• Front view of a Chevrolet truck.truck image by Jan Will from Fotolia.com
  
  The 1955 Chevrolet Truck was a heavy-duty pick-up built on a wide-body chassis. The '55 Chevy was part of Chevrolet's second model generation, which launched production in 1950s. This truck model helped bring to the forefront the V8 engine and its power. Many truck lovers fancy the '55 Chevy version as a classic collection pick-up.
  
  

Model

• Chevy made two models: Fleet-side and Step-side built for 1955. The '55 Chevrolet has a horizontal model V-shaped design, which means that the two trim versions were in a T-shaped configuration situated within the mid-section of the front fender. This advancement is how the '55 Chevy truck differentiates itself from the first Chevrolet pickup truck in 1924, which preceded it, and the later models that would follow.
  
  

Dimensions

• The 1955 Chevy Truck is a heavy vehicle, with an overall weight of around 3,445 pounds. As a heavy-built pick-up truck, the '55 Chevrolet is mostly steel and metal. This pick-up truck measures 199.5 inches long from the front end to back end of the pick-up. The '55 Chevy exceeds 74.5 inches in width and from top to bottom sits 55.7 inches tall. Chevy engineers increased the front-axle load of the '55 Chevy truck, engineers would also extended the wheelbase to 115 inches and add 5 inches in length to the back of the cab and the rear axle. The '55 Chevrolet comes in with a combined radius of 468 inches.
  
  

Chassis

• The 1955 Chevrolet Truck showcased a standard front engine-wheel layout, with the engine fitted in a slanted position that was vertical with respect to the length of the truck. The '55 Chevrolet Truck sat on a solid steel frame, allowing the truck four-wheel overdrive. The '55 Chevrolet pick-up featured a six-speed transmission that was directly behind the motor. The truck has front suspension that mirrors a 1955 Chevy; it has an H-Body platform, which appeared in the 1924 first generation model C/K.
  
  

Engine

• The '55 Chevy Truck boasted a 235.5 cubic inch V8 engine. the V8 was a technological advance that ushered in a new generation of trucks. The V8 engine uses a multi-point fuel injection and its diameter within the engine measures 96.5 millimeters. The stroke shaft that interacts with the piston is 86.4 millimeters. In addition, the engine contains a six-value cylinder, as the '55 Chevrolet Truck uses premium unleaded gas. The result of the fine-tuning within the 55 Chevrolet enabled this heavy-duty pick-up to reach 123 horsepower at 5,200 revolutions per minute (rpm). The truck could also exhort 230 feet pounds of torque at 6,000 revolutions per minute.
  
  

Economy

• The Environmental Protection Agency, ( EPA) measured the amount of carbon pollutants that came from the exhaust of the '55 Chevrolet Truck. With their research the EPA concluded that the truck produced 12.2 tons of carbon emitters per year. The EPA estimated for a 3.1-liter, six-speed four-wheel drive vehicle, the '55 Chevrolet Truck consumes around 17 mpg (miles per gallon) in the city and gets 26 miles a gallon on the highway; which is about 3 miles per gallon better than for a four-cylinder engine. The EPA also estimates with each passing year that the '55 Chevrolet's carbon emission will increase and come to pollute the environment far more than any truck on the road, as of 2010, according to the U.S. agency.