There are two types of people in this wild, wonderful, wacky world.  The first are truck owners, who are God’s chosen people.  The second make up the rest of the planet, who must make occasional pleas to truck owners for assistance and are, for all intents and purposes, at their mercy.  While I understand that some people just don’t have the room, the rugged spirit, or the funds to have a truck as an extra vehicle, you non truck owners need to climb on board.  A truck is one of God’s most useful gifts, and He even provides them at all price points and all manner of shapes, sizes, and colors.  Our feature truck, a 1986 Chevrolet C10 out of Cleveland, Tennessee,  was a formerly loved Tennessee Highway Department highway star.  For ye of little truck faith,  it is now for sale on craigslist with an asking price of just $2,150.

Right now, Chevrolet “squarebodies” are fairly hot on the collector market.  This body style, made from 1973 through 1987, has begun to attract more interest as earlier Chevrolet and GMC trucks have climbed out of the price range of a lot of truck enthusiasts.  While the boxy styling is not universally appreciated, they have quite a lot of fans who have fueled an amazing aftermarket for these trucks.  Nearly any part you want can be purchased new, and there is not a junkyard south of Nome, Alaska that doesn’t have at least one or two of these sitting around slowly being stripped of parts.  They are super easy to work on, and they are one of the most useable collector vehicles you can purchase.

This orange highway hauler has a lot going for it.  First off, the mileage is super low for a 31 year old work truck.  The odometer reads just 74,500 miles.  While it may have gone around once, I doubt it.  I’ve looked at and driven a lot of high mileage cars, especially when I worked for auto auctions over summer vacations in high school and college.  One of the things you can use to judge the actual mileage on a car is the wear on the steering wheel and brake pedals.  These are wear items that are usually not replaced, no matter their condition.  In the picture of the interior above, it appears that the steering wheel isn’t worn too slick, and the rubber brake pedal cover hasn’t been worn down to the point that the metal pedal is showing.  Add to that the overall condition of the body, and you have a reasonable chance that this the correct mileage.  The only downside is that it was likely a lot of short trips with a lot of entering and exiting the vehicle, as the seat covers have obviously seen a lot of moving butts.

Under the hood is, of course, probably the most respected engine on the planet: the Chevrolet small block V-8.  This one is a 305, and it is backed by an automatic transmission.  Once again, the aftermarket options for a Chevy small block are mind numbing.  You can simply clean this one up and add some chrome here and there, or you can go wild adding go fast goodies to it.  However, if your budget allows, it can be replaced with a crate motor, and the options can range from a good, streetable 200+ horsepower engine to a 500+ horsepower monster so you can go out at night and hunt Mustangs.  The only major downside to this truck is the lack of air conditioning from the factory.  However, the good folks at Vintage Air can set you up with an all new system, or you can scrounge the junkyards to find the factory components to upgrade it.

Looking deeper, there are some good points and bad points.  On the good side, the cab corners, which are the Achilles heel of these trucks,  look to be solid.  Also, for a work truck, the body looks to be fairly dent free.  The only major ding is on the tailgate, but aftermarket tailgates are available if you can’t find one at the wrecking yard.  One of the negatives is the condition of the interior.  The bench seat desperately needs to be recovered, and the dash needs to be re-capped.  The door panels look like they could be re-dyed, and the floors are covered by a simple rubber mat that would be easy to replace.

All and all, this truck is a great value for either a beginning collector or a collector that could use a truck.  Although it is a long bed, which are usually not as collectible as short beds and step sides, the truck is a great combination of practical and cool.  If I bought it, I’d clean up the interior first.  Then, I’d repaint it and make it a hot rodded semi-replica of a Tennessee Highway Department truck.  Dropping it down a few inches, bolting on a set of Corvette rally wheels and raised white letter tires, dual exhausts with glass packs, breathing on the motor, and an airbrushed logo on the doors would make this an awesome show truck that I could use to grab parts for my hobby cars or run to the Home Depot in.

You poor, truck deprived souls know you want it!