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| The truck always ran with this custom bungee cord hood-safety-system. No front bumper was utilized and only a tiny tube push bar protected things. Guess they didn"t do much nudging in the early days. |
Throughout the year, much pomp and circumstance surrounded the buildup to this historic event. Lots of attention was directed at finding surviving race cars and recognizing former drivers. A crowning ceremony took place on September 27th at the Long Beach (CA) Performing Arts Center.
This epic evening was filled with emotion as many drivers and old race cars were honored by almost 3000 people. Among the dozens of vehicles on display was this 1969 Chevrolet C/10 pickup.
Unrestored, and clearly not the shiniest race vehicle on display, this old veteran still has a wonderful story to tell.
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| Ron, Rick and Johnny spent hours rubbing out the original paint and it really shines. All the original sponsor decals have been faithfully duplicated. Ron found several sets of brand new Goodyear R3 A/Ts in a Goodyear warehouse in Akron, OH. They are rated for 35mph and haven"t been made for years! |
It is a significant piece of off-road racing history in that it is one of the first, factory-backed, full sized 4x4 trucks to race the Baja and other early races such as the Mint 400.
It could also be said that this truck started a multi-million dollar industry that today includes companies such as 4 Wheel Parts - the industry of aftermarket parts for production 4x4 pickups.
In the early 1960"s, Vic Hickey was an engineer with GM specializing in military off-road vehicles. Some of his innovative suspension designs wound up on the Apollo Lunar Rover that went to the moon.
Other Hickey inventions include the original designs for the HMMWV, or military Humvee, which became the civilian Hummer H1.
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| In good company at the Tijuana Bull Ring prior to the start of the 70 plus mile vintage parade to Ensenada on Nov. 11th 2007. Just like it did in its day, the huge Hickey Chevy stands out next to Bruce Meyers" original Meyers Manx and Drino Miller"s 1970 Baja 1000 overall winner single seater. |
With the birth of off road racing in 1967, Hickey took an interest, and with GM"s semi-blessing, developed the Baja Boot in just 30 days for the inaugural Baja 1000. Two Baja Boots were built. They were the first purpose-built racers for the Baja event. Hickey left GM in 1968 to start his own business, Hickey Enterprises, in Ventura, CA. but he remained closely associated with GM for another 13 years.
One of his first post-GM, but GM-linked, projects was building two production based pickups for the 1968 Baja 1000 and "69 off-road racing season.
The trucks were COPO (Center Office Production Order) vehicles and were very early off the line for 1969. The truck shown here was number 13!
