Tom Milliken of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, bought his 1956 Chevrolet Cameo truck in 2002 from a guy in Streator, Illinois. If you can think of a better place to buy a 1956 Cameo than a town called “Streator,” please, let us know. When he first bought it, he used it lightly. “I drove it for a few years making runs to Home Depot,” Tom told us. “Keeping it stock and running while searching for parts, time, and money to do a resto-mod on it.”

It had an inline 235 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine and a 3-speed manual transmission on-the-tree. It also had two other things, as Tom explained: “rust and crossed fingers holding it together.” Tom ended up parking it in a barn for ten years while life and children took over his spare time. In 2013 he rediscovered his own barn-find and “began the two-year journey of taking a great old truck and bringing it into the 2000s.”

He has done just a little bit of updating since he got the truck more than a decade ago. Away with the six-cylinder, manual transmission, and outdated running gear. The new setup is a mighty impressive one. He used a 350 cubic-inch engine with roller-rockers, a lopey camshaft, NASCAR intake, a 650cfm Edelbrock carburetor, and a 1950 Cadillac air cleaner. The transmission has been upgraded to a freshly built 700-R4 and the rearend has been swapped in favor of a 3.70:1 geared positraction 9-inch rearend.

The suspension has been entirely upgraded as well. He opted to use a fully adjustable TCI independent front suspension system and a TCI four-link rear system with coilovers to match. He also moved the gas tank to the rear frame rails and added a custom intake hidden in the rear of the bedside using a motorcycle pop-up gas cap.

Just when you think Tom’s truck is ordinary, you find something that makes it extraordinary. We love the subtlety of the build, and the overall old school feel to it.

The interior now features a Dakota Digital VHX gauge set for the 55-59 Chevy and a 1959 Impala steering wheel. He also added something extra, just for fun. There is an “eject” button filling an extra hole in the dash. He used Coker wide whites on 15×7 and 15×9 wheels with spider caps and trim rings. “All steel,” he explained. “Looks like it should. Did we mention that this awesome truck also won first place in the 2016 Carlisle all truck nationals? Yeah, we weren’t surprised by that either.

You can see Tom’s name listed as first place under class 108.

Tom reached out and told us about his rockin’ truck. We’d love to see the kind of cars that you are driving, so don’t hesitate to send us some pictures and a few details on your classic ride. It might just end up being Street Featured, just like Tom’s ’56 Cameo.