fleetside

It is doubtful you will ever see a “daily driver” pickup any more unusual than this! A person in our office jokingly said, “How many drivers accidentally rear-ended a vehicle in traffic as they first saw this strange pickup?” Jim Lund of Agency, Iowa, owns it. It began life as a 1971 GMC ¾-ton Fleetside pickup before its appearance was...

After over 30 years of General Motors using the standard stepside bed for their pickups, a major addition was introduced as an accessory in 1958. It was referred to as a Fleetside. Our Feature truck this month shows this new size pickup bed. Yes, the standard stepside remained as the most popular bed, however as the new Fleetside began to...

Though fleetside pickups are the common style today, they certainly had a unique appearance in the late 1950's. Until then, the stepside body style with outside rear fenders was the norm. With smaller horsepower from available engines, the limited hauling capacity in the stepside box was well matched to the existing power plants. If the customer required a pickup with...

  During the mid 1960's, most still considered pickups work vehicles. The manufacturer designed them as haulers and few people owned them as their only family vehicle. However, a slight change was beginning with truck buyers as Americans began to have more disposable income. GM and other truck producers were aware that extras on work vehicles were finding more buyers...

  The bed side trim moldings were used on the second year Fleetside Chevrolet deluxe pickups for just one year, 1959. General Motors waited one year after the Fleetside introduction to give their dealers time to sell all their 1958 Cameos (The end of this model) so there was not two deluxe designs available at one time. The bed moldings...

With the new Fleetside bed design in 1958 the Chevrolets placed a chrome emblem on the bed side with the word "Fleetside". However, GMC referred to this new bed as a "Wideside" to not copy Chevrolet. A Wideside emblem was never created, thus the GMC bedsides are without letters. NOTE: The horizontal long bedside trim is a 1959 option only...

  It was during the 1967-72 years that General Motors began offering more style to their pickup truck line. Though most still considered a truck as a work vehicle, a growing segment of pickup buyers were being strongly influenced by trim and accessories that even rivaled many automobiles. For the first time on GM fleetside pickups, decorative trim became available...

  The convenience of reaching cargo is ideal in a step bed pickup. The step between the cab and rear fender provides a place for the loader's feet while reaching into the bed. Thus, this pickup is referred to as a 'step bed.' With the introduction of the fleetside box in the late 1950's, there was no step. Placing cargo...

This month's featured truck is a prime example of how an early Chevrolet Fleetside appeared when new. Few near 100 point restorations of GM's early fleetsides exist today, so this little truck is a real attention getter. Looking at this like new pickup is as if going back in time. It is even painted the original Galway green, so popular during the late 1950's.