FEATURE – 1961 Chevrolet C10 pickup
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: Honda Media North America
In 1959, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) was founded to better organise sales of Honda motorcycles in the US - the Japanese manufacturer’s first concerted push into the North American market.
AHM’s initial American offices were humble premises at 4077 Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. To deliver motorcycles and service the small dealer network that existed at the time, AHM needed a fleet of pickups and chose Chevrolet.
Soon after that foothold - Honda Motor Co’s first overseas subsidiary - was established, a photo of the Pico Boulevard offices, with a 1961 Chevy fleetside pickup parked out front and carrying a pair of Honda bikes, was taken and has been widely circulated since.
That photo (a true example of Asian-American fusion!) served as inspiration when American Honda was looking for something to create in tribute to their 60th Anniversary this year.
Digging into their own archives and tapping the memories of former employees, AHM decided to recreate one of those Chevy pickups, which were originally used to deliver motorcycles to dealers, who then sold them on a consignment basis.
A 1961 Chevy Apache 10 (aka C10) half-ton fleetside pickup was found and restored to AHM’s instructions, including a full repaint in the correct Pure White for the period and finished off with careful attention to details like the hand-painted signage – all aimed at replicating the original.
Fortunately, the running gear of the pickup chosen for this project was in good condition, with AHM saying it only needed minor mechanical refurbishment.
Typical of Chevrolet pickups of the era, the restored truck’s running gear is made up of a 283 cubic inch V8 and 3-speed manual transmission. The most powerful engine available in a Chevy half-ton pickup for 1961, this V8 produced 160hp – up to 50hp more than the inline six-cylinder engines which were also available.
While they were working vehicles, AHM’s Chevy pickups still had a touch of bling, with their chromed bumpers front and rear (still an option back then), and whitewall tyres.
Underneath, the C10 uses a torsion bar front suspension, with trailing arms at the rear, and rolls on a 127-inch wheelbase.
The 8-foot load bed in the longer wheelbase pickup (a 115-inch wheelbase version with a 6.5-foot load bed was also available) was more than adequate to hold Honda’s motorcycle range at the time, which consisted mainly of the Super Cub scooter (sold as the ‘Honda 50’ in the US) and CB160 twin. AHM did sell slightly larger motorcycles at the time, like the 305cc Super Hawk, but nothing like the large roadsters and touring models, (like the Gold Wing), that would appear in the following decades. Back in ’61, the smaller models, specifically the 50, made up the bulk of sales in the USA.
The focus of the “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” advertising campaign, the Honda 50 was key to Honda becoming the top-selling motorcycle brand in the US within six years of AHM being founded and accounting for 72 per cent of the market. That success gave Honda the confidence to start importing cars in 1969: the same year that Honda Australia P/L was established.
The 50 scooter sourced for the Chevy pickup, along with the CB160 beside it, are both 1965 models and accurately represent what would have been delivered by American Honda around southern California more than five decades ago.
Following its unveiling this past June, this unique Asian-American fusion of a Chevy pickup and its cargo of Honda motorcycles went on display in American Honda’s modern headquarters in Torrance, California (the original 4077 Pico headquarters is now an acupuncture clinic and health food shop).
The historical combination will be shown at other US events throughout the rest of the year, including the SEMA show in Las Vegas this November.
Later, the pickup will go to the American Honda Collection Hall, also in Torrance, and placed in front of a replica of the company’s original LA office.
