When I was a kid, the local Chevy dealer was within biking distance, and I remember distinctly when their new 1988 trucks were introduced. After almost 15 years of production, the Chevy Squarebody was practically an institution, but the rounded GMT400 was a revelation because it was brand spanking new from the tires on up, and I studied the brochure for trim variations from the basic Cheyenne all the way up to the Cadillac of pickups, the Silverado. This 1988 K1500 Silverado short bed takes me back to those days, and it’s for sale on Hagerty Marketplace in Archdale, North Carolina.
The nice thing about this K1500, which is Chevrolet nomenclature for a half-ton 4X4, is that it was owned by the seller’s father since 1990, and its condition belies the 146,700 miles it shows on the odometer. Aside from some upholstery issues, the interior looks great, and the truck is well optioned with power windows, power locks, and air conditioning.
The Squarebody’s instrument panel looked like 1973 right up to the end, so the new gauge cluster with semicircular “bars” to show speed, volts, oil pressure, fuel, and engine temperature was a welcome introduction into a new decade that was already almost gone in 1988. The radio, climate controls, and lighting controls all fell easily within the driver’s reach, and it’s hard to argue that you need much more than this in a truck even today, almost 40 years later (although an air bag or two might be nice).
The engine, too, is perfectly suited to today’s fast-paced roads. It’s the throttle-body-injected 350, which produced a healthy 210 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque in K1500 tune. This truck has a four-speed automatic, and 3.42:1 axle ratios were standard. The seller has included cold start and driving videos which both show that the engine sounds great and has good oil pressure, but I would imagine that it would take a lot to hurt a truck-spec Chevy small block.
The truck comes with a drop-in bedliner, so you won’t have to be afraid of carrying parts to the machine shop or your rental storage garage. It looks like a great place to drop a set of winter tires to swap onto your daily driver, if you drive a 2023 Challenger in the winter as I do.
The undercarriage has some surface rust, but nothing alarming.
There’s a lot to like about a 1988 Chevy Silverado. First, it’s like a new truck in significant ways; it has fuel injection, overdrive, and it is aerodynamic enough that fuel mileage is roughly the same (it’s 12 city/16 highway, maybe a bit worse than a new truck). Second, this short bed K1500 is only 194.1 inches in length, shorter than my aforementioned Dodge Challenger, not to mention any new pickup, so it will be easy to park and easy to drive. And finally, to many people, this is an “old body style,” or “OBS,” which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but makes it officially…old. Like it or not, these trucks are hot collectibles, and even though this one has some wear and tear that is appropriate for its age, it’s a well-maintained example of a truck that’s been a part of the American landscape so long that it’s hard to imagine an America without it. Move over, Squarebodies.
Related Reading
My 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: It Only Took One Drive — How Truck Life Won Me Over (by Tyler Schild)
Curbside For Sale: Showroom Condition 2001 Chevrolet Silverado – Who Wants a Nearly New 20 Year Old Truck? (by Tom Halter)
There was so much to these trucks that broke precedent in 1988. Welded modular frame design with a boxed front section, IFS on 4X4 models, rear wheel ABS, flush-mount glass and electronic HVAC controls to name a few features. Ride and handling were superior to contemporary Ford and Dodge trucks, with no loss of load carrying or towing capability. Known inside GM as the GMT-400 series, the trucks were successfully launched in the spring of 1987 with very few issues and strong sales. A GM greatist hit.
This was the less square model ? It still looks about as “aerodynamic” as my house.
More aerodynamic for the time. But considering the reduced frontal area compared to today’s behemoths, it probably has less overall drag.
It’s interesting that the square body was actually called the “round line”. And like most new vehicles, was advertised with aerodynamic properties as well.
Yeah, take a look at the truck in here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1977-chevrolet-c10-pickup-gms-deadly-sin-33-wheres-the-extended-cab/
My uncle had one of the old generation trucks and bought a 1988 K2500 Silverado truck.This then-five year old noticed it.
See my pic below… 1975, and as aerodynamic as a barn door.
What always surprised me about this generation is that it took FOUR FULL MODEL YEARS for the Blazer and Suburban versions.
That’s for sure. Anyone know if there was a reason why?
Figured they had no competition for the Suburban so why spend $$$ to improve the product when you are the only name in town.
I dont get it either, cause they didnt update the heavy duty crew cab models either until 4 years later. Meanwhile Ford kept updating the Bronco and crew cab trucks.
I also think the GMT400 was a paradigmn shift for GM from the 14th floor executives on what programs got priority. GM had spent billions of dollars in the late 70s/80s revamping their car line to just lose even more billions of dollars and see their market share collapse. Meanwhile trucks were earning a tidy profit despite almost no $$$ being spent on them for 10-15 years. GM spent A LOT of $$$ on the GMT400, it was a great truck and showed that spending $$$ on trucks was about the only way the company could stay viable. You look at GM’s car lines in the 90s and they pretty much stayed stagnat in terms of engineering or any real $$$ spent on them(c5 Corvette excluded)
Collectable or not they sure are a popular used import, that one would need laser cleaning and undercoating for compliance then undercoating again after it passed but thats not a biggie, surface rust is a nono here even on a heavy chassis rail, A guy I worked with has exactly this pickup but in green,
It’s a very handsome design and the dash is delightfully 1980s retro! Problem, I recall, is the quality of the materials used. My GM rides of similar design and age, cracked into pieces, melted and shredded. This beautiful truck needs to be garaged or it will do the same. The sun is not this truck’s friend. Love the design, just aware that the next owners will need replacement interior pieces, fabrics and carpeting. They’re brittle with age.
Great design, strong engine, but 1980-90 era GM materials will be an issue. Keep this garaged!
LMC truck makes about every single interior part for these trucks. There are a couple other companies that have a phone book thick “catalog”(I mean website) for these trucks as well.
The aftermarket parts industry is quite insane. All you really need is a chassis, a vin and a title to build one of these trucks
My employer switched from Ford to Chevy with these models. Must have been a pricing issue. The field force guys were not happy and complained a lot – especially about the gimmicky dash controls. One vivid memory of mine: I rode to a project with the serviceman who promptly locked his keys in the truck. I pulled the key to my recently acquired Chevy Corsica out of my pocket and it worked to unlock the truck. What were the odds for that!!!
Ive owned two, both white of course, I like them so much. Factory ordered a C1500 short bed Cheyenne Work Truck in ’93.
Current one is the very last production 2000 K2500, also base trim regular cab. Dash and steering wheel look different to house exploding gas (not air) bags. But, mine has the most common C6P 8600lb GVW option, so they were never installed.
350 now called Vortec 5.7, with port injection it went up to 255hp. Automatic is still only four speeds, bulletproof 4L80E. ABS is four wheel.
I’ll take a “squarebody” any day, here’s my all original ’75 GMC in Colorado, pic taken yesterday at my son’s house at 8800 ft. elevation