Chevy Bel Air. Stylish it was, but perhaps too stylish – the Cameo makes for an attractive classic but was never much of a sales success.

This particular truck, a two-tone painted Ocean Green and Bombay Cream, has been painstakingly restored. It features Chevy’s 265 cubic-inch V-8, a three-speed manual transmission and is heavily optioned with such period luxuries as dual chrome spotlights.

This truck has won several Concours and show competitions including Hershey in 2006 and GM Truck of the Year in 2007, which probably explain why it’s listed for $75,000 as it sat in the for-sale car corral area this year.

 

1957 Ford F-100

This pristine baby blue and white beauty represents the first year of production for the third-generation Ford F-series pickups. The change to the Mk3 F saw the addition of the style side bed seen on this particular example from New York. Under the hood is a 272 cubic-inch 171-horsepower Ford V-8 mated to a three-speed transmission.

Chatting with the owner, we learned that it was trucked down from its home near the Hudson River and is driven only on special occasions.

 

1957 Dodge D100 Sweptside

When you consider the car-like design trend of mid-50s pickups, then you can’t forget the 1957 Dodge Sweptside. While Ford was going for the more traditional style side, Dodge’s move to bestow more car-like flare to its D-Series pickup resulted in this finned beauty. Admittedly, the Sweptside was the Dodge Brothers’ answer to Chevy’s Cameo.

To make it happen, custom cab D100s were taken to the company’s special equipment shop where station wagon fenders and a rear bumper were grafted to the bed and the tailgate was cut down in order to fit. All things considered, the Sweptside was an in-house custom pickup and the only one of the breed to feature fins, which were all the rage in the late ’50s.

Like the Cameo, the Dodge’s eccentric lines make it collectible; it was never much of a sales success and it was discontinued after 1958.

We spotted several Sweptsides at Hershey, though this rose and cream-colored example from New Hampshire parked on the show field really seemed to fit the era.

 

1948 International KB-2

The 1948 KB-2 is an interesting beast – an evolution of International’s pre-war K-series pickup. At the time, most of International’s competition was moving to stylish new post-war designs in order to woo returning G.I.s and their growing families. International stuck it out with this classic and dependable offering until 1950.

KB-2 denotes the truck as a 3/4-ton spec, powered by a 214 cubic-inch ‘Green Diamond’ six-cylinder good for 82 hp. It wasn’t fast, but it was durable, which was a strong selling point for those looking for a reliable work truck.

We found this dark green example of the KB-2 parked on the show field at Hershey. A complete restoration has brought the truck back to museum quality, and this particular truck featured a fairly complicated front steel brush guard and even sported vintage equipment in its wood-floored bed.

 

1948 Diamond T 201

No, they weren’t Escalades, but offerings like this one from the Chicago-based Diamond T Motor Car Company were known as “The Cadillac of Trucks” decades before the ’Slade ever hit the market. The one-ton 201 was powered by a Hercules QXLD L-head six-cylinder and paired with a 4-speed transmission.

Don’t let the “Cadillac” reference fool you, though. The Diamond T was a heavy-duty work truck and larger than many typical pickup offerings, which might explain why we found it in the commercial truck class at Hershey.

Diamond Ts may have been “Cadillacs,” but they were also Spartan. Inside, the vintage vinyl seats and steel paneled doors seem simple today, with basic gauges mounted center on the dash. This red beauty’s two chrome spotlights seem like luxuries.

This particular example comes from Ohio and, like many of the trucks on the Hershey show field, has been lovingly restored to a level of quality likely well beyond its original state when it rolled off the assembly line.

 

2009 Hershey Antique Auto Show Pickup Truck Photo Gallery