With values of half ton, short bed, two-wheel drive Chevy pickup trucks skyrocketing, Steve explores a 1972 C10 that’s really a K10. Confused? Watch the video.
The 67-72 trucks are definitely hot but that GMC Suburban (Cameo) is a rarity in itself and deserves more than a passing glance. Looking forward to more on that one!
In 58 less than 400 Chevrolet Cameos were built (don't know the number of GMC but generally much less than the Chevys) also the last year for the Cameo. 59 the El Camino replaced it.
The FIRST and ONLY new vehicle my parents ever bought was a 1972 C20 two wheel drive long bed - bright orange with a white painted top. It was loaded for the time period - AC, tilt wheel, upgraded interior with orange plaid cloth on the bench seat and white “western-tooled” trim throughout. It was the summer of 1973 and the truck was languishing on the dealer lot since the brand square body models were all the rage, so I suspect my old man got a deal on it! I would have been nine years old at the time and I can remember the day my dad pulled it into the driveway for the first time as if it was yesterday!
That plaid cloth was part of the new for 1972 “highlander” package Very highly optioned truck your father got his hands on. one of the parts trucks in my yard is a very similar optioned orange/white C20 highlander. Highlander package trucks are very sought after today.
Outstanding as always. Completely off topic - you’ve been doing Barrett Jackson for 18 years?! Oh my, how time flies. Thank you for everything you do to educate us ~ Chuck
Love the videos Steve! I always give them a thumbs up. I still have my 1971 Chevy stepside 4x4 half ton that was made in Flint. 350 engine, Turbo 350 and NP205 t-case. Roughly 1300 n change made in that combo. I've had mine for almost 30 years.
Steve, Pickup truck priorities have become so warped over the years that a 6 foot bed attached to a 3 ton truck is now considered fairly long. When this truck was manufactured an 8 foot bed was the standard and there were around a million full-size stations wagons made every year that could hold a full 4X8 sheet of plywood inside. In 1972, even a Dodge or Plymouth Intermediate wagon could do that.😁
@@KS-xo3oh I am 58 and drive a manual wagon. I am also Canadian which means I am not considered abnormal because I drive a wagon and shift my own gears. 😁😁😁😁 Sadly, America's distaste for wagons has eliminated most wagon options north of the border due to our 99% auto market overlap. Continued strong sales of the Outback suggest there is still potential to grow back some wagon market share if it is done by the right company and the word wagon is never used in marketing. Manuals still have some niche following Stateside so there may be hope. Today's grotesquely bloated and impractical pickups are another story. A newcomer today might wonder how we ever managed to grow/harvest crops or build houses, bridges, hospitals etc with simple, RWD pickup trucks that had less than 400 hp 😉
Can confirm how popular they are. Own a 1971 ;same configuration as this truck (except 4 speed) that I bought in 1995. I get asked all the time if I want to sell it or not when I take it out for a run or to a show !
God that truck takes me back . My dad had a 69 c/10 pickup when I was a teen . I learned to drive on that truck . No power any thing , man was it hard to stop ! His was converted over to a buick 340 . It was constantly breaking engine
My grandfather bought a new 72. It was the long bed with a 350 ci and a 3 on the tree. He didn't have it a week and the shifter would lock up between gears. The dealer adjusted and worked on it 4 or 5 times and never did get it right so when the 73's can out he traded it in (with 1500 miles on it) for an automatic. His neighbor had the same issue with his but they were able to get his shifting after a few trips to the dealer. I don't know if chevy ever had a recall on them but I know many other owners had the same issue and just gave up and put the shifter on the floor.
My uncle had a 72 just like you mentioned. I don’t remember any problems with the shift linkages. I know that they could be problematic. A neighbor had a 72 also. Someone put an aftermarket floor shifter in it. I’ve seen it in other formerly column shift vehicles. At my first job we had a 74 square body. The column shift used to jam. I was 16 and used to sometimes have to jump out, pop the hood and untangle the shift linkage. I remember it happening one day at rush hour with a long line of traffic behind us.
That's cool, but I see tons of them, I love my 72 Chevrolet Longhorn with the extended box (1 of 3088 built) and my 68 Chevrolet V8 4 speed 4x4 panel truck that is 1 of 59 built!
Thanks for the video Steve, great stuff! I love these trucks, and the later square bodies as well. I prefer the long bed myself, but I understand why the short beds are so popular, you can do so much to them to suit what you like.
In 1980, my dad bought a 1969 Chevy C20, 2WD, 307, automatic. It was filthy, had rust holes, rusted out floor and rocker panels, an inch thick layer of crud in the bed. It took hours to clean. The automatic shit mechanism was worn out. The rivet holding the shift lever hept sliding out. The parking brake was frozen. The radio did not work and the odometer was shot. The muffler was rusted off. The rear axle seals failed. I tried driving it to school, to go out to lunch, and I hit a county engineer's pickup truck, a new Chevy. My old truck had power brakes, and a towing package, but no power steering and I cut a right turn too wide. I tried to pay for the damage without my parents finding out, but the count called. That truck would be worth several thousand dollars today.
Cab/bed frame swaps on this generation truck are more common than you would think. But what is uncommon is that they went from 4WD to 2WD. My friends and I did a swap back in the early 80's on a friends 71 GMC C20 3/4 2WD long bed truck that originally belonged to a potato farmer out in Riverhead NY. It spent most of it time in the barn and was his "Country Cadillac". It was in awesome condition with no rust. The older gentleman passed away and my friend bought it from his daughter. 4WD trucks on Long Island were all the rage in 1984 so.. The 71 got a 4WD frame from and running gear from a heavily rusted 72 Chevy 3/4 ton 4WD suburban. A very rare truck I've since found out. After complete disassembly and sand blasting we found out the frame was basically the same except at the rear section (Had to run a standard bumper instead of a step bumper) but... It was worth it. "The Burban" was fully loaded with a factory 402 and a TH400 in it! The swap turned out fantastic and as of 2007 my friend still owns the truck. Thanks for the great content Steve!
My first time with three pedals was in Grandpa’s 70 c/10 over 40 years ago. Great video, I think I still have a CARCRAFT with you on the cover in front of a Camaro on a forklift in a junk yard. Good times🙂🤟🏁
People forget back in the day if you needed used parts you went to your local junkyard...that was your option....there wasn’t nation wide parts locator databases to locate parts...the guy prolly needed a frame for the 4x4 but locally he could only locate a two wheel drive truck.
I’ve owned several 67-72 C10s and C20/K20 including a 70 Longhorn and 72 K20 GMC Sierra Grande. I had the chance to buy a 71 K10 swb 4x4 about 20 years ago. I passed due to it be so rough (aftermarket lift had been installed poorly and truck had been used as a “mud truck” and never washed afterward.) It did have a title that matched the cab, but needed floors cab corners inner and outer rockers as well as above the windshield replaced due to rust. The $3k asking price and need for such extensive repair scared me off. If only I could go back!
I know this one was directed at me, LOL. Close, but some clarity is needed. The first C denotes the Chevrolet Division, so you could also have "TK" which would be a GMC 4WD. There are some slight differences in the VINs and how they are decoded between GMC and Chevrolet between 1967 to 1972 model year trucks. As it relates to 1972, it goes like this with the VIN for the win: C for Chevrolet (T is GMC), K for 4WD (C is 2WD), E for V8 equipped (S is six-cylinder equipped), 1 for 1/2 ton (2 is 3/4 ton, 3 is 1 ton), 4 for pickup and box (3 is cab and chassis, 5 is panel, 6 is Suburban, 8 is Blazer), 2 for 1972 model year (7 for 1967 model year, 8 for 1968, 9 for 1969, 0 for 1970, 1 for 1971, 2 for 1972), B for Baltimore, MD (A for Lakewood Heights (Atlanta), GA, F for Flint, MI, J for Janesville, WI, Z for Fremont, CA, S for St. Louis, 1 for Oshawa, Ontario Canada, P for Pontiac, MI, among other choices), and the rest is the production sequence. The Baltimore, MD assembly plant opened in 1935 and closed in 2005. The Astro and Safari were among the last products made there. The plant was razed and Duke Realty bought it to develop the Chesapeake Commerce Center on the site. GM's belief on high selling models back then was that the plants should be regional to the market that would sell the truck. So, Baltimore, MD is closer to MA than Fremont, CA, so you would generally see a MD built truck in the Northeast. However, there are exceptions, and it happens all the time, even when they were new. Dealers swapped orders and inventory and the plants shipped to the selling dealers that requested the unit. If the plant had capacity to build it, you could see a Fremont, CA made truck in NY for instance. Going one step further, the model decoder is important on the top of the SPID: K for 4WD, E for V8 equipped, 1 for 1/2 ton, 07 for 115" short bed and 34 for Fleetside body. This matches the wheelbase number of 115 on the SPID to the right of the VIN. Notice the "B" chalk mark on the firewall/cowl area. This likely means "Baltimore, MD Assembly" as sometimes the bodies were made in a Fisher plant elsewhere or often, right next door in adjoining building. Sometimes you'll see the basic model (such as "CK10734") on the firewall in chalk. This is to tell the line workers what type of truck it is. The VIN tag is riveted, not welded to the door, because in theory, it can be swapped to a new cab in the case of accident or rust damage. My vote is to put it back to the original configuration. It's a rare enough duck to do that. So just remember, "Always get the VIN to win and the tag to brag", and of course when it comes to GM products, "When you get the SPID, we're glad that you did......"
Thanks for posting that info. One obfuscating twist is that Chevy was very inconsistent with the first C. i.e. Sometimes it was in the VIN and sometimes not. My 71 VIN starts as CS....... without the 'first' Chevy C.
@@PelicanIslandLabs The first additional C in this trucks vin is because it's a 72. 71 and older didn't include that character. There is no inconsistency short of 72 having it's own unique vin
My GMC was saved from a quick trip to the crusher, excavator in this case, planned for the next day when I was driving by and saw a really weird looking SUV with windows in the back but the roof was open and the tailgate was down like a pickup. It was shocking to find no rust seeing this is the Live Free or Rust state. One "blown engine" replacement later I drove it home. Who knew replacement engines looked like a battery? On top of this rare GMC it has the even rarer for it anyways aluminum 5.3. Best $600 ride so far though I did put $2k in tires, brakes, suspension and a complete service. Maybe one day Steve's grandson will review it sitting in a no crush yard somewhere because I have no family to will it to.
Parts interchangeability was great for the whole run of the 67-72 pickups. In New England rust ruined the cab mounts, rocker panels and cab corners on most of these. Swapping cabs and beds wasn't unusual at all. I remember seeing home-built wooden beds on some of them in the 1980s. It looks like this one had cab corners replaced at some point, because at 4:25 we see what looks like a non-factory seam and some flaking/spatter from the repaint.
If the frame is not rusted away this is a very good candidate for rebuild or restomod. Someone will be snatching it out of there pretty quick unless the rust worms have not totally ruined it from underneath. I want to see more on the GMC!!!!
This is the kind of stuff my Dad would tell me as we looked through junkyards and auto shows. I always loved his “I had one of these but mine had a …, this is much nicer than what I had” comments. I bet he’d quiz me on what the secret was as soon as he opened the door and saw the transfer case hole in the floor. Thanks for the heads up!
that truck is gone.In 1971 I was 9 my dad kept me home from school. made my brother's go to school. we went to breakfast went to the Chevy dealer test drove twd short bed step side 350/350 Black w black interior. Everyone in the family wrecked that truck over the years. miss that truck.
These were such great trucks, it’s no wonder they are becoming collectible! And they drove really well. My dad purchased a brand new 1971 C10, (his first new vehicle) 250 six, three speed standard shift on the column. It was my training vehicle and the first one I drove on the road! It handled very well with the coil springs front and rear! Great video Steve!
Mixing and matching parts out of the junkyard is common. The fun thing would be to track down the previous owner if possible to get the real story on it. I once had a 1971 F100 with a 390 back in the early 1980's and wanted to convert it over to a 302 so I bought a rusty 1971 Ranger XLT with a blown 302 just for the necessary 302 only parts like the motor mount towers but ended up adding the power steering, power brakes and factory air as well and then added all the Ranger specific trim as well including the glove box door that said it was a Ranger XLT.
I bought a 1972 long bed 350 3 on the tree. My wife did not like it. but it would hold 4 dirt bikes. I hauled, Dirt , Corn, hay, camper, snow skies. fire wood, dogs, furniture , and who knows what. It was still running in Dunsmuir, ca. a few years back.
The short beds do look cool, but I prefer my plywood and 2x4's to be in my bed, not riding on top of my tailgate. That truck is in beautiful shape, it almost looks like someone just drove it there and parked it to get it in a Steve Mags vid.
I really like the long beds. If I had a vintage pickup again I wouldn't try and make it a pro touring truck. I would rather have it fast yet comfortable. To me the long beds have that low and slow style like an old Impala or Cadillac.
I often miss my 72 4wd 3 on the tree, shortbed stepside that was about 10 years old when I purchased it around 40 years ago iirc. Really wished I would have had known the actual production numbers when I decided to part with it.
I can see why this production run was so popular. Maybe it's just because of the era I grew up in, but IMO these were by far, the best looking Chevy trucks built. I didn't care for the styling of previous models, the "Square-body" trucks were just okay. And subsequent years never looked as good. Just my (and apparently many other's) opinion.
As soon as he mentioned the cab was from a K10 by reading the Spid i already suspected it was a body swap from a K10 to a C10. More then likely whoever did it had two trucks and built it from the best parts of the bunch. C10 body was likely rotted out and chose to put the K10 body on to restore the more desirable 2wd.
A `74 GMC I had many yrs ago was a multi-colour fixer-upper. Looked fine after paint but the base truck was white, had a green box with red doors & red tailgate, one front fender was orange & the other blue....a real Frankenstein!
Another good one Steve. It looks to be pretty solid and likely hasn’t been in the yard for a long time. My guess is that someone made the body swap intending to cash in on the craze for short bed 4x2’s then ran out of cash or whatever. Since everything is for sale there at Bernardston, someone will be buying that.
One little tiny detail that is very easy to miss: For the 1972 year model *only*, there was a countersunk pan headed Phillips driven screw added to the doors to help solve an issue with them bowing out in the vicinity of the wing windows. If you look closely at both doors, the door on the passenger side never had that screw. The driver's door does have it. Also, there's a way to ensure that the cab itself, or at least the roof is a 1972 year model: The embossing for the rear view mirror was deleted for that year model only. The rear view mirror was glued to the windshield like the 73-87 (1991 if you count the 1 ton) Chevy/GMC trucks. One last tidbit: Only the 1967 year model of this body style used a special spacer for the ignition lock. This spacer also made the mounting hole slightly different, so if anyone who reads this either gets a '67 or just got one, be aware of that if you don't have an ignition switch and lock assembly.
My 72 is 3/4 ton 4x4 factory cab marker, 350/350. It's begging to be restored but it runs and drives so I'm hesitant to start tearing it apart. Met so many people who started restoring something then 20-30 years later it's still sitting there in parts and pieces.
I love this channel. Always end up learning new, cool stuff about cars and trucks I normally have no interest in. But, in response to Steve's "things aren't always what they seem" remark... my 1957 Pontiac Star Chief came to me with a freshly built 347. That turned into a mystery; it had a 1956 4bbl manifold and a 1956 Rochester 7008697 4GC carb. The old mill was sitting on the barn floor when I got the car and it was a 2bbl. I have the manifold and carb. Now, here's the mystery... the generator on the new motor sits on a tri-power mounting bracket. And the coil was mounted on a tri-power bracket as well. But, as I said, it now sports a 1956 4bbl manifold and carb. And, the exhaust manifolds are factory dual setup (correct U-turn extension piece on driver's side manifold). 🤔
We used to take 3 or 4 of those trucks and build them up to V8,Auto transmission, Air Conditioning in the cab,make the 4wd work, Cheyenne upper and lower moldings on the long box were popular in Portland Oregon
The last few digits of the vin are stamped in the top of the frame near the steering box. It appears the cab was mounted on a 2wd frame. I wonder if it was due to a rusty frame!
I have a 69, mostly original, long bed, and it was an original shop truck with the name on the side of it. Would be nice if it was a short bed instead for the looks, but when it comes to HD and Lowes runs, it’s best for hauling wood. Mines a CST with AC and 350. Love it.
You had me at 67-72 C model. New subscriber here. Used to have a 68, 69 and a 70 all long beds (my favorites) the 69 with factory air. Unfortunately I no longer can afford to buy another. 😔
Morning Steve!! Sell it Steve!! Who ever did the chassis swap, it was done along time ago, how could you even find that chassis?, but if it was me, that truck would go back to how it came from GM, also by the time this video came out, that truck is probably gone....be safe!! God Bless!!!
Love those trucks,! I had a 70 and 71, both were super reliable and easy to service, unfortunately they rusted so bad that they were put out of service,
My Son and I have 20 of the 67 thru 72 Chevy and GMC trucks in our collection. One is a 71 Chevy with a factory big block . its a 3/4 ton with rear leaf springs. Most two wheel drive chevys had the trailing arm rear coil springs. Most GMC where rear leaf springs. We have video on our channel.
Lots of great information as always, I'd restore it to it's original 1/2 ton 4 wheel drive status and install a date-correct drivetrain (whatever the vin said it came with
It's quite possible that the person who had owned the C10 that 2wd chassis came from, had a tree damage the original body. Or the truck could have been rolled, but without damaging the chassis. Back in the early '80s, I had a friend who had a '72 C10 longbed 2wd. He rolled the truck, while driving on a dirt road covered in snow. Although the cab and other body parts were damaged beyond driving, the chassis was undamaged. He and his father had a bunch of '67-'72 "parts trucks" sitting in their pasture. So my friend stuck his wreck in their shop; took it down to bare frame; and using usable parts from the variety of C10s, spent the next month completely rebuilding the truck. Once it was completed (including a fresh paint job), the only thing that matched the title/registration, was that chassis. I only know that story, because I helped him do the work on it. Point being...as you said Steve... you can't always go by first impressions.😎
I love how GM built things like the Allante and SSR to be future collector cars but nobody wants them. Meanwhile everyday pickups like the 67-72 and the square body are skyrocketing in collectibility
years ago my friends brother drove a mint short bed 1/2 ton 4x4 1970 CST. Slight lift with rally wheels on tires that were probably 31's. It would be a gold mine today had another kid not wrecked it
67-72 FORDs (yea Bump Sides) are also hot with prices going up steadily! I believe it has lots to do with everyone’s memories, you can’t help but smile when you see these on the road today!
Mexico has a lot of regular cab short bed Ford trucks from that era. A lot of them are still in good condition. Near me a guy has a 1974 model that came from Arizona that now has a 302 manual on the floor and new A/C. I can't find anybody that wants it.
