This 1957 Chevrolet Crew Cab 4×4 (spotted on Bring a Trailer) is another beautiful example of a rare, period-custom truck. According to the seller it started life as a 1-ton pick-up and was then converted by Oreville Metal Specialty Company in Ohio into a single-rear-door crew cab. The truck features a 6-cylinder engine, floor-mounted manual transmission, power steering, and power brakes. The NAPCO 4×4 system, previously a custom conversion, became a factory available option starting in 1957. The truck was restored in 1997 and has hardly been driven since.
The ebay auction ended this morning with a $20,101 bid that did not meet reserve. You’ve still got a chance…
Update: Maybe not… ebay states seller ended auction because “item is no longer available.”
Here’s the Bring a Trailer link.
Here’s the ebay link.
For more information on NAPCO check this link.
And finally a link about Orrville Metal Specialty Company
Update:
I just posted a video from 1957 showing similar trucks in action.
See it here.
[…] have 4-wheel-drive but the shape is about right. This is a three-door model configured like the 1957 Chevy Crew Cab I posted a while back, that means one door on the driver’s (right) side and two on the […]
Happened into your website and found a lot of memories. I was born in Orrville, August 1938 when Julius Fejes came to town, My dad, Roger H. Berkey, was a foreman at Orrville Body Co. and worked with Julius at his Riceland location. When they started Orrville Metal Specialty he was a partner with a man named Eugene V. Hannie and Julius who remained silent until it was going to fly. It not only did but soon was becoming more prominent than its’ Crown Steel cousin. Julius decided they should merge the 2 into the Crown name and dad became senior vice president in charge of engineering and experimental development. I began employment @ 15 between my Jr & Sr years in high school welding Euclid floors. I worked in almost every job off and on over the years including experimental development and tool engineering working my way up to highest pay truck driver. This was due to my classification as driver/mechanic. When some demented soul decided that I should loose my mechanic classification in 1969 they lost the best 10 cent per hour fleet maintenance man they ever had because I quit and never looked back.
Thanks, Francis. It’s nice to learn more about the history of Orrville and your contribution to the company and these trucks.