(Mildly revised since first posted August 22, 2012) You previously met Albert and Iris in a story about their trip to Houston, Texas, in their 1970 Chevrolet Caprice (here). Let’s fast forward to 1987, when “Iris” is 60 and “Albert” is 64.
In the Summer of ’87, I was a teenager, and my younger sister and I were spending a few days with my maternal grandparents, Albert and Iris. On one of these hot days I suggested to Grandpa we go fishing.
After Grandpa Albert and I threw our poles in the bed of his 1978 Chevrolet Scottsdale and dug up some worms, we went inside to share the idea. Grandma Iris pulled her fishing license out of the cabinet and, grabbing a clothespin, reached into her shirt and pinned it to her bra strap, thus announcing she was ready to go. Grandpa Albert and I went back to the pickup.
My grandfather had purchased his ’78 Scottsdale new, just before he retired in 1980. His had the standard cab with an 8-foot bed, solid silver exterior, and a red interior – GM, unlike Ford and Dodge, was not yet offering an extended cab. The only options on Grandpa’s pickup were an automatic transmission, AM/FM radio, tilt wheel, air conditioning, and full wheel covers identical to those pictured above. It was a fairly bread-and-butter pickup.
By 1987 it was nine years old, with just under 30,000 miles and more than its share of dings and dents. Albert was an excellent driver, but driving in reverse wasn’t his forte. Sadly, I now realize that such things can be genetic.
As Grandpa Albert and I sat waiting in the pickup, I eyeballed a plastic spoon that was coated in brown and fused to the red dashboard. Grandpa Albert spoke up.
“I know, it looks like somebody shit on it. Ma found a melted Hershey bar in her purse and we ate it.” Mystery solved.
My sister and Grandma Iris trotted out to the pickup. As the four of us squeezed in, Grandpa Albert fussed about how “these kids are too big to fit in here…Ma, are you going to ride in back?” There wasn’t a reply.
At this point, I must tell you that Grandpa Albert’s pickup was equipped with a 305 (5.0-liter) V8 bolted to GM’s ultra-trusty and silky smooth three-speed automatic. My longtime and great respect for this drivetrain is based on Grandpa Albert’s pickup.
Grandpa Albert hit the starter and threw the pickup into Reverse even before the starter motor stopped spinning. He turned around, dropped it into Drive and then pulled out onto the road. The uninitiated might think it odd to routinely wind out first gear to 30 mph and then back off the throttle to allow another upshift from second to third at 37 mph; however, if you want to save fuel, you need to get up to speed as quickly as possible. This pickup endured such treatment for years.
Grandpa Albert drove down a series of county roads for a couple of miles, and then through a plowed field to get to the Mississippi River. The trip was hot (the pickup’s A/C no longer worked due to lack of use), and the roads and field were rough, but his Chevrolet Scottsdale was a rugged pickup. We parked at the edge of the field, facing the woods and within spitting distance of the river. The edge of the field overlooking the river had washed out from a recent flood.
The four of us emerged from Grandpa Albert’s silver Scottsdale, grabbed our poles and headed toward the river. Once our poles were baited and in the water, Grandpa Albert started walking away into the woods. Grandma Iris piped up: “Albert, where are you going?”
“In the woods.”
“Are you going to take a leak? You could have done that before we left the house,” she said.
“Don’t worry about it.” Grandpa Albert kept walking into the woods. Grandpa Albert is big into water conservation. They still have a patch of dead grass in the front yard, next to the patio and facing the road. Grandma Iris has supposedly never figured out why.
Recently, Grandpa jokingly told me one of the joys in life is “pissing with one hand and waving at cars going by with the other.”
Fishing was bad that day, although my sister did catch a decent-sized catfish.
After we’d loaded up and squeezed inside the Scottsdale, Grandpa Albert fired up the 305, threw it into Reverse and immediately put his foot into the throttle.
“Old man, you are going to hit something,” Grandma Iris warned.
“Oh, I won’t either.” Grandpa Albert’s response was immediately followed by a rough- riding schlump, thud, clang, and “Son of a bitch”.
Grandpa had backed into the washout. We got out of the truck and saw that the undercarriage was resting on the crest of the washout and the driver’s side wheels were dangling in the air. Only the inside edges of the right-side tires and both bumpers touched the ground. There was no traction to be had.
Th usually stoic Grandpa Albert was quite disturbed with what had just happened. He looked at his pickup and was completely silent.
“Old man, I told you we were going to back into a ditch. Now look what you did. I bet the frame on your pickup is bent. The poor thing looks awfully sad just hanging there.” Grandma Iris had no malice; she didn’t intend to kick him when he was down, but was every bit as shaken up as Grandpa Albert.
Grandpa Albert became even more agitated. I’ve witnessed many of their interactions during my lifetime and these two are like firecrackers: They blow up fiercely and then it’s over. That could help explain their 70 year marriage.
Grandpa Albert spoke. “Well, if the frame is bent, I’ll get rid of it and buy me a new one. New ones are made everyday. We better start walking. I’ll pack the poles.”
“Albert, nobody will take that thing on trade if the frame is bent,” Grandma Iris observed, concerned.
“Fine. I can scrap the bastard out. Use the new one to haul off the old one!” Grandma Iris figured it wise to back off.
Everybody stayed quiet on the walk back for about 20 minutes until I hear, “Old man, your ass is dragging. Are you okay? It is awfully hot out here. I’ll make some lemonade when we get home. It shouldn’t be much further.”
And it wasn’t. The day’s only casualties turned out to be Grandpa Albert’s pride and the catfish. The fish was starting to look a bit rough, so it was unceremoniously tossed into a ditch for the raccoons. And Grandpa Albert’s pickup? A neighbor pulled it out and Grandpa drove it back home. It was just fine.
Now there is one small technicality with this look into history: Grandpa Albert’s pickup was a 1979 model; the biggest physical change from 1978 was a new grille that enveloped the turn signals. Since rust is so prevalent with this generation of GM pickup in my neck of the woods, I was thankful to find one whose rear fenders weren’t flapping in the breeze, thus minimizing the possibility of my needing a tetanus shot.
Here’s a ’79 on a 3/4-ton chassis; again, no huge physical difference.
This generation of GM pickup debuted for 1973, and would remain until a new generation came along in 1988. These days, it’s hard to imaging keeping a pickup body style in production for 15 years with only incremental refinements. Still, such longevity was common once upon a time in pickup land, as both Ford and Dodge had similarly long runs from the 1970s through mid-90s. Certainly, the resulting number of available replacement parts is a big factor in keeping so many on the road.
By 1978, Chevrolet (and GMC) pickups had started their climb upscale. In 1977, power windows became available for the first time, and four trim levels, Custom Deluxe, Scottsdale, Cheyenne, and high-end Silverado, were offered in 1978. That year proved to be a good one for General Motors, which sold a total of 1,317,466 Chevrolet and GMC pickups of all weight ratings.
Grandpa Albert kept his ’79 Scottsdale until he bought a leftover 1992 Ford F-150, which he still owns. He sold the Scottsdale to my Uncle Ron, who drove it another few years before his younger son bent the frame by backing into a tree.
Found July 2012, Jefferson City, Missouri
I had a ’79 Silverado that I bought in high school for $800. It was fairly beat, but had a strong, rebuilt 350 with a quadrajet, and after an ’85 Subie wagon the damn thing just felt fast! The air didn’t work, and half way through the first winter the heater core started leaking, so I bypassed it with a piece of hose and just kept a coat in the truck. I had it for about a year when, on the way home from work one night the transmission decided it was time to call it quits. I wound up coasting it to the side of the I-35 access road and walking to a payphone. I never saw that truck again.
Is the78 Chevy truck Iris and Albert
Is this truck still for sale
Still for sale
Nice example. I’m surprised it’s still wearing its original hubcaps.
1979 was also the first year of the fuel filler door and the leading edge of the hood changed slightly. The option & color availability on these is mind-boggling making nearly every truck unique. I have yet to see two identically optioned trucks in the ’77-’80 era. It’s one of the reasons I like them so much.
The two-toning always appealed to me on the higher models. My ’78 Sierra Classic came silver with maroon secondary color with red interior.
I’m still surprised a stereo was not offered until 1980. Top radio was an AM/FM with one dash speaker. 1980 was the only year the stereo speakers were door mounted…and those door panels & speaker pods are real hard to find.
This era of Chevy/GMC’s had options galore. I remember seeing a plain-jane ’79 Custom Deluxe stepside . . . . six and three-on-the-tree . . . but it was A/C equipped and had power windows! Go figure!!
The fuel filler door was a mid-78 year model change.
These things never changed from the 1973 MY to 198—?.
I always thought these were needlessly bulky and offered no more usable cab room than the 1967-72 models, which are still my favorite. The doors were hollow and felt it – they were featherweight. I had awful dreams getting T-boned in mine. I do recall that at least on one occasion, I had to actually crawl/climb INTO the engine bay to do something on the 292 motor, as I didn’t have a step ladder to reach over the fenders far enough. I’m 5’10” (and shrinking I think), 180 lbs. (still!), it was a tight, uncomfortable fit.
I looked for a photo of my 1976 C-20, but all I have are a couple that I took before I “customized” the front end as detailed in yesterday’s CC clue. I may post it tonight if I have time.
Owning that truck for two years was, to say the least, interesting…and very frustrating.
The 1976 Gremlin I bought after I sold the truck was a blessing, believe-it-or-not! I don’t miss that C-20 at all, and wifey hated it.
I do recall that at least on one occasion, I had to actually crawl/climb INTO the engine bay…
Ah, yes…I’m a bit taller than you, and I recall having to climb under the hood and straddle the damn engine like I was riding horseback, to comfortably get access to the distributor. The location near the firewall wasn’t so bad in the cars, but it was terrible in the trucks.
I saw one of this era in similar condition the other day, but did not have an opportunity to stop and capture its pixels. It was noteworthy because, as you mention, these were rusters in the midwest.
I have driven a few of this generation, and my impressions varied widely. There was one with a V8/3 speed auto that drove fabulously. But there was also a 77 or 78 base level Suburban with the 305 that had a horrible hesitation whenever I stepped on the gas. It was certainly not overpowered, either.
The bodies on these never felt as solid as the prior generation. I cannot think of these without remembering the houndstooth plaid vinyl seats in the lower trim levels (I think). I also hated the single-piece molded plastic door panels that aged poorly. I don’t see as many of these as I once did, but these are still out on the roads in rural Indiana. The common-as-dirt parts and the fact that everyone can fix them in their sleep have kept these things on the road in much higher numbers than the competition. A nice find and a well-told story.
My Custom Deluxe had those plaid, houndstooth style vinyl seats. Saddle tan interior.
You’re also correct about the mini door panels. The lower inside doors got their unfair share of boot marks, at least mine did! I kept mine spotless, though. I even waxed the painted steel “ceiling”, as it wasn’t upholstered…
I trash my old truck almost every chance I get. Fact is, however, it was a very good truck – I just over-bought a Sherman tank when all I needed was a “Jeep”!
Here it is…my first ordered-from-the-factory-new-vehicle! A 1976 C-20. 292, stick w/granny gear, saddle tan interior, gauges, anti-sway, rear step bumper, heavy-duty shocks and not much else except “armstrong” steering…
Owned it two years to the day!
That’s very similar to a truck a friend of mine had, except his was a mustardy yellow and had a different style canopy/cap. He used it for escorting over-dimensional loads, and had the rear setup for sleeping in, along with a pair of large LPG tanks – he had to have enough fuel on board so that he did not need to refuel before the heavy haulers did, and they typically carry plenty of fuel.
With armstrong steering, it would have never been at my house that long.
And, Zackman, with your Missouri “Beyond Local” truck plates! I have a bunch of MO truck plates in my collection. As a kid, when we’d visit relatives in NE MO, they’d throw out the old plates or stick them somewhere in a shed or garage; I’d clean ’em off and pack them in the suitcase and it was checked luggage from STL back to SFO (non-stop on TWA . . . of course!)
A few dots have been connected, for me anyway.
GM introduced all new trucks and A body mid-size cars in ’73. Both have a certain softly rounded edge styling, and both probably received about the same rust protection efforts. Both seemed a bit more rust prone than their predecessors. (Both also had versions that were a joy to drive, and versions that were just not nice.)
These both seemed to be the last chronic rusters that GM introduced. Ignoring if cars like the Monza and Seville were truly new cars, GM’s next introduction of all new cars was the ’77 B and C bodies, and they generally had pretty good sheet metal if you took care of them.
Soubds like the ‘Burb had a bad accelerator pump.
“He sold the Scottsdale to my Uncle Ron, who drove it another few years before his younger son bent the frame by backing into a tree.”
Ha! You couldn’t make up a better ending. Actually, maybe you did make it up, fine by me. 🙂
As Walter Cronkite said, “That’s the way it is…”. It was too good to not mention!
I agree… got a huge chuckle out of that! Hereditary, indeed~
What was the first year for those truck mirrors? I always thought 79 was the first year, but based on these photos, obviously not.
My Dad’s ’79 Jimmy Heavy Half High Sierra came with the baby passenger car outside adjustable dual mirrors – go figure. When he bought his Glasstite camper shell from an RV supplier in Santa Rosa a few months later, he had them also install proper truck mirrors that were extendable (he towed an 20 ft travel trailer back then).
I’ve always thought these are one of the best looking trucks around with the two tone paint.
Obviously, I agree.
They are all over the place when you get out of the rust belt. I think there is an outtake that I submitted not long ago that is just about this year. My 91 is the spiritual descendent with windows that crank with armstrong power but with a four speed auto and the 4.3. I would buy a slide in and really enjoy things but the wife doesn’t want to ride in it. Oh well, that keeps the mileage low.
Dad had a pretty maroon one, tan interior, 3 on the tree. I was 13 and had a weekend ALONE. Folks always left the keys in ignitions, bad situation. Well, needless to say, I taught myself how to drive a 3/tree that summer weekend. 20 miles from home, I overheated the 350 engine but managed to get it home and reparked in the barn. Dad drove it to the chevy plant he worked at and to this very day, still thinks he blew it up. The folks are in CT right now and dad literally called me in the middle of me typing this. Karma is a bitch, and a guilty conscious haunts me! Ps.. Dad has no idea of this web site either!
Neither do my folks (now in their eighties, step Mom in her seventies). Step Mom’s ’72 Scamp was the sleeper that, when I borrowed it, I regularly shut down Mach 1’s, some Chevelle Super Sports and Trans Ams. All with a 318 2-bbl, and TorqueFlite. White vinyl top with sky-blue paint, whitewall 78 bias plys and a license frame that said “to know me is to love me.” Total ladies car. Other Marin County youths saw the tailights pull ahead of them.
Mamasita started to get a clue when she noticed abnormal wear on the right rear fiberglass belted Atlas E78x14 tire . . . .
Yessir, a 318 A body was a lot of fun. A college roommate had a 73 Duster with a 318 and a 3 speed stick for awhile. Fast.
Ha ha, I like the “stole my parents car” stories. But I got caught. At age 15, while my parents were at work, I discovered the the spare trunk key to the ’68 Rebel fit the ignition of the recently inherited, but little used, ’62 Corvair wagon. OH BOY! Had a blast for a couple of days until I spun out taking a corner too fast in that rear-engined deathtrap. Got it home, but it scared me straight. They never knew. Then, a few months later, I started sneaking the ’68 Rebel out while they slept. That 232 6-cylinder was as quiet as a mouse. Drove it for weeks on end, doing donuts in front yards everywhere. Even sideswiped a telephone pole guy wire, severely scratching the right front fender, yet they never knew. Not until the cops chased me home one night at 3 in the morning. My parents were NOT amused. Days later, when they would finally talk to me, they said, “We thought the car was dirtier than usual, and we now know that you caused the deep scratch and crease in the fender, not some parking lot hit & run. Oh, and by the way, next month is Christmas, we had already bought you a ’65 Fairlane as a surprise, you can forget it!” Dad forgave me, and let me use his car periodically afterwards; but Mom never, ever let me drive any of her cars until the day she died, 30 years later.
I owned a 1979 K20 Scottsdale for 13 years and just sold it a few months ago (since I bought a crew cab to haul the kids and their car seats in the back). It was a great truck and I used it to tow my car dolly, a flatbed trailer, and for general hauling duties. It also did winter-commute-vehicle duty, on the 3-5 days per winter here in the Seattle area when I really needed 4×4 to get up and out of my driveway and make it the first 3 miles to the interstate.
With a 350 and I’m not sure what axle ratio (4.10?), it almost never broke into double-digit fuel economy territory. But it was incredibly reliable, simple to work on, easy to get parts for, emissions exempt, and drove and handled very well (the front end and steering was tight).
My “new” 1990 Ford has already had more issues in the first year than my Chevy ever did (mostly electrical stuff wearing out). Plus the sheet metal on the newer-series GM (1987+) and 1980s+ Fords is significantly thinner than the 73-87 GM pickups. Oh well . . .
Around here, these are “youngsters”.
Having read yours and Ed Stembridge’s (heart-wrenching) saga, I entirely agree. But this story needed to be told, and I like it.
I was never a fan of these trucks in general. I knew a number of people who owned them and most of them were just cheap (in the worst way) trucks. They held up mechanically, but were not a great place to spend time within.
The only exception I make to that statement is my former racing partner’s 1973 C-10. The cab was an awful place to spend time, even though we swapped in an aftermarket radio/cassette with four (!) speakers. But, with the old 250 I-6 and three speed manny tranny, we hauled our street-stock race cars all over our corner of Northeast Ohio. Not particularly fast, but we would get there. Eventually.
Frankly, we overloaded the poor old beast. We had a contractor’s bed cap on it and we fabbed a rack where we put our spare tires on top. Within the cap we put all of our tools and spares for the day’s races and towed a 3000 lb. race car behind it. That poor old thing struggled with the load, but it never broke. After we got away from roundy-round racing, we pulled our SCCA Solo Dodge Omni with it. The loads were a bit lighter (the car was about 2000 lbs. and while the tools remained the same, the parts were lighter for the Omni. We got there a little less slowly…
With those mirrors, that is likely an ’80.
The last year before the aerodynamic nose redesign of ’81…
The mirrors were replaced with ’80-up mirrors. It is definitely a ’78 model.
I always liked the 73-74 Chevy pickups simpler grilles than the overdone chrome ones. When new, these were futuristic, and got many former big car owners to trade in for one.
And, yeah, nowadays, no pickup design is on the market over 5 years. The current GM pickups were new for 2007 MY, and are called ‘outdated’. GM is bracing for all new 2014’s to bring in cash.
Of the domestic pick-ups, the only one I would ever buy is the Chevy, since it has resisted the gargantuanism of its competitors. I hope they are smart enough to keep the size for the 2014 redesign.
Wow, it’s kind of ironic to read this comment now.
My dad had a 1973 GMC Sierra Grande, which corresponds with the Silverado. It was a nice truck for its day and did all the truck duties you’d want. The interior cleaned up very nicely.
The truck weight 3800 lbs with two full tanks of gas. With the 6000 lb GVW, that gave a payload of 2200 lbs to put in the eight foot box.
I recently read a review of a Ford F150 crew. The article rather interestingly omitted the curb weight of the truck but the 4.5 foot bed (yes, 4.5 feet!) could hold and amazing 1450 lbs.
We sure have come a long way!
My cousin had one of these for her first car. It was a 1977 Bonanza, Cordova Brown with a saddle tan interior. Plain as can be, except for the optional rally wheels and an automatic. No idea what engine was in it, as I was about six years old at the time she got it (1986). I do remember riding in it a lot. It was a cool truck. She had it at least a couple of years. Later on, she drove a late ’70s Jeep CJ-7 that my uncle fixed up. Red with white bucket seats – from a Ford Granada!
I think I’ve only seen one or two other Bonanzas since then. It must have been some kind of special edition, as it isn’t shown in any of the sales brochures.
The Bonanza was a trim special value-priced truck; much like my ’83 Dodge D-100 was with it’s “Miser” package. In the case of the Dodge, I did get carpeting, power steering, but no power brakes (didn’t really need ’em) and full wheel covers (stainless steel pot metal!!); base blue vinyl seat (which was OK with me especially, since I was a dumbass and got it WITHOUT A/C – In Virgnia at the time). Misers like the Bonanzas and the full size Ford Ranger/Explorer packages in the ’70’s usually had a few ‘upmarket’ trim and comfort options . . . but basically was the low end package.
Attached is a shot of the fastest truck in Windsor, with her 250 cu in six and a three on the tree. It was bought completely devoid of options for $3200 and averages around 16-17mpg US in around town driving. Slow and steady is the only way with this one.
Original wheel covers need painting…
Those are S10/Astro hubcaps. You need the slightly smaller version of Zachman’s hubcaps. The Chevy emblem might need to be that yellowish color on your application though. I’m not sure.
It is the yellow bow tie one that I need. I still have the original’s, and the first owner painted them rustoleum white when they starting looking tatty. I spotted one nice one at Auburn last year, but the remaining three needed restoring. Question is whether I blast my originals and have them painted up to original, or try and find a fairly intact set.
The other issue driving me to distraction is that the original owner removed the “Custom 10” side plates because he was getting his polishing rag caught on the edge. The guy is a pack rat, but he threw those out! The Custom 10 model only was offered 1973-4, so all the stuff out there at swap meets or the aftermarket repo stuff tends to be “Custom Deluxe” and up. One learns to hang onto anything taken off these oldies, especially when the repo/swap meet stuff is thin at best.
A nice, honest truck. Ever drive it in the winter up there in Windsor? Railroad ties, sandbags in back for traction?
No way. Too much salt and winter for anything old. so the daily driver is used ,and the oldies are confined to the barn to wait out Winter. Everything gets oil sprayed, but the salt can still take it’s toll.
So here’s one of my prizes. 1977 Cheyenne Camper Special purchased at an estate auction a little over a year ago. The bed was literally packed floor to ceiling with stinky old clothes, yard sale reject stuff, etc. The cab wasn’t much cleaner. The truck was parked eight years prior to my purchase after the front seal blew out of the Turbo 400 transmission. The front pump bolts loosened up over time until finally the pressure physically pushed the pump itself far enough forward to break the seal.
So I put a THM475 transmission in it & it’s “almost” roadworthy. The original hood was “broken” in the middle (a common thing on the ’73-’80 trucks when the hinges aren’t kept oiled) so I stuck an incorrect ’79-’80 hood on it for now.
The camper is ratty but leak-free so it will stay awhile since it kind of matches its burro. 1977 is the only year the chrome trim had yellow painted inserts…so it’s quite easy to spot a ’77 Cheyenne, Scottsdale, or Silverado.
Decent orginals are really hard to find in Canada, as these went rusty early. At Auburn last year, there was a very clean and original ’73 Custom deluxe, pale yellow and white two-tone with 307 auto. The owners had it in the year before and wanted around $4k, and last year they would have taken around $3500. Very slight nicks and minor rust chips on what appeared to be original paint. Very hard to restore or do much better with a rough one when they can be picked up for that kind of money. I have picture of all these finds, and about 25 years of scrap yard finds, but have to convert most from film to jpeg.
If I had access to a recycling yard/scrap metal source like you do, I would be missing an eye and be living on cat food by now. The local scrap metal guy had a really original ’72 Electra 4 door that some yardie had lifted with a forklift and creased the doors/wrecked the driveshaft. It would have made a wonderful starter classic, but probably went for $600 at the scrappie. If I find the picture of that one, I’ll post it too.
Well, the scrapyard has really consumed most of my free time and all of my space. i’d be starving if I could spend more than 4 hours a week there that’s for sure. The yard won’t sell complete cars (thank goodness) but my shop is filling up with old car engines. I’m charged $100 per engine so any complete GM engine over 400 cu. in comes home with me!
What a shame about the Buick. Northerners would cringe if they saw some of the old vehicles that cross the scales…some of them still running. I put a battery in a ’70 Skylark 4-door hardtop & drove it around the yard a little last year — it bothered me so much I bought its 350 & justified it by installing it as-is into my ’73 Century parts car.
It sounds like our scrapyard scores & sacrifices would provide enough material for a blog site, huh?
I agree with you regarding a junk yard crawl blog. Last weeks adventure to the local u pull it produced (trying to remember from memory) 1965 Pontiac Boneville, 1971 Buick skylark, 196? Volvo, 197? MG, 1976 cutlass supreme, 1959 ford galaxie, 1968 chevy Caprice, 1964 olds 88. And this was just for their 45 day turn around cycle.
I always hated that yellow painted insert in the trim. It looked garish. One of Dad’s friends bought a ’77 1/2 ton, light green with white center tu-tone. He had a body shop paint the inserts green. Just recently I learned why Chevy had those yellow inserts; apparently 1977 was the golden anniversary of Chevy trucks, those yellow inserts signified 50 years of Chevy trucks. Makes sense to me.
Actually, Chevy built a special edition gold/white truck in 1968 to celebrate 50 years of truckdom. So maybe the yellow painted trim celebrates “almost 60 years”? I remain confused over this one year only trim (which I don’t like either).
Chevy certainly didn’t market that yellow painted trim at all, it must have been an inside joke at styling. However, not knowing if I was right about the golden anniversary, after reading your comment about 1918 as the start of Chevy trucks, I googled it. According to PickupTruck.com, from 1918-1926, Chevy trucks were only available as a “chassis-cowl” model. Windshields were optional; the customer was expected to provide their own cab and body, aftermarket or homemade. In 1927, Chevy started providing a factory-built cab. I guess the marketing guys thought two 50 year anniversaries, 1968 AND 1977, might seem confusing.
Here’s a bad pic of the front. Note the ’79-’80 style hood difference. The previous owner painted the white wheels black for some reason (blecch). I’m excited about fixing it up.
Here’s a beauty shot of the ’73 taken around 2000 as originally obtained, with no rear bumper, original painted caps, etc. If any vehicle needed fresh paint, it was this one
Wow, you’ve taken your truck a long way! It did look rough as originally purchased. Nice choice on the rear bumper. A surprising number of these trucks were not ordered with a rear bumper. For example, both my heavily optioned ’78 454 C15 Sierra Classic & my wife’s ’80 K10 Silverado were ordered sans rear bumper. I suppose the original owners had the dealer install chrome step bumpers which weren’t available from the factory at that time.
What’s funny is that both our trucks along with my beater ’86 C20 still had the “bumperless” license bracket/light mounted on the driver’s side behind the post-factory-installed bumper. The installers didn’t bother removing the unit since they were hidden and not bothering anything. . .
I remember when trucks came without rear bumpers (at least the low line ones did – optional). Some places (like Hawaii) mandated that all pickup trucks had to have rear bumpers . . . was like that for many years.
Here in Florida, the powers that be got tired of cars going under “lifted” 4×4’s, so a maximum bumper height was mandated into law. Didn’t take long for people to realize rear bumpers weren’t even required, thus a “loophole” that you could literally drive a truck through! Then came the requirement for “bumpers”…
When this generation was dolled up with the two-tone paint and pin stripes no other truck then or now could come close in the looks department. My brother had an ’87 Silverado with dark blue paint, silver two-tone sides, red pin striping and chrome wheels. Absolutely gorgeous to look at. This era managed to look tough and pretty at the same time.
The biggest change from ’78 to ’79 was the fuel filler doors with the gas cap recessed inside of the fleetside bed. I chuckle at the “BIG 10” pictured in the brochure. My Dad bought a ’79 GMC “Heavy Half” with the stupid decals on the side – or least until my Pop asked the dealer (Balestra Pontiac-GMC in Redwood City, Cal.) to remove them.
No “regular gasoline” burning truck – this Jimmy High Sierra Heavy Half was a California spec LM-1 350 4-bbl that swilled unleaded. Worked hard – my Dad kept it in pristine condition until he decided to sell it in 2004; some guy who was a gardener bought it (he now lives in Mesa, Arizona). I wanted to keep the Jimmy “just like it was” although yours truly would’ve put 2 1/2″ duals on it. Had dog dish jimmy wheels on white painted steelies.
Can anyone help me to find out what year Chevy regular Cabs will fit on my 1978 Chevy Chassis?? (Fenders too…) My son and I flew out to Phoenix and drove back to MA a beautiful 1978 Scottsdale 4X4…. Long story short…. Deer ran out in front of the truck on a rainy nite…… Truck rolled onto roof……! No one hurt but now we have to replace the cab…. both doors…. front fender…..
I have found a cab from the early 1980’s… in perfect shape… but don’t know what years will fit our ’78……..
Appreciate it!! and Thanks!!
73-87 are the same cabs
When I was just a lad in the late 1970s & very early part of the ’80’s, my family & I lived literally on the prairie on 5 acres of land in a splitlevel home about 10 miles east of Cheyenne, WY. Dad was doing union construction on a gas powerplant. Our 3 closest neighbors, I can still remember their last names at least to this day; Hahn, Marshall & Johnson, all had Chevy pickups of this vintage. All 3 were distictively different, but similar in at least 2 ways; all were 4wd longbeds. Hahn’s was a Scottsdale trim in gold, Johnson had the lower end Custom Deluxe in bright red w/white bumpers: but, he also had a brand-new 1979 Lincoln Versailles tucked away in the garage that rarely saw daylight. That may explain the cheaper truck. Marshall had the mac-daddy of them all; a fully loaded Silverado with power assists for locks & windows, cloth seat, cruise & air, finished in an attractive two tone of teal green with light green center, Truck Rallyes, white letter tires & dual exhausts. We all got to ride in this truck when Dad’s Dodge D-100 spun a rod bearing as he tried to free it from a snowy ditch. Mr. Marshall kindly took us home & then took us back to town next day to buy groceries. I have fond memories of these trucks from just that experience alone.
Hmm that blue scottsdale belongs to my dad…
This generation Chevy truck had the worst vent windows. They just weren’t big enough to grab any air when fully opened.
Considering that the full-size Chevy truck of the late ’70s was offered in four trims, much like the full-size Chevy cars in the late ’60s, that Scottsdale is no Bel-Air on the outside. That’s a well trimmed truck for being the second from bottom model. GM was not stingy with these vehicles.
A friend’s father in ’78 worked for a gasoline distribution company. His normal company car was a ’78 Buick Park Avenue. For reasons I don’t know, he’d occasionally leave the Buick at the office, and bring home a loaded Silverado pick-up.
I rode in that truck a few times, and even at 14 recognized a potential game changer. A spacious, loaded cab with power windows, AC, you name it. It somehow called out to me in a way the Park Avenue did not.
Apparently, the idea has called out to a few other Americans as well.
These trucks have almost disappeared in the past few years; I guess rust has gotten most of them, even in a relatively low-rust area like mine. The updated ’81-’86 versions are still relatively common; wonder if those were better galvanized or if they’ll all do a disppearing act over the next few years too?
There were still lots of them through the 90’s and past the turn of the millenium though. Two of these were driven by troop leaders for my Boy Scout troop, the entire time I was associated with the program (’89 to ’96). Mr. Corriher’s was a real work truck–Custom Deluxe, white painted bumpers, dog dishes, big brackets for carrying ladders, white camper cap, in a very 70’s bronze color. You could tell this was a truck that worked for a living and had the scrapes and wear to prove it. Not exactly sure of the year, ’77 to ’79 by the grille insert. Mr. Coleman’s was at the other end of the spectrum–’79 Silverado with lots of chrome, the attractive road wheels, royal blue paint with a color-matched bed cap, bed liner, and in beautiful shape well into the 90’s. You could tell this was a vehicle he took very good care of. Both hauled gear for us to camping trips, but one tended to be loaded a little more carefully than the other!
For some strange reason these were also built RHD and sold new here they were about 30k or double the price of a new Holden ute for no discernable extra utility they cant carry any extra weight legally nor tow any extra weight, Survivors are around mostly utes that were kept as personal transport rather than had hard working lives.
I have remarkably similar memories, except substitute the Chevy truck for an ’87 Izh 2125, Middle America for the agricultural region of Altai Krai in southern Siberia, the year for somewhere in the late 90s, and the fishing for mushroom hunting in the woods.
My grandpa’s trusty and battered Izh (Moskvitch liftback manufactured at the Izhevsk arms factory famous for AK-47s) was his only car he ever owned, bought new just prior to his retirement, and prior to the collapse of the Soviet union. Less than 50k miles on it, but it was in pretty rough shape owing to the disastrous conditions of the “roads” out their way.
Anywho, my grandpa with his coke-bottle glasses and very un-old man-like driving tendencies would always be getting an earful from my grandma anytime he failed to avoid a big pothole (of which there were many) on the drive home from mushroom picking, me and my cousins piled into the back seat of the old pack-horse. I heard words come out of my sweet grandmother’s mouth that I never expected, not in front of a bunch of little grandchildren anyways “You old asshole!” and my granadfather would grumble some response in return.
What these Izh 2125s look like:
Would love to hear more of your stories.
Great story, Jason involving a series of truck I have a love/hate relationship with. And as trucks were not quite acceptable with the country club set just yet, many did go years without a major redesign. People bought them, and just used them when needed. It was not uncommon, at least around here, to find a 20 year old truck, with 50k miles or less, for next to nothing up to the mid 1980’s. 2WD of course.
Love these trucks. Still want one of this vintage – pre-1980. Doubt I will see one in the wild ever again in northern Ohio. I like this era of reasonably sized pickup trucks – before they became the steroid-injected monsters sold today.
My 76 Chevy Pickup. Fairly sparely optioned as it was to be used to haul things for the old Edwardian we were rehabbing in Lafayette Square near downtown St. Louis, Factory name for the color was ‘Grecian Bronze” but. friend Laurie, niled it better with ‘Burnt orange” others called it Terra Cotta. had the plaind print bench seat interior The shell was used for excursions to the Farm along the Cortuois River near Steeleville (pronounced correctly as Still-ville) A good dependable truck. never a complaint, and she did as asked a whole lot better than the Audi Fox I also owned at the time. That thing couldn’t haul wallboard worth shucks. But it did make a better impression on dates than a dirty pickup.
Bought a 305 auto equipped ’77 Silverado back in ’86. She was a bit abused at the time, had 130k or so IIRC. Beat that truck to death and with one exception it never let me down, the trans blew up one day merging onto the freeway but I blame myself, not the truck, for that. Sold the old girl with over 300k on her, still miss her.
You really had to be there when these were released new to grasp what a game changer they were .
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They rust even in Los Angeles , poor rust proofing and tin foil sheet metal but they’re damn good trucks .
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BTW : GREAT story Jason =8-) .
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-Nate
I remember that some of these trucks had bumpers that were apparently installed at the dealership with the name of the dealership and the city the dealership was located in embossed into the back of the bumper. I haven’t seen one like this in years.
My dad has about a dozen of these trucks in varying conditions. Here’s a Flickr album with pictures of them (and a few Fords he has as well). Everything pictured here is for sale. I tried to get pictures of the floors of the cab so you could tell how rusty they are:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/watuzi/albums/72157651398666582
My dad had a ’79 GMC Sierra, no options except the 8′ box, step bumper and AM radio. Worked it in his glass operation and it doubled as the family car for most of those years up until 1986 when my mom got a new Plymouth Horizon. Going from the 3-on-the-tree truck with armstrong steering to the Horizon my mom drove it like it was a Lotus. That truck had to have its’ rust repaired and a new paint job twice between 1979 and 1986, and the step bumper had to be repainted annually.
As I recall, most of these Chevy trucks had bent hoods due to their un-oiled hinges.
It was a design flaw. There was no prop rod, instead the hood was held open by spring loading and to close it you needed to slam it with enough force to overcome that, usually by the leading edge which is the point of maximum leverage. You couldn’t just release it and let it drop.
The hood itself being basically flat, there was also a weak spot in the understructure about halfway along the sides. Prior generation Chevy trucks and Fords up to 1979 also had spring-loaded hoods but those were domed and didn’t kink as easily for that reason. Neither did such hoods on Brougham Era cars with creases in the hood leading back from big neoclassic grilles.
Noticing the option list on Albert’s truck I see no power steering? Granted I’ve owned pickups without it, but I was always on the lookout for a way to convert, on a budget..
One big thing here for me is the list of submodels. Before GM named the current Chevy truck “Silverado” I could have sworn I recalled 4 different model names. I’ve even searched a bit, not too much I’m not really PU fan, but I was sure. Well, pretty sure. And here they are, listed both in the text and ad,
Custom Delux
Scottsdale
Cheyenne, and the current name for all,
Silverado.
I wasn’t going crazy. Well, maybe that’s still up for debate, but I was right on the PU names.