Keep it in the family! You do not find many over 65 year old pickups that were bought new by the father and today the proud owner is his son. (This is now Milt Packard of Hampstead, North Carolina.)
Its appearance was kept almost identical as new during Milt’s major restoration in 2014 including most all hidden mechanicals. Color remains Cardinal Red with Bombay Ivory as was on trim such as hubcaps, grille, and bumpers.
The mechanicals are just as when purchased on April 2nd, 1958 after produced at the Chevrolet factory in Willow Run, Michigan. It has a 235 six cylinder (one of GM’s greatest engines at that time), a 4 speed floor shift transmission, and front and rear differential with 4:57 gears. All these major parts were factory production items for a NAPCO ¾ ton pickup.
The local sales dealer was Rose Chevrolet in Mansfield, PA for dealer stock. To keep retail costs low, they ordered it with few options (not unusual during the 1950’s). This was: dual inside sun visors, door arm rests, heavy duty step/work rear bumper, and of course a heater / defroster.
The truck was used on the Calvin Packard Farm (Milt’s father) in Covington, PA (until 1981) as basic transportation, canned milk hauler, hay hauler, rock collection, grain harvesting and general farm tasks. All three kids in the family learned to drive with this truck.
With Calvin’s passing about 2012, the other two children did not have an interest in the very tired family pickup. This was lucky for Milt, as he had big plans for making this pickup just like it was when his father bought it.
Next step before the restoration of the family pickup: Milt realized the time it would require for him to create this family pickup. He had never attempted a restoration and wanted no mistakes.
Thus, he found Lugo Parts and Restoration in Loomis, Ca. With their talents, he knew they could create the original 1958 Chevy ¾ ton NAPCO as his father bought it over 50 years prior. Milt has become an enthusiast showing his 1958 at most all local car shows. He is also a member of AACA (American Auto Club of America).
The following is some additional data on the NAPCO 4x4 system. It should give even more details of this most popular 4x4 system of the late 1950’s.
1955-59 ½ Ton NAPCO 4x4 Trivia
During the mid-1950’s General Motors begin seeing the trend of increased demand for 4 wheel drive trucks. Not to miss a good opportunity they decided to offer this option in 1957. As it would require several years to develop their own 4x4 system plus the back road testing, GM “temporarily” used the best of the pre-existing systems. They bought kits from NAPCO (Northwestern Auto Parts Company of Minneapolis Minnesota).
Of course, the letters NAPCO were never printed in GM literature and the NAPCO fender or Cowl post chrome emblems were never attached as in a franchised 4x4 stand-alone dealership! However, GM could not eliminate the N-A-P-C-O letters that were cast into the front axle housing. They are in full view.
Owners sometimes wonder if their 1957-59 NAPCO system was installed by GM or the local Franchised NAPCO dealer (in most medium sized towns). Here are some things to look for if you would like to know:
- 1. A quick way to tell the source is the leaf springs. From a NAPCO installed kit the ½ ton front springs are not changed but have 6 leaves on the front. The GM assembly line used 7 leaves.
On the rear NAPCO installed kit they used the original 7 leaves. GM used an 8 leaf spring. - The mid-cross member toward the rear of the engine is riveted to the two frame rails. A NAPCO dealer will bolt these back in place.
- Chevrolet/GMC ½ ton NAPCO pickups came with 17.5” wheels (1957-59). The franchised dealers left the original 15” wheels as they were just adding a 4x4 system.
More Trivia
- The base price of the ½ ton was less than $1,600 and the NAPCO option was almost $1,000. You were in serious need of a 4x4 when you paid ¾ of the pickup price for this option.
- To our knowledge, the V-8 engines were not offered when the NAPCO 4x4 option was bought NEW from GM. After all, when you paid that much money for this option, you would be driving off road, extra speed or power was not necessary. Some owners might push their NAPCO beyond its limits! The almost bulletproof 235 six cylinder on Chevrolet and 270 on GMC, was what was available.
- If you see a ½ ton NAPCO with an original V-8, you can be sure it came from a franchised dealer. They would add the 4x4 to what the customer requested.
- By 1960, General Motors had developed their own 4x4 system. NAPCO knew this was coming, and no doubt they expected the loss of their biggest customer. Their change was that now many buyers would buy from GM because they could get all in one package. This put the total purchase on a GM warrantee. If a loan was needed it was all on one monthly payment
You can contact Milt at: mgpackard@charter.net