Honda Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane and restores This 1961 Chevy Pickup Truck

The restoration of an older vehicle can always be an endearing trip down memory lane for both car enthusiasts as well as car makers themselves. However, it is no easy task. Finding everything from the right parts to paint can be a bit of a nightmare. Yet, when done right, a restored vehicle can pull the right nostalgic strings.

Honda decided to take this trip down memory lane with a recently restored 1961 Chevy truck to pay tribute to Honda's 60th year in the U.S. Let’s take a quick peek at the perfectly restored truck.

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Nostalgia Lane  

In sunny Southern California, in 1959, American Honda opened up a shop, selling small motorcycles to locals. In fact, it would be another decade before the company would go on to proceed to sell cars in the United States. In order to get those bikes to dealers, the Los Angeles company relied on one vehicle to deliver its bikes to dealers, the 1961 Chevrolet Apache 10.

Now the restored truck is not anything too special, but again the Apache 10 embodies a simpler time for the car company. The Apache 10 is equipped with a half-ton chassis, an 8-foot bed, a 283 cubic-inch V8 engine, and a three-on-the-tree manual transmission.

According to the Honda press release, the truck itself played a crucial role in helping Honda quickly establish a U.S. market foothold, to such a point that by 1965, the company was the hottest selling motorcycle brand in the United States.

As mentioned in the press release, “Tapping its U.S. archives and memories of retired Honda associates for details, a 1961 Chevy half-ton pickup was found and carefully renovated, replicating the original paint scheme as used by company salesmen delivering motorcycles to dealers to sell on a consignment basis.”

Sage Marie, assistant vice president of public relations for American Honda Motor, described to the role of the Apache stating, "American Honda is full of auto and motorcycle enthusiasts from our CEO on down, and this project is a reflection of that.”

“The Apache and its cargo are important parts of our history, so recreating that setup for our 60th anniversary was a fun platform for internal and external storytelling about our history in this country."

The truck itself will be making an appearance at SEMA as well as a few other automotive enthusiast events in Southern California and the truck's permanent home will be the Honda Collection in Torrance, California, where it'll be parked in front of a replica facade of the original American Honda HQ.

Always remember where you come from.