I don’t often find American old trucks down here in Central America, and I’m actually rather glad when I do. Even if they suffer from the peculiar customizing locals tend to do. But well, what can be done about it? Nothing. People just gotta be people. And with that, let’s see what’s been done to this old C-10.
Those local flourishes are often a mix of strained finances and well, trends. Tribal designs were the ‘thing’ for a good part of the ‘aughts and appeared all over the place around here; from cars to tattoos. I find them unnecessary in this old Chevy, though the body is straight enough for me to imagine it without.
Of course, there’s the whole gamut of additional oddities that slowly add up. The blackened grille is an acquired taste, particularly with the hand-painted white letters. Some of the cosmetics are handmade as well, like the side markers. I’ll give a pass to those. After all, they are the result of old Chevy parts not being common here.
We also have the odd mix of tire sizes, rims, and more. We can go on if we nitpick. But what can’t be denied is that someone is putting effort into keeping this one alive and in running form. So, at least it’s still on the streets and looks like it will remain so in the near future.
Have I mentioned that I love these old Chevy trucks? The clean and purposeful lines of these old C-10s make for some of my favorite trucks. That said, the short beds were the ones I liked the least, as they gave them a big-head look. But overall, I can overlook such matters. I prefer one old Chevy truck to none at all.
It’s not so noticeable in the photo, but that’s more hand-painting in those rear letters. That’s a lot of devotion and love. Even if misguided, such efforts deserve some admiration.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Chevy C10 – Fifty-One Years Of Service? No Sweat
Curbside Classic: 1972 Chevy C-10 – The Justified And Ancient Highwayman
Curbside Classic: 1971 Chevrolet K5 Blazer – It Redefined The SUV Genre
I may lack appreciation for the artistry, but it is nice to see such an obviously well cared-for truck still serving.
I love these too, I had a 1969 C/10 stepper just like it in the base color Forest Green .
It’s amazing this one still lives as these rusted out even in Los Angeles .
-Nate
I will always have a fondness for this body style Chevy as we had a couple or three on our farm all through my childhood. Ours were in the distinctive white cab over safety orange color scheme of the local electric cooperative where my grandpa and dad bought them at auction when they were retired from lineman duty. They soldiered on tending to cattle and corn for another decade or more once they got to our place with nary a complaint, and they afforded me the opportunity to perfect both my square bale hay stacking and grassy pasture donut technique.
All of ours had 350 CI SBCs, wonder what is powering this example?
Just recently I saw a truck very similar to this. I think my favorite feature is the cutout in the left fender for the spare tire. It’s an eminently practical design, not subject to the mud and rust of the typical under-bed spare tire carriers. But at the same time, I find it visually appealing and thoughtful, in a way that suggests that the designers and engineers worked together peacefully to create this solution.
There are still quite a few of this vintage Chevy, along with similar age Fords, in my town both playing and working. But the Chevys seem to be almost all Styleside, often 8’ bed, while more Fords are Stepside and/or short bed. Is that the case in other parts of the US and Canada? And is it just a random thing, or does anyone know how original production.sales figures for the two brands and bed styles compared?
Dman :
Those shorties with side mounted spare (and a few long bed stepsides as well) were typically farm or ranch trucks that operated off pavement ~ no one wanted to crawl underneath the back of th truck on a muddy / cow plop covered dirt road to access the spare tire .
When we drove our step side rig to town the in town boys jeered at us, knowing we were farmers…..
Now it’s a big deal, trendy and popular .
-Nate
To drive the point home even further: When the Jeep Gladiator came out, its narrow bed was called “Thriftside” and its wide bed “Townside”.
There you go .
-Nate
It seemed to me that as the ’70’s approached the step side became the stylish choice of the trendy buyer. The long beds were always better for actual work, 8 ft. 2x4s and other construction materials would fit in the closed bed. The step side was evolving into a “lifestyle” vehicle, many were customized with wheels, paint, and lowering springs. In a lot of ways these replaced the muscle car for a lot of young guys. My Dad bought a new black ’75 Chevy step side and it got a lot of compliments at the time. Truckin’ was a thing back then. The featured tribal version would fit right in.
A man and his truck, it’s a beautiful thing.
It is still a cool truck
My Dad owned nothing but stepsides….He had a 1950 F-1 pickup, two 1965 F100 former US Air Force shortbed stepsides and then a 1985 Chevy C10 shortbed stepside….I still have the ’85 parked in the yard awaiting restoration and I have had a number of people stop and ask if it is for sale. (Nope, not for sale)
I’ve never understood the stepside thing. I get that they can look kind of cool but it’s got to have a huge impact on utility, which is unacceptable (to me) in a vehicle that exists to be useful. Yes I know many trucks are never trucked (I just made that word up), but like a fake styling feature it’s inauthentic. That said, the only stepsides that really gets me is the second generation S-10 version. From behind it looks like someone replaced the bed with one from a much smaller truck.
@ C.E. ;
That’s because you’v never worked a step side daily ~ the steps are to help loading and unloading and they’re *very* helpful .
-Nate
That makes sense, thank you.