This 1976 Chevy C20 has been a loyal servant to the deceased for practically its entire life, now its time for someone to give it a new purpose. This truck has a good story but the condition and low mileage are what make it stand out. According to the ad, this truck was used by a small town cemetery to transport caskets to the grave site. With only 11K miles, this could be the most pristine ’76 C20 in existence. Find it here on eBay in Gardiner, New York with bidding up to $15,200 at the time of writing.
The ad doesn’t say exactly how long the current owner has owned the truck, but the seller says he has only put around 1,000 miles on it in the past few years, I would assume he purchased it from the cemetery. The flatbed was probably installed when the truck was new, I think it is more likely this truck would have transported the vault for the grave; usually the hearse is responsible for transporting the casket. Regardless, this truck is nice!
Look at that interior, it’s amazing! The ad makes the bold statement that the truck has never spent a night outside. This is a C20 work truck so its nothing fancy inside. The truck is not equipped with A/C or a radio but it does have power steering and power brakes. One interesting thing is the truck is equipped with a PTO that the ad says was factory installed, I assume that is what the red knob is for and the operating instructions are on the visor.
I wonder what the PTO was used for, it could be for a tilt bed but it looks like the bed is fixed to the frame. Speaking of frame, it is rust free and like new with the factory paint markings still showing. The Hawaiian Blue paint is original with only a few scrapes and dings. The white bumper and wheels look nice with the blue and the seller says the hubcaps were still in factory packaging behind the seat when he got the truck.
The truck runs and drives like new according to the ad, it is equipped with a 350 and a 4 speed manual transmission.With only 11,000 miles, it still has a lot of life in it. This truck would be great to own and put to light work while still maintaining it in the current condition. Bidding is strong on this one, it will be interesting to see where it ends up.
11k miles and it certainly wasn’t driven at high speeds with that cargo!
Cemetery Finds!!!
To die for .
Last ride.
I dig it!
I’d love to have something along the likes of that, but in a dually format. Had one before, and had sellers remorse.
I would buy it, drive it slowly, with one hand out the window ringing a bell while I announced “Bring out your dead!”
About the only place you’d find a truck like this. Probably an inch of carbon on top of the pistons and the clutch disc is down to the rivets.( probably original brakes, tho) I’m still trying to figure out what the pto does. As mentioned, it does look like the bed is attached to the frame, although, a dump bed would make sense. My square-body Jimmy doesn’t look this nice.
Are you saying that with a dump bed they could just back up to the grave and dump the casket in?
For ‘Outstanding Performance’ as an extra in TALES FROM THE CRYPT. Seriously though, a very nice truck! I’d take this truck home and use it while trying to look after it like it’s been looked after. For a yard truck it’s rather overpowered. A can of CLEENS down the carburetor would be the first thing, followed by a good high speed run to blow the carbon out. 11K miles in a light load environment could bring some negative reactions. I had a customer who was fanatical about the way he maintained his vehicles, his farm equipment, and his farm, for that matter. When you drove into his yard he would follow you with a rake to put the gravel back in place. You had to go to the neighbor’s to find a stick to beat the dog with. Anyways he had a ’65 Chevy 3-ton truck that was in showroom condition, like this one. He decided to trade it in on a new GMC 6500. We had a list of buyers for the Chevy but the first in line got it. Less than 10K miles on it (in 1977) and the new owner didn’t make it through the first harvest before that pampered 327 dropped a valve. When we tore the engine down the valve guides were so loose that you almost could’ve stuck (2) valve stems in the same guide. The carbon on the pistons was unbelieveable. The block wasn’t damaged and surprisingly enough, neither were the heads (broken spark plug and a tiny dent beside it). Replaced a piston, fixed the heads and re-rung it, and the truck is still in use today. But that’s often what happens when an engine isn’t put to WORK and kept up to temperature.
At least it’s second go ‘round for sale on eBay. Saw it months back. Never met reserve.
Dead truck walkin here
Don’t they drive the coffin from the funeral home to the cemetery in a hearse?
I cannot imagine a line of cars following this thing with their loved one aboard.
PTO….maybe snow plow ? Always got to love some dress up paint on those low mileage wonders….
The puns you guys made! You’re all terrible people! Having said that, I would like to take the C20 out for a spirited drive.
You have a ghost of a chance as many people are dying for a ride in this truck.
If this truck could talk it would say; I see dead people, Lots of dead people.
Take it out on Halloween with a friend in the back dressed as the Grim Reaper.
As the current owner of the truck I appreciate all the comments but would like to clear a few things up. Yes I am the second owner of the truck and I purchased it directly from the cemetery who purchased the truck new. The PTO gets lots of questions and apparently I should have been more clear on its purpose. The bed does not dump. But it probably would not take much to convert it. The PTO was actually used to power the hydraulics of a small crane that was used to lift the caskets from the bed and than gently place the casket in the grave. The small crane was towed by the truck to the grave site. The crane is still in use today with a new truck purchased by the cemetery.
The logistics of transporting the deceased is not the same with every funeral home and cemetery since most have their own procedure. But as it pertains to this truck the way I understand it is a hearse was used to transport the deceased from the hospital to the funeral home where they would perform their process. Than services would either take place there or a hearse would again transport casket to a church for services. After services from either location a hearse would bring the casket to cemetery. Once at the cemetery the truck is used to transport the casket to grave site in advance for a service and than come back to place casket in grave.
The truck basically never leaves the cemetery grounds except to fuel up etc. As the the engine carbon comments I understand what you mean but as an engine builder with over 40 years experience you left out some important facts. The 1965 Chevy 327 you reference would have started life burning leaded gas for many years. Leaded gas burns slower and dirtier than unleaded. All those years of burning leaded gas contributed greatly to the carbon build up mentioned. This 76 Chevy was designed for burning unleaded gas which burns cleaner and faster. The truck runs perfect and I have driven it on 100 mile round trips without issue. I hope this clears a few things up and if anyone is interested in the truck send me an email.