As Curt told us following John Jackson’s photo session, “So originally Bodie Stroud built the truck and I bought it from the lady he built it for … she was going through a divorce and had it listed on Craigslist in Los Angeles. [Stroud] had done a custom chassis, Whipple-supercharged LS3, and tons of other good parts on the truck already. Unfortunately, the truck had been treated badly and needed a ton of work to get it back into something decent. I decided with the help of Michael at McLin Paint Works that we should just touch up a few things and roll with it, but that turned into a full frame-off restoration in about two weeks’ time as we kept finding more issues that needed attention to do it right. We ended up blowing the truck apart; by nature I am very picky on the attention to detail and couldn’t live with a half-built truck—so we went all-out and turned it into what it is today.”

Well, what it is today still involves that blown (and fully polished) LS, Gearstar 4L80E, and billet Strange 9-inch on the full-custom/Pro Touring chassis by Stroud (which includes Ridetech coilovers, Wilwood brakes, and now a set of 19/20-inch Schott Split Windows), but it’s the exterior that truly sets it apart from its former neglected glory. It’s all in the flawless bodywork and subsequent custom Axalta Red Merlot Tricoat by the aforementioned McLin Paint Works in Grain Valley, Missouri, with subtleties like a smoothed ’n’ tucked front bumper, discrete Dapper LED frontal illumination and a taillight update from Seth Doulton, and satin gold insert panels. But if you peek up over the Cameo’s bedsides, you also notice an absolutely gorgeous Red African Zebra wood floor, which is flanked by expertly massaged/painted C10 inner wheelhouses (to fit those 12-inch-wide wheels!) and the stock inner bed panels.

The interior is no less stunning. Along with an array of aftermarket amenities, such as Dakota Digital’s ’55-59 VHX series gauge cluster, Old Air Products climate control (using the factory controls), and a Billet Specialties 15-inch wheel atop a Flaming River tilt column, the Cameo has been brought up to modern standards comfort-wise as well. Thanks to Mark Lopez at Elegance Auto Interiors in Upland, California, Curt’s ’55 is now trimmed out head to toe in red merlot leather—including a TEA’s Design bench seat, custom door panels, center console, and lower A/C vent valance—with tan square-weave carpet complementing the gold exterior accents.

“This is a family affair,” Curt surmises. “My wife grew up going to car shows with her family, her dad owns Graham’s Hot Rod Shop in Fresno (California), and now our daughter, Ella Grace, is growing up doing the same thing—and she’s extremely hard on back tires! She wants me to leave half of them at every stoplight!”

What good’s a Truck of the Year if you can’t drive ’em, right?!