The Midwest CC contingent tells me that these Chevy “box” pickups have largely disappeared there. You’ll be happy (or not) to know that there’s still a very healthy contingent out on the streets here. I’ve shot and posted a number of them, so I mostly don’t bother anymore, but this fine mustard gold one was too good to pass up. And it’s even got a six and three-on-the tree; that alone qualifies it for CC gold.
And it has such dainty feet!
Do those 15″ wheels and tires look mighty tiny from today’s vantage point of 22″, 24″, and bigger wheels? They even looked small back then, in those quite large wheel openings in the new-for 1973 Chevy C-series. I assumed that the original size was the equivalent to the typical 235/75R15s I have on my ’66 F100. But no; the 1975 Chevy pickup brochure says the standard tire size for the C10 was a G78-15; that converts to a 205/75R15. No wonder they look so small, although these might actually be a slightly larger size; I didn’t check, regrettably. Seems a bit small to me; GM had stopped putting grossly undersized tires on passenger cars a few years earlier.
There’s the ubiquitous saddle-blanket seat covers and that three speed column shifter. Given the lack of a “350” callout on the grille, there’s a 250 six hiding under that big hood. It was advertised as being “new”, with more horsepower and torque, and the new GM high-energy ignition system. “Updated” would be a more accurate term.
The cheap plastic molded door “card” is also on display, which is showing the usual natural aging of its polymers.
It’s a Custom deluxe, in case anyone had any doubts.
And it’s living up to it’s “Custom” designation.
This is what pickups were once mostly like: basic six-cylinder utility vehicles. Things have changed some.
There may still be a few of the very late ones, but these early ones are practically extinct. These first versions had a really clean look to them, before they got messed up with stacked quad headlights and fat vinyl side moldings.
And I love that very 70’s gold almost as I love the three speed column shifter.
They’re pretty much extinct in the northeast too. I literally grew up around them, my dad had ’74 and ’79 GMCs and my uncle a ’76 Chevy bought used and another uncle a ’75 Blazer. All but the last longbed Fleetsides (toy versions were almost exclusively Stepsides and Blazers).
Having a Custom Deluxe (the base trim from ’75, how’s that for brand debasement?) gets this one the white-painted bumper and hubcaps, they all had white-painted wheels unless the original owner shelled out for rally wheels or a subsequent one put aftermarket ones on.
I can confirm that these C/K pickups are all but extinct on the road salt strewn roads of Ohio. I can’t recall the last time I saw one that wasn’t obviously a collector.
Even the successor GMT400 models are starting to get uncommon, with the early quad-headlight models being particularly thin on the road anymore.
Those mid-70s Chevys are champion rusters. They even rust out here in Norustia. The 67-72s are still on the road.
That truck looks to have a three speed manual transmission as well, based on the position of the shift lever, which looks to be in first or 3rd gear position.
A co-worker of my Dad’s had an almost identical truck in the early 1980’s….1975 C10 in the same color and trim level and the 250 six with 3 speed.
By 1984, the rocker panels were rusted away on his truck and he traded it in for a new 1985 Ford F150.
Yep, these are mostly gone from Michigan roads, too. When I worked at an automotive paint store in the mid-’90s, we would stock Squarebody fenders and cab corners at all times, but now those trucks almost strictly collector’s items.
I do, however, see a brown late-’70s Custom Deluxe on the road occasionally, and it’s parked in the street on one of my bike ride routes. I don’t ride bikes in the winter, so no word on whether it’s being used in the salt – fingers crossed that it’s not.
I can’t think of another vehicle where a fairly minor trim/version difference so clearly determines desirability for me, but I despise these with a longbed while I love them with a shortbed.
It all comes down to personal preference. For me, I love the longbed version of these trucks, but the short beds just don’t look right, for some reason.
My boss had a Silver top/ blue body 2WD longbed Chevy truck back in the late 70’s . His was 6 cyl automatic. He lent it out to staff for moving and it was a workhorse.
I can confirm that the tire size on my ’73 Custom is 215/75/15, with the option of going up a size or two. The original owner took off the Custom 10 nameplates because he was sick of getting his polishing rag caught in the nameplate…I wished that he’d hung on to them, as the Custom was only available in ’73 and ’74. Other than that, the truck is devoid of options, and was bought for around $3100 in Canada in 1973.
Interior shot.
Dean that is one clean truck. Very nice.
I had a mid 80s Baby Blazer (stick!) with the same wheel treatment.
My first thought was “those are early S-10 hubcaps”.
They are indeed. The originals (which I still have) were painted over white by the prior owner. They should have the gear pattern picked out in black, with the Chev bow tie painted gold. Since they looked rough, I put these on, which were off an S10 or Astro van found at a swap meet. Original picture attached.
Nice truck Dean and this coming from a F-100 owner no less.
I see these all the time around Houston and SE Texas. Rust really is not an issue here.
By the early 1990s, my second-hand ’78 was already a rusty mess on all the lower edges, and even slab-sides speckled with rust spots. I could live with that, but gas tank rusted/leaked and I couldn’t avoid throwing some $$$ into repair.
That said, it always started (350/auto/2wd), and it made me popular with friends/neighbors for errands, so there’s that. Here in Great Lakes territory, I see the occasional “collector” example, and then occasionally one on a farm property where it probably doesn’t do the (salty) road miles much in winter. I still think it’s a just-right size and clean design…
A college friend had one. He was from Palos Verde but went to college ar SDSU and had a 73. While at SDSU he lived at Mission Beach and I recall seeing serious rust on that truck, at the top, starting in 75-76. Mostly the cowl and the A pillar from living at the beach. No rain but lots of fog and salt air.
Even here in The Land That Rust Forgot™, most of the C-10s have mostly been converted to “Sunday driver” status, and I’m fine with that. However, I still see quite a few C-30 cab-and-chassis, with flat/stake beds or other sorts of specialized equipment, out plying their trades.
Me and my 77 Custom Deluxe. 2WD, 6 cyl, 3 on the tree. Bought it at Weber Chevy on olive street in Creve Coeur, Mo. Our local Chevy dealer. Whay with the 300 acre farm along the Cortuois in the Ozarks and rehabbing an old Edwardian in Lafayette Square in St. Louis, I needed a vehicle to supplement my 74 Audi Fox. which was not viable for duties other than meeting with clients, dating, and other such “city” duties. That truck hauled hardware and supplies for both the city Home and country farm. Color was “Grecian Bronze”, I called it “Burnt Orange”. Laurie called it “Terra Cotta”. The truck Itself was called “The Cortuois express. Handled Ozark trails and streams with aplomb. Sold it long ago. and a few years later, saw it beat badly, dents and rust and a turned out rear bumper. Only truck (84 ElCamino doesn’t really count) I owned, and I remember it well as dependable and patient.
My dad bought a new 85 Caprice wagon at Weber in Creve Couer, shortly after they bought my first car there, a low-mileage Buick Skylark coupe. Still remember our salesman’s name, Tony Kafoury – RIP.
I even still remember the old lady first owner’s name of my Buick- Thelma Oglevich! She traded in the 2-door to get a 4-door to make it easier picking up her friends. I think she got a Celebrity.
Perhaps, the most commonly-seen vehicle in many parts of the US and Canada during the mid to late 70s. As a teen, I eventually got tired of seeing them, as most seemed to be in the same basic no-frills state as this example. The ultimate ’70s utility vehicle.
Government here in Ontario, and Canadian military, consistently went with cheaper Dodges for their fleets.
As much as I took the Chevy C-series pickups for granted, I always appreciated spottings of the rarer medium truck version. Loved board games as a kid. And the Chev medium truck, on the cover of Milton-Bradley’s Prize Property was a pleasant Christmas morning surprise around 1974/’75.
The slightly more chiselled/creased bodywork on the Ford F-Series, seemed to mask and integrate body scars better. Because of its cleaner flanks, the C-Series trucks really seemed to show their bangs/dents/scrapes, and all-around abuse, more obviously.
These square body pickups hit the market with a bang in 1973, all the Blue Collar guys who could afford one bought one .
Even here in Los Angeles these tended to rust out beginning at the leading edge of the hood .
A few years back I bought a clean unrestored 1976 GMC C2500 long bed, it had the stroker 292 C.I.D. engine and a Muncie SM465 four speed floor shift .
I wish it had been a short bed, I’da kept it .
National Van Lines had bought it new and it still had the original tomato red paint .
As mentioned : *very* good trucks let down by near zero rust protection in the sheet metal .
-Nate
Speaking of I saw one this morning as it made a left turn and came up the road towards me. I made the comment to myself that “that is a nice looking Chevy”. In great original condition. Pretty much the color of the lead picture or darn close to it.
The day before saw a late very nice 60’s red Mercedes 280SL on the road. License plate said BULLMKT and the older driver was smoking a cigar while driving. The pictures I miss on 680 because I can’t hold a camera and drive at the same time.
I think that GM got lazy with the styling of these trucks and just copied International hoping nobody would notice. It appears that most didn’t.
I really don’t see much of a resemblance between the rough-and-tumble IHs and the squarebodies. The former had a much more upright greenhouse with cheaper flat door glass and squared-off window frames, and a “weaker” shoulder line.
My brand-new in the fall of 1980 ’81 model Custom Deluxe C10 Stepside came with FR78-15 firestones! 6cyl, 3 on the tree, no radio, no rear bumper. $5500. I swapped out the Firestones for BFG’s pretty quick, but ultimately sold it to pay for college.
A friend in New Mexico sold his immaculate ’78 (IIRC) last year. Nothing wrong with it, just felt like a change. He was surprised how quick it went.
Paul, the reason these engines were advertised as being new was that they really were. The 250 for 1975 featured a cylinder head with an integrated intake and exhaust manifold as well as the High Energy Ignition system. I had a 1979 GMC Sierra 1500 with a 250 and 3 on the tree as my service vehicle as a technician at Indianapolis Cablevision. It not only had the new for 1975 cylinder head with a 2 into 1 take down exhaust Y pipe but also the Pulsair system which somehow used exhaust pulses to inject fresh air into the exhaust manifold in lieu of the belt driven air pump to ensure more complete combustion. IIRC the Pulsair system was only used for a few years as it was problematic and was not as effective as the belt driven pump.
I HAD 3 of them as a electrical contractor 76 red +81+ 82 2 tone blue they were all farily reliable spun a rod bearing on the 82 350 instaled an older 73 350 with 200+ miles on it more less bolted in some problems with power steering pump blocks slight different it also spun a rod bearing cold start -40 by then I had the original 350 rebuilt and put it back in then ate 3 or 4 tranys ended up with turbo 250 out of a lemans wagon with 2nd oil cooler got a few more miles out of it uesed it as spare shop truck eventualy spit that out as my son started driving with a heavy foot sold for 300$ the kid had it back on the road