The only time we won’t roll our eyes and groan when someone says they don’t build something like they used to is in regard to classic pickup trucks. Now that even a Ford Maverick or a Hyundai Santa Cruz has as many features as an old luxury car, there aren’t too many honest work trucks around anymore.
This was different in the early 70s. Back then, pickup trucks weren’t so much status symbols as they were the sturdy backbone of the American industrial machine.
You know, before all the jobs fizzled away and pickup trucks became Bentleys on the inside. This particular 1970 Chevy C10 Longbed for sale out of Silver Spring, Maryland, never bothered with any of this luxury business. At least, by modern standards.
This half-ton truck with a 127-inch (3,225.8-mm) wheelbase and extended cargo bed was as honest of a work truck as was ever built in the United States. Just like the Toyota Hilux in Asia and Europe, the C10 prided itself on affordability and reliability to push sales.
At some point down the line, this truck’s OEM 350 V8 was replaced with a 283-cubic inch (4.6-liter) V8. No word on why this was done, but it’s a pretty neat attribute all the same. The odometer now reads 100,000 miles (almost 161,000 kilometers).
According to the seller, this C10 is the lauded, top-of-the-line Cheyenne trim level. Complete with front power disk brakes, leather seats, optional two-tone paint, and a nice color-keyed headliner, among other goodies.
It’s no modern Chevy Silverado on the inside, especially after 50 years of rot. But if you ask us, there are plenty of lesser pickup trucks out there less deserving of a full restoration than this C10 that have already gotten the treatment. Besides, according to the seller, it’s running and driving.
That said, we hope you’re handy with a set of wrenches, as the above-mentioned front brake calipers aren’t quite what you’d call operational. But, with the right owner and the right set of tools, this derelict C10 could become a wicked cool restomod one day. At a price of $2,500, it’s a nice, low cost of entry.
