Chevrolet offered three different lengths of their Stepside bed: 6.5 feet, 8 feet, and 9 feet. This appears to be the middle one, an 8-foot-long bed. There are no profile photos to know for sure, but the seller refers to it as a long bed. This 1964 Chevrolet C20 Stepside can be found here on craigslist just north of Phoenix, Arizona, and they’re asking $4,500. Here is the original listing.
The seller has also provided much better photos than a lot of craigslist ads, so that’s nice. This is a first-generation Chevy C-series pickup, so that alone makes it pretty desirable. The dented right front fender, grille, and bumper make it a bit of a bummer, and you’ll notice a lot of other dents around the body of this truck. It’s had a hard life. I know a truck is meant for working, but dang, I don’t know how anyone can just accumulate so many dents on a vehicle without fixing anything. Luckily, pretty much every part should be available to just replace those parts. Still, once you add in door skins, rear fenders, or bodywork on those, and everything else, it’s going to add up.
The first-gen C-series and K-series 4WD trucks were made from 1960 through 1966, and some of us (me) choose these trucks as our favorite of the entire run. I prefer the GMC grille, but I would not mind having this truck if it were a bit nicer overall. This example appears pretty solid, rust-wise, and being in the Phoenix area probably explains that. But man, it’s dented and dinged up. It just looks like it was a game to see how much of it could be hit with sledge hammers.
Then there’s the interior, which looks much nicer than any part of the exterior does. This one has a three-on-the-tree manual, which is a sure theft deterrent, and it appears that the floors have seen better days. The seller gives zero information about rust or really anything else other than saying it’s all original, it’s a 3/4-ton with a straight six, and it’s a long-bed stepside. Floor pans are also available, of course, but I hope it doesn’t need them. Otherwise, this interior could be cleaned up and reupholstered in a three-day weekend.
The engine is an inline-six, as you can see, but we don’t know which one it is. Or I don’t. A few (thousand) of you know instantly by looking at it, but Chevy offered at least two and maybe three inline-six engines in 1964. This brochure lists both the 230 and 292-cu.in. OHV inline-six engines as having been available in this truck. I believe this is the 230. It would have had 140 gross horsepower and 220 lb-ft of torque, and this one is backed by the three-speed manual with column shifter sending power to the rear wheels. I’m assuming this truck isn’t currently in running condition, or they would have mentioned that. I’d restore this one back to bone stock condition, right down to white with a fawn interior, but I’m not sure how many others would do that. How would you bring this one back to life again?
After reading Scottys write up, I realized we have another thing in common. This generation, particularly the end (’64 to ’66) is my favorite generation of Chevy trucks. As banged up as this one is, if its solid with no rust, it’s definitely worthy of a restoration I’d think. A 292 would be nice too. Even if its not original. Lots of torque. It will be interesting to see what happens with this one.
If it came with the trailer then it would be worth the price asking if not PASS the needs are way to much for this truck. (Everything!)
I had a 1965 with a 283 with a 4 speed i bought in 1983 for i believe $600.00 i loved that truck. I bought that truck in May and had to sell it in August because i was getting married in Sept. turned out i needed another $500.00 more for our wedding sold it for $800.00. Back then $600.00 was a fair amount of money. Now every time we see one i say boy i wish i still had that pickup mine was also 4 wheel drive and in really nice shape.
I had a ’63 with 327 three-on-the-tree … paid $75 for it in 1981 – guy in the oil field needed the money … cracked a piston and the rod went through the block … put a 327 from a ’67 Impala SS in it and converted to a floor shift … went in the Navy and “ex” sold it for $300 … new generations won’t ever experience what we did back then …
Are the beer cans still in the bed of the truck?
Speaking for the oil field trucks of my youth, if one got a dent or a big scratch or whatever, it wasn’t fixed as long as it did not affect the operation of the vehicle. Because, next week, it might get another dent.
The best example I remember: despite the low speed he was driving, the driver got too close to the edge of a severely washed-out lease road, dropping the right-side-wheels of the short-wheelbase 1971 Ford F-100 into a couple-foot-deep, several-feet-wide ditch. The result: a slow-motion rollover. Thankfully the driver wasn’t injured. He crawled out and walked to the nearest farm house (this was long before cell phones or even CB radios) and called for a winch truck to come and pull the truck out and get it back onto its wheels. Then he filled it up with oil, and… it cranked right back up. After putting things back into the bed, he was back to work.
That truck, with its scraped sheet metal and severely dented roof, became somewhat famous in the fleet.
Thanks SG.
I think I’ve heard a similar story when I was in Jr high…Did the farmer have a daughter?
For the young people on here Jr high = middle school.
Any 3/4 ton I have seen had the 292 in it.
The 1/2 ton, one of which I owned, and was the first pickup I ever bought, had the 230 in it.
Crown, as the brochure link shows (last page), the 230 was the standard engine, and the 292 and 283 were optional.
Thanks for that. When I was growing up, these were still all over the road. Mighty popular option in my neck of the woods(NJ), because I never once saw 3/4 ton with a 230 in it. The 1/2 tons, thats all I ever saw in them. (Mine included).
One thing I always got a kick out of is how neck and neck the ho and torque ratings were between the 292 and 283. The 292 delivered its max output at a much lower more truck like rpm. Thanks Scotty for posting the link to the brochure. I love looking at them.
Great generation of GM trucks. It would be nice to know if the motor turns freely, or any info for that matter. If you’re going to be a car flipper, at least put out some effort.
I prefer the 60-61 as that was the first truck I remember my dad having. His was a GMC and I’ll always remember the V6 badge, it’s burned into my memory!
This is almost a dead ringer for the trucks the local power company used to have. They were all C-30s with the 9 foot beds. All 4-speed manual transmissions and evenly split between 283 V8s and 292 sixes. They sold off a bunch of them one year and somehow four of them washed up in my home region.
Farmers liked the heavy-duty undercarriage, and the independent front suspension made them ride just a trifle smoother. But most of all they liked the price. It seems to me that they sold for something like $750.00, which, back in the early 70s, was a good deal for trucks with around 50K miles on them. There were a couple that got cleaned up real good and then got slide-in campers put in and they would spend the rest of their lives on that highway between Cutbank and Duck Lake, or Shelby and Lake Five. Some might’ve even made it to the Flathead Valley.
The others continued their duty as farm trucks. Enough said.
This one is worth the effort. I’m a little disappointed that it isn’t equipped with a 4-speed manual and at least a 292. For a 3/4 ton, a 3-speed tends to get abused. I’m speaking from experience.
I believe that the 3 bed lengths were referred to as: “short, standard & long bed”. :-) Terry J
I can only remember seeing one 3/4 ton Chevy with a 3 speed on the column. It was a ’67. A Farmer was the original owner. From what I can remember it was geared very low. I think it was happy right around 45 mph and really couldn’t, or didn’t want to go over 50. Geomechs would know better how these came from the factory. I could be remembering poorly as well. But just remembered that old truck when everyone was talking about this one.
As a rule, the vast majority of 3/4 ton trucks were 4-speeds. The lighter 1/2 ton trucks were largely 3-speeds. I do remember a ’63 with a 292 and a 3-speed. It didn’t take long for that big six to start chipping gears in the transmission; a 4-speed soon followed. I might add that that truck is still in existence in the home town. It seems to me that after ’63 you couldn’t get a 292 with anything but a 4-speed.
Back then everything was a 6 cylinder, with the 230 being the most popular. I remember Coffee Row at the local coffee shop. Everyone was complaining about fuel economy so they all had to get the smaller engine in their pickups. I don’t think that there was a stink of a grease rag’s difference in the mileage between the two engines; or a 283 for that matter. If you got 10-12 mpg that was acceptable. Of course I remember hearing the tales, even back then, about someone driving their new car home from the factory and getting 30+ mpg. When they made it home, the car had to go in for a check over, upon which the mileage dropped to 15.
The price may be a tad bit on the high side?? But that is what dickering is for!!! If this is an original Arizona truck the under side should be OK?? Very easy to get running and being a body man’s dream not hard to restore.. If it is only a 230 with the 3 speed, not a very strong truck. As said the body parts are available for the right front corner. Refurbished / restored this truck will make someone a great weekend work horse.
I grew up with these trucks, they were everywhere along with V6 Jimmys, and Korn Binders. I never once heard anyone talk about let alone complain about gas mileage. These were not freeway flyers. They spent most of their lives on country roads or in fields. They were seldom gassed up at the local Mobile station. Every farmer had a big fuel tank that fed tractors,combines, pumps and every gas machine you can image including the Missus’ Bonneville. :-) Terry J
Good old basic truck easy to work on with the prices people are getting now days it might be worth it to bring it back as a working Truck
My first P/U was a ’66 C10, SBW Fleetside, with a 283 V8 and the tree-on-a-tree. My grandmother bought it for me in 1975 for $550. Put a camper shell on it and drove it for about 2 years. I traded it for a new ’77 F150 4×4. The Ford dealer gave me $1300 for trade-in! That Chevy had 90K on it and it needed valve sleeves.
Wish I still had it. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the coil rear springs. It did get 15-16 MPG though.
Nice looking truck. This would made a great resto project. My grandfather had one. Although I can’t remember whether his was a C10 or a C20. I was too young at the time to drive a car or a truck. I remember that it had a steering column mounted gear shift selector. I can’t remember what powered the truck, whether it had a V8 engine or an inline six. While there are some things I like about today’s trucks, comfort is important, safety is important, I also love trucks of this vintage.
Awesome looking truck. My grandfather drove one when I was little. This would make an awesome resto project. If I had the money I’d buy a 1964 Chevy C20 or possibly C30 and install a Diesel engine if there’s one that fits.