Said to be a Texas truck with a clean Texas title, but located just Northeast of Denver, this solid-looking 1979 Chevrolet C10 short-bed pickup looks like a great project. With a little work, this could be a really nice little truck. The seller has it posted here on craigslist in Commerce City, Colorado, and they’re asking $9,600. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Mike F. for the tip!

This square body needs some tinkering to make it a reliable daily driver, but with a 305 V8 and 4-speed manual, not to mention being a short bed, it would be fun to own. Kudos to the seller for taking a variety of photos, including exterior 3/4 shots, a couple of interior photos, and even an engine photo. That doesn’t happen all the time with craigslist ads. It looks like they’re fans of Chevy trucks, with that second-gen stepside in the background, very cool. I believe this truck is Mariner Blue and Mystic Silver and the seller says it’s solid overall, but does have a bit of rust starting to show up here and there.

The third-generation C/K-Series (C = rear-wheel drive, K = 4WD) Chevrolet pickups were made for the 1973 to 1991 model years for most markets, and customers could get the sleek Fleetside design as seen here, and also a Stepside model with a fender side bed. Four-door Crew Cabs were also available on some models, but oddly, Chevy never offered a SuperCab or Club Cab model with extra space behind the front seating area, so I made one. I like it!

The short bed design is all the rage now for those who don’t use a truck for their work or business. They provide more than enough hauling space for most humans, and are a bit shorter, and they just look cool. You can see that this one can even haul a second-gen truck in the bed. Just kidding, but that’s one crazy optical illusion! That long shifter is connected to the four-speed manual that sends engine power to the rear wheels on this half-ton C10, and it looks pretty nice inside, other than some cracking on the vinyl of the driver’s side bench seat. Fabric is much nicer than vinyl for the Texas heat, even though this truck is now in Colorado.

I hope the air cleaner is there, but this is Chevy’s 305-cu.in. OHV V8, which came along to help with MPG. It had 160 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque when new. Watch for camshaft lobe wear on these engines, and the seller says it runs and drives but the engine could use some tinkering in order to run well, like rebuilding the original carb (or replacing it?), and the usual stuff. Hagerty is at $5,200 for a #4 fair-condition truck and $15,600 for a #3 good truck, and the seller is just about halfway between those two numbers. How much would you pay for this C10 4-speed short bed truck?