One of the greatest attractions of classic Pickups is their inherent versatility. They can carry impressive loads, work effectively as tow vehicles, and some find themselves fitted with a camper for holiday adventures. This 1972 Chevrolet C-10 features a Service Box that lifts its versatility to a higher level. It could make a great shop truck or an excellent candidate for the right person to fill with tools when towing a race car to the track. The seller indicates it remains largely original and is in excellent mechanical health. The C-10 is listed here on eBay in Cedar Crest, New Mexico. The bidding has raced beyond the reserve to sit at $18,000.
The seller indicates this C-10 has spent its life in New Mexico, which has a climate perfect for preserving classic steel. However, it can also exact a high toll on paint and trim, but that isn’t the case with this gem. The seller states that apart from a minor touch-up, the color combination of Ochre and Frost White is original. The vehicle has never undergone any restoration work, and the overall condition suggests it has spent its life sheltered from harsh UV rays when not plying our streets. The paint shines beautifully, and any defects are insignificant. The previous owner drilled holes to mount a hood ornament and other items, but filling the holes would not be difficult. Unsurprisingly, this C-10 is rust-free, with the supplied photos revealing nothing beyond the occasional spot of light surface corrosion. The previous owner fitted a hitch receiver, and this classic’s mechanical configuration should ensure that it could be put to good use. The trim looks excellent, as does the glass.
Powering this C-10 is the ever-reliable Chevrolet 350ci V8, while the original owner selected a three-speed automatic transmission and power assistance for the steering and brakes. With 250hp and 350 ft/lbs or torque on tap, the small-block should provide impressive performance for a vehicle of this type. It also means that hooking a load onto the back of this Pickup shouldn’t cause it to raise a sweat. For buyers seeking a turnkey vehicle, this one delivers. It rolls on new tires, with the seller saying it runs and drives perfectly. This fifty-one-year-old Chevy has a genuine 41,000 miles on the clock. Considering the drivetrain’s bulletproof nature, I can see no reason why it couldn’t still be rocking along happily when it clocks up a century of active duty.
The original owner ordered this Chevy trimmed in Parchment vinyl, and it presents quite well for its age. There are a couple of small tears on the driver’s seat, but nothing that compromises the interior’s serviceability or would require immediate attention. The painted surfaces have a few marks, which are consistent with the Pickup’s age. The seller replaced the wheel, window levers, and floormats. Otherwise, it remains unchanged from when it left the factory. I’m surprised the original owner didn’t order it with air conditioning, but the pushbutton AM/FM radio should relieve boredom on long journeys.
If I hadn’t hung up my helmet a few years ago, I would find this 1972 Chevrolet C-10 Pickup almost irresistible. The hitch receiver would have allowed me to tow my race car effortlessly, while the Service Box would have easily accommodated my tools away from prying eyes and the weather. That still left room between the boxes for spare wheels and other items required to operate independently. That is only one use for this classic, and I’m sure our readers can devise many more. It will be fascinating to read your ideas and to see whether any see enough benefit in this classic to join the bidding war.
That is one good looking truck. A short bed with utility. It’s almost too nice to use it for its intended purpose though. The vehicle I learned to drive manual transmission was a 70 Ford truck with a utility bed. 3 on the tree and that was not an easy truck for beginners. I laugh about it now but pulling out on a hill with all that weight behind you if you didn’t modulate the clutch just right it would lurch. It would cause you to lurch and that would telegraph to the throttle and clutch. The cycle would continue until you could depress the clutch. That was quite a ride and a low point for my pride.
alphasud- yes, pride does take a hit. I was 14 when I “learned” on my uncle’s three year old ’72 C10. He was in a mammoth Case and my cousin in a Massey Ferguson, I followed in the truck through a dry slough in South Central Saskatchewan, wheat country. I couldn’t get it launched so I floored it and popped the clutch. Went three feet high and three feet forward. Landed square on a rock.
I was mortified. He chained it to the tractor and hauled it to the Quonset hut. Jacked it up, we crawled under. He made me hold the three speed while he took the bell housing off and hammered the dent out of it. I think he had a smoke too, and a laugh at my skinny trembling arms before he crawled back under and put it all together again. Lost 60 mins. Good thing it wasn’t harvest.
It’s, it’s, it’s just so beautiful
One of my best trucks I ever owned was a1981 long box chev with a three on the tree and the very reliable 250 ci 6 cylinder. It was my light duty work truck and it never let me down. I would love to own the 72 beauty pictured above! With 41000 miles it will indeed serve them well!
Jim
Nostalgia, that’s what this site brings….here’s mine. I grew up in a town of less than 1000 people and the youngest of 6 children and I was an oops (my niece was two years behind me in school). My dad worked for the local telephone company and this ride was the first work truck I remember him having. Though we lived in town, we had a small barn that was getting rather dilapidated. Dad cut some of the main support posts with a chainsaw then pulled it down with the truck….it was like 1976 or 77, I was like 4 or 5 at the time. With the number of running starts he took to topple that barn over, I thought he was going to pull that truck in half.
And,,it has the poor persons cruise control!! I don’t mean to continually pick on younger folks, but I can’t imagine anyone today knowing what that was. What I think this was, due to the color, was a dealers service truck, more than likely Caterpillar, and old Fred, the chief mechanic, drove this truck exclusively. NOBODY drove Freds truck. He took it home at night to insure that. When Fred retired, he offered them to buy the truck, and here it is. Trucks like this generally led a rough life due to the conditions and places they went, but typically low mileage, as they didn’t go far from the dealer. I think it’s a great find.
Grandfather bought these every 5 years either chevy or gmc with 292 engines, he had a lot of room in engine so put in big cooler for food and ice. No air, no radio, just plastic floor utility body . He destroyed them, this is rare in beautiful shape.
What a rare bird! Ochre reminds me of my DuPont single stage paint days, it seemed like ochre was used in many formulas
Totally agree…Nice looking truck. But the price…I laughed out loud.
What am I missing here guys?
Be the first guy at your local cruise with a utility truck? Maybe a hot rod shop truck? You’re certainly not loading 5 gallon buckets of drywall compound on this truck.
Hey, look at it this way: The utility-box cabinets give you the storage space that buyers later looked for in a stretch-cab or four-door cab truck.
Plus you still have the load space; and with a bit more privacy than with a low-sided conventional box.
That would have been a great truck to find in a reasonable, non-classic used market, back a decade or so ago. Today? It’s worth the money because people will pay it. Which means it’s silly and wasteful to actually use it as it was designed.
Regrettable pass.
The price seems high to me, but nothing surprises me with the popularity of these trucks. I would put a bed on it. I see them shortened all the time, I would assume it would be much easier to just switch it out. However at 18 K that might not make sense.
Joe I’ve read enough of your comments to realize you’re not dealing with a full deck, but then neither am I. Anyone that would remove that utility be for a regular bed??? There’s plenty of trucks with regular beds, but few with a utility bed. Very cool truck.
God Bless America
I wish I saw this truck 20 years ago when I was in business for myself even 40 years ago I would have jumped on it. Beautiful truck!!!!!! If I had $18 K today I’d be sorely tempted.
Wow this truck really seems to bring back memories for a lot of us! For me, it reminds me of when my Dad first tried to teach me how to drive a stick. It was on a 67 just like this but painted hunter green. It was a 6 cylinder with the floor mounted 3 speed stick. I had my learners permit so, Dad decided not to try letting me learn out on the road. Instead, the shop he worked at had a private road that connected the offices to the service shop. One side was just open the other side of the road had a chain link fence along it. He had me drive from the offices to the shop. Mid way between the two, was a sharp curve. I was doing pretty good but was about to shift into third and the linkage started to bind. I panicked and looked down to try to figure out where the gear was and went straight through the chain link fence right at the curve. Fortunately nothing was on the other side. At that point my Dad said,”Just stick to an automatic.” Years later he would tease me about this incident whenever I’d buy a manual shift vehicle. What I wouldn’t give to hear him tease me now.
I had a 1970 C20 long bed. It passed around a few family members before I got. When I got it it had a SB 400 with 202 heads, headers etc. It came from the factory with a Dana 60 rear end with a full floating rear axle. Pain to do the brakes but was bullet proof.
Why do I love be this truck so much! It’s so awesome!
I worked for a Utility Company in the late 1980’s and they had a whole parking lot of ones just like this. When they reached a certain age or 75K miles they would auction them off and maybe get $1K each.