Across the Pond
GM’s distinctive 1973-87 pick-ups are becoming ever more desirable and for good reason, says Evans…
Some of you reading this might know about Bring a Trailer (BAT), a Stateside online marketplace and auction platform where you can find a plethora of classic and special interest vehicles for sale. BAT has become quite a cult site, particularly if you grew up in the Eighties and Nineties, with a host of good quality cars and trucks from this era advertised. Recently I was amazed when the bidding on a 1985 K20 Chevrolet Scottsdale pick-up saw the truck sell for $88,725!
Almost 90 grand – and for a truck that apart from the ultra-low mileage (589 miles) was not a limited edition, nor top-of-the-line model! Granted, it was very clean and had somehow managed to escape the hard life that many similarly equipped trucks suffer, but still… Yet this example, I think, represents a broader trend: the growing popularity of classic pick-ups and 4x4s among enthusiasts and collectors. We’ve already seen the stratospheric rise in demand (and prices) for things like early Ford Broncos, with similar vehicles such as International Scouts, Chevy Blazers and vintage Jeep Cherokees commanding increasingly big bucks.
On the pick-up side, classic 1960-72 Chevy and GMC (the first- and second-generation C/K series pick-ups) have been popular for decades but in some cases, their prices are now putting them out of the reach of certain collectors and enthusiasts, so we’ve seen the later, thirdgeneration 1973-87 ‘Rounded Line’ C/K series full-size trucks – colloquially known as ‘SquareBodies’– becoming increasingly popular.
General Motors made millions of these trucks and they are still a fairly common sight on North American roads. Also, if you remember the late Seventies and early Eighties, these trucks often featured prominently on popular TV shows of the time – think the Rockford Files, the Fall Guy and the A-Team. And for members of Generation X and Y (who were impressionable nippers back then and are now entering their prime earning years), these trucks are seen as popular choices for hobby vehicles.
Besides TV stardom, other factors include a long production run, plentiful parts supply (including great aftermarket support from the likes of Classic Industries and LMC), plus they’re easy to work on, easy to modify and came in a ton of different configurations including regular cab, shortbox, longbox, stepside, fleetside, two- or four-wheel drive, Blazer, Jimmy and Suburban SUV derivatives and half-ton, threequarter-ton and one-ton payload capacity and even crew cabs and dually versions on the heavier duty models (the 1973 crew-cab dually was one of the first OEM in-house designed and built full-size pick-ups (previous models were usually conversions farmed out to specialist contractors).
Their simplicity and versatility means you can build just about any kind of one-off rig out of one of these as well; everything from a slammed, two-wheel-drive street truck with billet wheels, up to a tall 4x4 special designed for bashing through the back country. Chances are if you can think it, you can build it out of a 1973-87 C/K pick-up.
Given the vast number of these trucks out there and the fact that the vast majority have been modified many, many times, it pays to do your homework when searching. Your best bet is often finding one that’s spent most of its life in the southern or western states – this particularly applies to the 1976 and earlier models which were more susceptible to rust. In most cases, these trucks are still plentiful and affordable enough that it doesn’t make much sense to perform extensive sheet-metal restoration on a rusted example, unless it is particularly rare or a desirable special edition.
Another thing to be aware of is the fact that these trucks came with so-called saddle-side type fuel tanks mounted outside of the frame rails. In 1993, Dateline NBC in the US aired a controversial TV exposé which claimed that due to the fuel tank design, these trucks were prone to catching fire. Ultimately, it was proved that NBC had deliberately rigged their test vehicles to explode, but even still, this led to a number of class action lawsuits and an investigation from the US Department of Transportation – despite the fact that these trucks and their fuel tanks met and exceeded Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, with studies demonstrating that it would take 4000 side impacts to cause a fire or major injury.
Despite this, the appeal of these trucks continues to grow among enthusiasts. Tough, handsome and versatile, the third-generation Chevy/GMC C/K represents a very good buy in the classic American truck sector today. And if it’s good enough for Colt Seavers, it’s likely good enough for you!