To say that the third-generation Chevy and GMC pickups are hot is like saying that we live in somewhat of a volatile and polarized political world. These are the “it” pickups right now and this 1978 Chevrolet C-10 Silverado is also a short bed and it had a monster 454 under the hood. The seller, in Lynnwood, Washington, has it listed on eBay with a current bid price of $3,500 and the reserve isn’t met.
The name “rounded line” given to this generation of squared-off pickups seems counterintuitive to me. I know that wind tunnel testing was done and all of that, but going from an actual rounded line pickup, the pervious generation, one that was.. you know, round, to a square one and then calling it rounded seems strange to me. Sort of like when you pretend to like your wife’s cat instead of telling her what you really think. Well, it’s probably nothing like that at all, come to think of it.
A disclaimer about the seller’s description, they don’t seem to use much punctuation so hopefully this makes sense: “the truck has never been in any accidents clean title very straight it dose [sic] have rust In the usual places with the worst being on the bottom of the fenders and the bottom of the doors the door jambs are nice and clean”. Whew, I’m exhausted. It does look good and we all know that every part and piece of these pickups are reproduced in any number of catalogs and online suppliers. Hagerty lists a $22,500 value for a #2 excellent condition truck so keep that in mind during your last minute bidding frenzy.
There aren’t any overall interior photos which is unusual. Maybe they didn’t have a camera with a wide angle lens at the time they were taking the interior photos, who knows. The parts and details that are shown look good, even this seat which is always the least of anyone’s worries when buying an old truck. A blanket cover or a new seat cover is as easy as making with the clickety-click on the computer and badda-bing, your new cover is being delivered. Are you ready again? “the interior is in great shape except for the seat carpet is nice the dash has been covered since new and is in excellent condition Door panels are very nice has the original steering wheel has RPM Gage it has factory Tilt wheel rear sliding Glass rally wheels am-fm stereo roll down windows I have the factory Build sheet”.
Ahh, the ol’ top-of-the-air-cleaner-turned-upside-down trick, chief – in my best Don Adams/Maxwell Smart voice. The seller just bought this truck from the original owner a few months ago and they have too many other projects so they won’t have the pleasure of tweaking and detailing the heck out of this big 454 cubic-inch V8. They say that it “Runs Great very quick with no hesitation lot of pick up and go power No mechanical issues. engine and transmission was rebuilt 5 years ago by the original owner it has only been driven less than 20,000 miles” The 454 had about 205 hp in this era so it isn’t exactly a crazy tire-burner, but it probably wouldn’t take a lot to turn it into that if the next owner wanted even fewer MPG. What’s your top dollar on this 454-equipped Silverado?
Ha! Keep ’em comin’, pal. At least a fair price, and about what I’d ask for mine. And I beg to differ, I think this 454 will spin that back tire, like you were on ice. That’s another thing, with no cap, gonna get stuck going downhill in the snow, as is. (The guy included tire chains with mine) Lot of weight up front. Gas mileage couldn’t be any worse than my 350. I have 2 tanks also, but am afraid to switch it over, I can just see that being a problem and can’t afford to fill them both anyway. I like the truck, but I guarantee, the gas mileage will bum you out. If it was 4 wheel drive, at least you’re getting something for the poor mileage. Thanks again, Scotty. I wouldn’t sell mine for less than $3g’s now, seeing these. They really are non-existent up north, and guys would love to have one again. Typical of “up north” trucks.
https://photovault.com/data/comps/VCZ/VCZV01P06_10.jpg
How about a consensus.
Is the 454 a positive selling point in this truck, or a negative one?
I don’t see the use for the big heavy engine up front in a short bed like this, other than tire smoking which doesn’t happen very often.
It’s a positive selling point, in that these are becoming collectable and the 454 has to be a somewhat-unusual option in a basic shortbed truck. A big engine will always get more attention and interest, even if it may not make much practical sense.
I imagine very few buyers would be looking at this as a potential daily-driver or work truck, considering how many better (and newer) options exist out there. The next owner will likely be a collector or hobbyist.
I would see it as a positive selling point… especially given the amount of rust living in this one, it needs to redeem itself somehow. My ’71 F100 is a big block truck, and although I don’t often fry the tires…that I easily can, makes me feel better at the pumps.
No doubt, a positive. The 454, even in it’s castrated form, was, and always will be, the mother of all gas motors. Like I say, the gas mileage isn’t much different from the 350, and nothing gets you over the hill like cubic inches. The tire smoking thing was just a reference to the 454.
I think there is significantly more rust on this truck than the seller is showing. He seems to have carefully selected his pictures to minimize the trucks problems. A quick look at his completed sales show detailed pictures when it suits his needs. His feedback doesn’t inspire confidence either.
A wise bidder should be very disciplined on this one.
Steve R
I was thinking the same thing. I have had a few of the “square body” GM trucks, and I do not like what I see on the fireall seam just behind the distributor…
I was thinking the same thing. I have had a few of the “square body” GM trucks, and I do not like what I see on the firewall seam just behind the distributor…
We had one of these when I was 16 growing up. It was a GMC and a lot nicer than this with a trim and camper package.
First off it would absolutely light the rear tires up, even with a trailer. It was even worse when I switched out the intake, cam, and carb, and then switched the restrictive exhaust manifold for headers. All for better efficiency of course. Driving like a normal person I could get 14 to 15 MPG, but I think I averaged about 8.
It towed well and I hauled many a racecar trailer with it.
Having said all that, and while it was a good truck I don’t really want another. A more modern truck with a vortec is just better for hauling and trucks older than this are just better looking for styling.
Really ? These late 70’s 454s couldn’t get outta couldn’t their own way!
Reason for rear wheel spin it was all loaded up in the front and nothing in the rear.
Neither could anything else at the time. Dad had a ’78 Suburban Silverado half-ton with the 454 and a locker rear axle. Dealers couldn’t give those away at the time, so he bought it new for a song right as the ’79s were coming out. With all that weight and a locker, there wasn’t much hope of lighting up the tires. It would hold its own, though, against similar year small block ‘Vettes and Camaros at a stop light. Embarrassing for them! If you didn’t play stop light dragster very often, the ‘Burb was good for 11 mpg in town and 13 on the road. Not much worse than the ’75 Buick Estate Wagon with a 455 that it replaced. As i recall, ’78 was the last year you could get the half ton models with a 454.
My dad bought a new 79 GMC short bed with a 350. It got at most 14 or 15 MPG on the highway and a lot less around town. It did run great and was going strong when he sold it with close to 200000 on it.
Trailer towing package would come with 3:73 or 4:10 rear axle ratio. Very conducive to rear tire smoke and pitiful fuel mileage.
May have been low on horsepower, but still had tons of torque, and that equals tire smoke. Like all trucks they’re also light in the back end. If you want more power, they are easy to wake up with a few aftermarket add-ons, helps fuel economy too.
A neighbor had one in the late 70’s He did a lot of smokey burn outs, but he couldn’t get up his steep driveway most of the time. It had the Big 10 package and was loaded. By the time it had 40k miles on it, it would barely run. He never did any maintenance, still had original plug s and oil in it. It was sad to watch it go down hill as time went by.
If it’s original, go for it ! Even if not, consider it. The Chevy guys may answer. Don’t think the big block (454) was available in the 1/2 ton C10. Ton of HP potential whether SB or BB…
We sold a number of short box 454 powered pickups between ’77 and ’79. Some of them are still in the region. I was actually impressed by them; they seemed to have a lot more power than they were rated at. This was in the time frame when the API changed the spec on the oil and consequently flattened out a lot of camshafts. We replaced a lot of 350 and 454 cams back then, but when they changed the oil spec again, the camshaft problems evaporated. And yes, they had no problem breaking the rear wheels loose…
My new 2017 Silverado was ordered with the biggest engine, shortest box and cab, with 4×4, for hauling a bumper-pull horse trailer. I believe it has the 3:42 rear which, with nothing but me in the drivers seat, will light up the rear wheels and still register 21 mpg average from the V8 engine.
My ’79 Scottsdale, with a 305 & 3 on the tree got a very respectable 23 MPG, consistently, keeping a steady 65 MPH, and smoked the right-rear tire until the valves floated. That was a really great truck. This generation of GM pick up trucks are one of my favorite body styles. Just too bad they are so prone to rusting in all of the familiar places. Fortunately, repair panels are readily available, and inexpensive. Not crazy about the 454, unless modified to a high performance level.
I see a lot of comments about lighting the tires up. Cool yes, but if you are going to use this rig as a DD that mpg will kill you. At least it is under 4K. Oops, 7K now, no hope with dope.
As a guide, I sold my 78 GMC C20 with the 454 in it, much nicer than the truck in this listing (but not a short bed) earlier this year for $4,400.