With a great look and a surprise hidden under that faded hood, this 1965 Chevrolet C-10 Stepside has an 8-foot bed. That isn’t super rare to see, but if it were a 9-foot stepside bed, that would be rare. I’m betting most buyers would prefer the 6.5-foot short bed for a stepside. This one is listed here on eBay in Midlothian, Texas, and they’re asking $16,000. Thanks to Curvette for the tip!
The seller refers to this as a farm truck, and there are a few little dings here and there, but there is said to be no “rust-through,” so that’s great news. They have included fantastic photos, including several underside photos showing how solid it is. Those underside shots also give a few glimpses of the upgraded parts and pieces on this patina-heavy former farm truck.
Chevrolet offered three bed lengths for the Stepside in 1965: 6.5 feet, 8 feet, and 9 feet. This is the mama bear size, not too small, not too big, just right. As with a lot of things in life, the middle option is often the best. Just ask Goldilocks. Here’s what the bed looks like inside. The first-generation C-Series rear-wheel drive Chevy pickups (and K-Series 4x4s) were made for model years 1960 through 1966. Check out this 1965 Chevrolet pickup PDF from GM Heritage, but don’t blame me if you spend too much time on it when you have better things to do. The C-series starts on page 24. Here’s an actual brochure, and another one that also shows heavy-duty trucks, vans, and El Caminos.
The steering wheel and AC vents are the first real giveaways that this C-10 Stepside is a bit of a restomod. This one has power steering and power disc brakes, very nice upgrades. The seller mentions the air-conditioning system as being “Antique Aire,” and maybe some of you have heard of that? I can’t find anything at all listing Antique Aire, Vintage Air is the company I know about. The rest of the interior looks bone-stock to me, other than the carpet and blanket seat cover. They say “Dash is functional but needs new gauge cluster and wiring connected but Speedo and triple gauges work.” I love the added console; that’s a nice touch, but I’d rather have a 4-speed sitting there.
This truck originally came with a straight-six, but it now has a big-block 396-cu.in. OHV V8. The biggest V8 available for this truck in ’65 would have been a 327 with 220 horsepower, and I’m guessing this 396 has much more than that. The second-gen Chevrolet pickups offered a 396-cubic-inch V8 producing 325 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque. Maybe it’s from that era? With an automatic transmission and a column selector in place of the original 3-on-the-tree, power is sent to the rear wheels. They say it still has the original rear-end, so it’s geared pretty low, but that could be changed. Any thoughts on this ’65 “farm truck” with a 396? Would you have kept it original, or do you think these were nice changes?
Nice truck and nice upgrades too. Although I’d have no problems with the original six and a stick though. Looking through the links Scotty posted ( thanks Scotty I always enjoy that) it’s quite funny how the 292 six had more Net HP and Torque than the 283. Probably why we see so many old Chevy trucks with the 292 in them. Looks pretty solid overall.
Same here on a straight-six and 3-on-the-tree, Dave.
Yep, drove my grandfather’s ’65 stepside to school – 6 cyl, three-on-the-tree … he sold it for $100, after I replaced the starter I had borrowed from it for my ’63 stepside … forty years ago they were just used farm trucks …
I always prefer stock, but I also like the upgrades in this case. I have never seen a 60/66 that the lower front fenders in front of the doors was not rotted out, that says a lot about the rest of the truck. I like it!
( 9′ bed was ton only)
Excellent point on the 9-foot bed, Jim. I should have mentioned that. Thanks much!
Teenage Jr got tired of the old 6 and made him a hot rod to drive around the farm.
Having A/C in one of these would make me the King of Hicksville!
Great looking driver with nice colors. This would be a blast to drive around, a little bit more of a blast with a stick.
I could say that again!
Ha!
Great looking driver driver with nice colors. This would be a blast to drive around, a little bit more of a blast with a stick.
Somewhere between 1982 and 1985 I don’t for sure what year as I drank a lot back then one of my brothers drug in a crashed in the front 65 or 66 chevy half ton. What was notable about this truck was that it looked like it was a factory AC truck. When I first looked inside the truck I saw the automatic shifter on the column and then I saw the round dash vents for the AC. I looked at the heater controls and it was showing AC, looked under the hood the condenser was still there in front of where the radiator was with a line going back to the big heater/AC box and I knew that was a rare truck. I asked Dave if he got a title with that truck and that he should at least keep the cab of that one because it is rare, plus it was a solid cab. Nope, it got shredded, now that I think of it rare does not mean desirable
Those were the days. I remember when trucks like this were lined up in front of the old coffee shop and the stories abounded.
Back then the six dominated the scene. And if you ran a 292 you were really stepping up. I started to see more V8s by then but they were confined to the 283 with the remote possibility of a 327 showing up.
Automatics were rare and 4-speeds not quite so rare. Three speeds led the pack.
It’s interesting how things changed after that. By the time the ’67 models rolled out, V8s and automatics were commonplace with the sixes slowly drifting back into second place.
I had a customer with a fully deluxe ’65 Chevy with 327 and Powerglide. It also had 2-tone paint, chrome bumpers and hubcaps. One of the coffee row regulars back in the day commented about it with a great deal of disdain, then in ’69 he bought a fully loaded one with a 396 and A-C.
That deluxe ’65 with the 327 is allegedly still around the country somewhere, I’ve been told. I often wonder what happens to those old trucks; where they’ve been hiding. A spring farm auction comes up and suddenly, there it is, in the front row…
In 1972 I bought a 66 C1404 with only 52k. Heavily optioned from the factory: 283,PG,PS,AC,Custom Panoramic cab, side mount spare, bumper guards. It made its rounds through the family for 24 years until I did an off-frame in 96. Estimated mileage at the time was about 700k. Wonderful truck, I lost it in a divorce in 99, she did it out of spite. Still breaks my heart. Surprised no one here mentioned the Panoramic cab on this one, a very nice example here.
Bet one can tow a load of hogs with that one.
An uncle had one with the 9′ bed, 292 and 4 speed. That was a hauling pickup.
Must had extra springs on the rear since it sat so high.
Nice truck my dad had 2 a 64 and a 66 but I just can’t understand why these owners try to keep it original and they change out the steering wheel, REALLY, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE ORIGINAL?
My neighbor had a 63 GMC and back then they only made trucks…it had a 60 degree v6 motor 305 cu.in. and 4 speed in floor non synchronized 1st gear…usually took off in second…we would drink beer and ride out in the fields behind where we lived and I remember it was hard to get stuck because it would lug instead of spin. The plugs were inside on top of the heads instead of down by hot exhaust. I loved that old truck of his.
Sweet looking truck. My late grandfather owned a 1965 Chevy truck. It’s been so long ago that I can’t remember whether his was a Fleetside or a Stepside.
Listing update: this one ended with no takers at the seller’s $16,000 price.
Back in the 80’s when I was in the Air Force in Texas, For $850, I bought a 1966 Chevy pickup just like this one. I repainted it gray with a white top, put wide Corvette tires with accompaning white snow mags on it. It had a manual on the floor and I loved that truck.
Thank you for your service, Steve.
Big block in a shortbed pickup, Heck yes!
If I had the money and someone to share the experience with, I’d love a mid 60s Chevy truck. My favourite is the C20 or C30 truck.