With fewer than 50,000 miles on the clock, this Chevy pickup may have an entire second life to live! The 1987 Chevrolet C20 in Elkton, Virginia features a factory fuel-injected 454 cid (7.4L) big block V8, automatic transmission, and what looks like the 8600 lb GVW equipment suitable for towing, hauling, or simply burning the tires from a 15 MPH roll. The square-headlight square body pickup comes to market on Facebook Marketplace where a mere $1234 makes it yours. Oops; I take that back. The fine print discloses that the seller actually wants $8500. So clever! Thanks to reader Steve K. for spotting this shiny work truck.
Despite the misleading tricky business with the price, the truck overall looks solid and well cared-for. That looks like a newer receiver/drier on the air conditioning system. Air conditioning! That and the 454 will certainly get the attention of buyers who might pass over a truck from this generation. Throttle-body fuel injection works like an electric carburetor, and should prove reliable with the smooth startup and operation across broad temperature and altitude conditions that we take for granted after decades of fuel-injection.
Aside from a few dings in the tailgate everything looks nearly perfect back here. The previous owner had a goose-neck trailer plate in the bed so it may have spent part of its life on a farm. Sometimes that equals long periods of engine idling and wear beyond what’s suggested by the odometer.
The Scottsdale trim sits above the standard interior and below the top-line Silverado package. In 1987, the final year of this generation of GM pickups, the 454 could have come with the venerable TH400 three-speed automatic or a four-speed auto with overdrive, and it’s uncertain which unit adorns this specimen. A four-speed manual transmission was also offered. Thanks to GMHeritagecenter for some details. I’ve driven this generation Chevy pickup with the 454, and found it extremely satisfying, one of the first vehicles I drove with enough power to overlook the automatic gearbox. It should climb nearly any hill in third, and respond to part-throttle acceleration without downshifting thanks to the bountiful torque. Before the days of modern pickups that pack 400 HP and 800 lb-ft of torque, trucks like this did the daily work of towing heavy trailers and hauling huge loads and they got the job done year after year with few complaints. This pickup may end up as a pampered classic making the occasional trip to a home improvement store, but if you wanted to put it to work as a daily driver, you could do a lot worse with your $8500. Have you owned a tough Chevy (or GMC) truck?
with the prices that these trucks have been commanding recently, this seems like an good deal
I hate it when they put that kind of price in the header,
& the REAL asking price in the ad.I’ve seen some dealers who put “$0” in the header.I want to call & ask “When can I come and pick up the free car that you posted?”.
Looks like they used a whole bottle of Armorall
on the tires.
The reason it’s like that is because Facebook doesn’t allow you to put the price you wan,t they go by bluebook value, and believe me it’s a real pain!
When I was selling new Chevy’s in the mid 80’s, if you saw one of your sales being towed back to the dealership it was usually a failed 200 or 700 series 4spd automatic. Hopefully it’s a TH400 3spd.
The way the seller posted his ad turned me off. I wouldn’t do business with someone that sneaky.
It’s not sneaky, this is the problem, it sends the wrong impression. Facebook does not allow you to put the prices you want on certain collector vehicles because they go by the bluebook value of that vehicle. I sell on there quite a bit and this is a real nuisance. I don’t know why the policy is like that but it is.
Yes it is Facebooks fault and it is annoying, but I did figure out one way around it. If you join an enthusiast “group” for you type of vehicle and then post it in the classified section of their page you can put in the proper price and then when you go to post the ad you can ADD the regular marketplace as an option and the software will not fuss at you.
I see a lot of those adds on Facebook, especially dealers. You think WoW what a bargain only to find out it’s just the down payment.
Facebook market place adds do that crap all the time 1995 in the header get farther into the ad it’s 1995 down I scroll write past those ads now
$1234 just means you have to open up the listing to see the actual price.
Facebook automatically defaults to like a “book value” and re-inputs the price of older cars and trucks.
It’s not really the sellers fault
I see it all the time
Enjoy the day
Nice truck. It appears very clean, rust free, and worth the asking price. By the looks of the bed it appears to have had a gooseneck hitch installed to haul perhaps a horse trailer. Concerning the Facebook listing price discrepancy, I believe Facebook tries to screen vehicle values that seem out of wack based on previous similar listings. For example, I think you would have a hard time listing a Pinto for 20K even if the seller had that much into it. As a result, sellers will list the title asking price as “free”, $0, or $1234 to enable them to list the vehicle. I don’t think the seller was trying to be deceptive.
Facebook won’t let you post a price if it doesn’t coralate with there price guyed. I tried posting parts car and it wouldn’t let me do anything under 12000 for a 71 cutlass. Plus I have noticed that there are some models missing aswell.
That’s amazing the headlinerviscstill up. I had an 89 and it started dropping within 10 years…
That is in great shape.
Solution to FB problems: Don’t advertise there. End of problems.
Yes it is Facebooks fault and it is annoying, but I did figure out one way around it. If you join an enthusiast “group” for your type of vehicle and then post it in the classified section of their page you can put in the proper price and then when you go to post the ad you can ADD the regular marketplace as an option and the software will not fuss at you.
With all the other online site options for selling a vehicle, my question is ‘Why bother with FB?’ (IMHO)