Honda Restored an Old Chevrolet Truck

Aren’t the two brands of Honda and Chevrolet rivals? Don’t they compete against each other on the track? Of course, and yes, they do.

The Honda brand competes in the same arena as Chevrolet in nearly every aspect, save a few. Both brands offer us compact sedans, midsize sedans, a lineup of competing SUVs, and even midsize trucks that are vying for the same customers. Because of this competitive nature, does it make sense for Honda to restore an old Chevrolet truck? When you read the story, it will make perfect sense to you.

The Celebration of Excellence

Honda hasn’t been simply an automotive manufacturer. This is a brand you can find in all walks of life from generators to mowers and hand-held power tools. If it has a motor, Honda likely has a hand in part of this area of the market. One place that Honda has been well-known is in the motorcycle market. In 1959, Honda entered the US market with motorcycles that needed to get to dealers around the country. This is where Chevrolet comes in as the Chevy brand was used to haul the motorcycles to Honda dealers around the country.

What Chevy Models Were Used?

The 1959 truck that was able to bring Honda motorcycles to dealers around the country was the Chevy Apache pickup truck. Because of the 60thAnniversary of Honda American motorcycle sales, the Honda team fully restored a 1961 Chevy Apache 10. This isn’t one of the original delivery trucks, but it has been restored accurately to look just like the old models. You can see the hand-painted style and the Honda home office address on the truck which makes use of a 283-cubic inch V8 engine with a three-speed manual transmission under the hood.

The Motorcycles in the Bed

Not only did Honda restore the truck, but they also added two motorcycles from the same era to give this truck an authentic look. The two bikes in the bed are a 1965 Honda 50 Super Cub which uses a 49-cc single-cylinder engine and a three-speed semi-automatic transmission and a 1965 Honda CB 160 that makes use of a 161-cc two-cylinder engine with a four-speed manual transmission. These two motorcycles from Honda allow the truck to look the way it would have in the early days of the Honda motorcycle deliveries that took place.

Making the Tour

Now that the Chevy Apache truck with a pair of Honda motorcycles is finished and restored, it’s ready for a tour around the country. This truck looks like the archive photos from the Honda team and it will make the rounds. We expect to see this truck at the SEMA Show in the fall and then it will head to the Honda collection in Torrance, CA. This truck will then be displayed in front of a replica of the original 1959 office that Honda began working out of when it first arrived in the US sixty years ago.