I’m not sure of the exact year of this 1960-66 generation Chevrolet C10 but it’s not ready to retire yet, in use by a glazier in Palo Alto. I’m guessing it’s at the newer end of the model range as it doesn’t appear to have front torsion bars, which were replaced by coils in 1963. I didn’t think of looking underneath. But it certainly has the coils in the rear, located by the visible long trailing arms. Our friends live next door and confirmed that this is a true working truck.
Much closer to home is this senior citizen surfer. Or perhaps the board is just for style although the waves didn’t look great to my non-surfer eyes that afternoon, so maybe it wasn’t worth pulling the board off the roof. I don’t know much about this panel truck version; Wikipedia implies they were only offered in 1 ton C30 configuration, but that doesn’t really make sense as I suspect many were used for light duty urban trades or delivery. Maybe it’s a converted glass window Suburban.
It was a nice day and a nice truck (in a nice neighborhood) so it deserves a second view. Only after loading this photo did I notice the small dent. But hey, we senior citizens can get away with some flaws. Enjoy!
Unlike the preceding Advance Design and Task Force GM trucks, and the Action Line that came later, I don’t think this generation had a family name. Does anyone know different?
Wikipedia is off-base, again. There were two distinct versions; the C10 that you shot here (which clearly has a C10 badge), which was just a windowless version of the Suburban and based on the swb C10 pickup. And the C30 version, which was based on the one-ton C30 chassis but had an extra-long 10.5′ body.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-snapshots-and-photography/vintage-photo-1964-chevrolet-c30-super-suburban-10-5-long-body/
The blue truck appears to be a 1964, based on the fender badge design. The panel is a ’65 or ’66.
A ’66. Per oldcarbrochures, the badge on the ’65 was up on the crest of the fender, even with the door handle. Back on the fenderside as pictured for ’66.
Think one of those “panel versions” was a “diaper service” vehicle on “Bewitched”.
The glass truck appears to be a Model C1503, which is a half-ton chassis cab on a 127″ wheelbase, suitable for an 8′ work body. Nobody offers a half-ton chassis cab today, although some manufacturers offer a “bed delete” option on half ton pickups.
Nice trucks!
Here’s my easy take on distinguishing the 1960-66 model years, non-granular approach:
1960-61: quad headlights, big vents above the headlights (1960 pictured below).
1962: single headlights with large oval bezels, vents above headlights gone.
1963: single headlights with small bezels, final year for wraparound windshield.
1964-66: single headlights continue, much flatter windshield with conventional A-pillars.
There an article about the Chevrolet/GMC trucks nicknames and seems the 1960-66 doesn’t have a nickname yet. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2021/02/18/gm-chevrolet-full-size-pickup-guide
Nice pikups those old Chevs could last forever with a drivetrain freshen every 20 years or so.
Love the glazier’s truck!
My Dad bought a used ’60 Suburban that was the same aqua and white as the truck pictured in the comments. A three row wagon with only two doors. I think that he got rid of it because my brother and I were always telling my Mom to hurry and get out so we could fold the seat and get out ourselves! My Mom got tired of that pretty quick! That Suburban had manual steering as light as power assist.