At first glance, this 1978 Chevrolet pickup seems like a pretty solid survivor, however, the ad description tells a different story. Undoubtedly, “Square-Body” Chevy trucks have recently become even more popular than they were. Located in Newbern, Tennessee, I’m guessing someone will snatch up this truck for a restoration project. It can be found here on eBay with a buy-it-now price of $12,000 or you can make an offer. While this truck would have probably commanded only a fraction of $12,000 a few years ago, I don’t think the seller isn’t too far off from the actual value. Take a closer look at this truck and decide for yourself what you would pay for it.
The engine may be the best part of this truck. The ad says that it is a 350 cubic inch V8 that has recently been rebuilt. New parts include an aluminum intake, 650 cfm carburetor, long-tube headers, HEI distributor, and aluminum valve covers. The 350 transmission that backs up the engine has also been rebuilt. The seller says the front driveshaft has been removed due to fitment issues with the headers. Hopefully, and easy solution can make this truck a real 4×4 again.
The bed has undoubtedly had some use, but it doesn’t look overly abused. I wish the owner would have cleaned it up and power-washed it to allow prospective buyers to see it fully. It looks like there are some A/C components or power steering parts in the back.
The floor plan appears to be pretty solid. The seller does say that the rockers are the biggest rust issue. After this photo, there was a new bench seat installed along with upgraded gauges. The door panels and dash look painfully brittle. Luckily there are a ton of aftermarket sources for replacement parts for this generation of pickup.
Overall, this seems like a pretty decent project. The vintage graphics and two-tone paint are a classic combination. What do you think of square-body Chevy trucks?
This reminds me of a Mud truck that I seen down south during the Redneck get togethers. Where they drive in puddles of mud ,loud music, girls in bikinis and plenty of beer!! Good old American fun!! Good luck to the next owner. 🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
What’s up with the hood??
Looks like it’s bent up in the middle!
Yup common problem with these trucks we used to buy a kit to reinforce all the new trucks we outfitted
Because nobody kept oil on them
@Bart, Common problem with square bodies, hinges get stiff and the hood are weak causing it to bend.
I’ll be very curious as to what a few screwballs with more money than sense will end up paying for this $3500 truck. 🤦🏼♂️🤯🤷🏽♂️
Yes EXACTLY! Square body rust body piles of mud no 4 wheel drive. And the 350 lmfao power of a V6 mileage of a 440 6 pack. What a joke!
Exactly. I think it’s an outrageous asking price from what I can see from photos.
Needs a new hood. I’d say it’s the sellers responsibility to “remedy” the drive shat header problem. In buying this one “watch what you wish for.”
I love these trucks, both my step(real)dad and dad had them when I was growing up. Yes they rusted in southwest Pennsylvania but name a vehicle that didn’t. I learned to drive stick in both of their trucks, because neither of them would have one with an automatic. My step(real)dad had a ‘79 Blazer with a 305/4 speed and an ‘83 long bed 305/4speed. My dad had a ‘78 GMC dump truck with a 350/4 speed and later an ‘85 1500 with the vortec V6 and 4 speed. I started learning how to drive stick on all 4 of them over the years until I turned 16 and finally got my learners permit.
My point being- these trucks were basically bulletproof, great looking trucks that definitely weren’t fancy nor luxurious but they were real trucks that people used for work and play. My stepdad took me hunting and fishing in his Blazer and we never got stuck, my dad had a tree trimming business and none of his trucks ever left him stranded.
This one looks good from the outside, but once you see it up close it’s clear it needs a lot of rust repair before it could be considered a $10k+ vehicle. Twelve grand for this one is extremely optimistic, especially with the bulging hood and rocker panel rust-through. As far as the bed is concerned, I’d probably just spray it with some rust converter and throw in a bed liner and call it a day. The interior looks like hammered sh** and needs a ton of work before it can be seen as nice, it needs an almost complete rebuild to bring it up to spec. If the seller wants $12k for it and expects to get it, he or she needs to do a whole lot of work and restoration to realize that amount. I’d love to have a square body Chevy, but not this one and definitely not at this price.
Who would give up the 4wd to have a set of noisy leaky headers? Absurd! The problem with the hood is people grabbed them & pulled them straight down. You are supposed to push them back & then down. The brace kit will probably mostly straighten it out.
Otherwise, not a bad truck, & someone else apparently thought so too since they hit the buy-it-now.