Shortbed Stepside K10's Wow ~ We used to have some K10 Stepsides back on the Farm , who knew they were so rare ? . I certainly didn't . Hard to find now I imagine . Thanx John .
4X4s are really hard to find, used and abused on farms and ranches. In late 1972, our local Chevy dealer had a '72 K20 leftover from a cattle farm order. Plain white with a four speed, white painted wheels and dog dish hubcaps. I begged dad to buy it, he didn't. I remember because the lot was full of 1973 models. I couldn't understand how Chevy went from the 1972 body to the 1973 body. Must have been a new crew in the design dept. John, I wish I could buy from that menu today!
Speaking of rare...look at the K10 panel production numbers! That reminds me.....I know a fellow near Douglas, AZ that has a rust free, running 48-53 (not sure which year) K10 Chev panel van that was one of the AZ Border Patrol 4x4's from way back when. It is real cool. I walked around it once in about 2003 and asked if he wanted to sell it. "NO" was his quick answer. I'll visit friends in that "neck of the woods" next year and check with him again. It still had the Border Patrol signs.
Oh the fun I could have with that here in Colorado... pulling up in front of businesses that hire illegal aliens
4 X 4's Steve ; As much as we all love the '67 ~ '72 series , by late 1972 they were not selling so well and in truth , GM cheaped out really badly and they were plagued with QC and rust out problems from day one . The 1973 " Square Body " series was a huge smash hit and remained extremely popular for far longer than the previous series did . Odd when you look back but that's how it was back then . Our Farm K10's were both (IIRC) 1963's , one was a blue & white step side shortie and t'other was a black & white Suburban with clam shell rear doors . Both had 250 6 Bangers , the Suburban was rigged with a snow plow ~ the floors were rusted out in three years , when riding shotgun I had to keep my right foot firmly against the A Pillar / Toe Board to prevent snow & slush from hitting me in the eye ~ that truck was where I got my first taste of frostbite , my right foot froze to the floor . Timbertop Construction Company logos on the plywood sides on the pickup truck . They had 16" split rims too ~ one broke on the pickup once just as we turned off the main highway and we went down the rather steep embankment .
I can remember when the '73's first hit the scene. I thought U-G-L-Y and you ain't got no alibi... you ugly. I still think the square bodies are the worst design GM has ever done for a pickup. Looks like a 3rd grade art project. And as for rust... GM put companies like Ziebart on the map. My dad's '72 C20 rusted so badly that the rear trailing arms eventually failed and those 3/4 ton coil springs drove the trailing arms right down into my grandfathers driveway. By that time the rockers were gone, as were the floors, the seat belt mounts, as well as all the steel around the wheel openings on the rear fenders. But that 4 bolt main 350 and the rest of the drive train was still going strong. Contrast that to today... my 2002 Toyota Tacoma today, in 2015, has no body rust anywhere. The rear chrome bumper did rust though, which I did fix myself.
...rusty Chevys... I had a '77 K10 short bed that I bought in 1979, I think. It was Ziebarted new and I took it in for annual checkups each year. About 1984 it started showing rust in the forward cab floor supports. The local Ziebart store manager informed me the warranty would only cover "externally" visible rust through. Also, the limit of their warranty would be refund of original rust treatment. My dad has had a '67 C10 since 1968. It is still sitting in his driveway, but, in very bad shape. The trailing arms have both been welded up by my brother. Not only that, the FRAME rusted clear through over the rear wheels and he welded diamond shaped patches on those spots for dad. I took real good care of my '77, but, by 1987 it was rusted so bad, a large dog could have jumped through the floor boards. Pretty disgusting. As for the design, it looked like they took a large bar of soap and carved out some square wheel-wells and said we have our new truck design. I can, however appreciate the guys who have them now and restore or modify them. They were the last REAL heavy-duty 4X4. And, John, I bought my kids a Toyota 4-runner to drive to school. 230,000 miles, 4-cylinder, does not use or leak a drop of oil.
