If you are like me, you are quite partial to pleasant surprises. This 1965 Chevrolet C20 Pickup delivers, because beneath its faded exterior beats a heart of pure gold. The new owner could leave it untouched, although returning it to a factory-fresh look would be straightforward. The seller has listed the C20 here on eBay in Fort Worth, Texas. A solitary bid of $10,498 is below the reserve, but with plenty of time remaining on the auction, that situation will probably change.
Chevrolet produced its First Generation C/K truck series from 1960 until 1966. Our feature Pickup emerged in 1965, and regular readers won’t be surprised to learn that I really like its appearance. Seeing vehicles of this type and vintage faithfully restored is wonderful, but there is a quiet elegance about them when they retain their survivor look. The Light Blue paint is faded, with plenty of wear through and surface corrosion. It demonstrates that this Pickup was used as its creators intended, and not that it is a trailer queen. One of the attractions of this beauty is although there is corrosion, there is no penetrating rust. Therefore, preserving the vehicle in its current form is a valid approach. It is worth noting that it features new headlights, taillights, and turn signals. The glass looks excellent, and the sparkling Silver wheels add a wonderful contrast.
Lifting the Pickup’s hood reveals the first surprise for potential buyers. The owner has returned the engine bay to a spotless state, presenting the 292ci six at its best. This classic’s exterior might be largely untouched, but plenty of TLC was lavished on its drivetrain. The six should comfortably produce its factory-claimed 170hp and 275 ft/lbs of torque. The power feeds to a 4.11 Eaton rear end via a Muncie 319 three-speed manual transmission with overdrive. The buyer may have more power and torque at their disposal because the engine inhales deeply through a Weber 38 DGAS carburetor and a Jack Clifford intake. The spent gases exit via split headers and a dual exhaust. Those aren’t the only upgrades, with the Pickup featuring power assistance for the steering and front disc brakes, while the aluminum radiator should effectively keep this baby running cool. Add a new fuel tank, lines, a rebuilt driveshaft with new U-joints, new rear end bearings, and a new water pump into the equation, and it appears that this old workhorse has no mechanical needs. There is no information provided about how it runs or drives, but the recent work suggests that the news should be positive.
The “wow” factor with this Pickup continues when we focus on its interior. It is spotless, with fresh paint, a new seatcover, and a new rubber mat on the floor. The steering column received a rebuild with new bearings, and the gauge cluster was also rebuilt. It features upgrades that would have been the stuff of fantasy in 1965. The vintage-style air conditioning should keep occupants cool on hot days, while the retro AM/FM stereo provides tunes on the move. The overall presentation means that this interior needs nothing.
It will be fascinating to gauge your response to this 1965 Chevrolet C20 Pickup. Would you leave it as-is, or would the lure of a cosmetic refresh prove irresistible? I wouldn’t change a thing, because it offers some wonderful contrasts in its current form. More importantly, do you like this beauty enough to submit a bid or two? I would like to wish you luck if you do.
I like it!!! I love the fact that they kept the 292 straight six with a 3 speed manual and overdrive. Lots of torque and at a low RPM should make cruising around effortless. 410s are deep enough to get it going if it has some weight in it, and the overdrive will help keep that 292 from screaming at anything above 45 mph.
If it were me, I’d paint it. But thats me, the truck looks solid as it is, and who knows, maybe I’d just keep it that way too.
Really nice truck!!!
Terrific ride, but that’s a truckload of money that they’re asking for it.
Just after HS, ’74-’75, I had a room mate that wanted an old pickup. We set out for farmland USA,( 50 mile radius) stopping at everybody farm we came upon. Farmers are such friendly folks, most said no, nothing, but one farmer said( pulling suspenders) yep, gots an old Chivy in the barn, I swear, it looked EXACTLY like this. It was buried under a ton of stuff, got it out, gave the farmer $100, and dragged it home, got it running, yeah, you could actually do that then. Certainly a different world.
What a nice truck! Love the 292 and the tasteful upgrades. The overdrive saves the day with those 4.10’s. Fresh paint would round it out nicely, then put this truck to work.
I’m partial to this truck because of the 100 plus vehicles I’ve owned over the past 50 plus years, the one I drove the longest was a truck almost exactly like this. Had a Reading service bed on it, full of tools and with the coil spring suspension rode (almost) like a Cadillac. Drove it from AZ to CA to NV for over 10 years from jobsite to jobsite. Really hard to beat these, it’s a shame they didn’t continue with the coils in the rear
Good luck to seller and buyer…
It’s listed for $34,995 on their website. There are a lot of really nice vintage trucks you can get for a fraction of the price.
Steve R
For something the seller is calling restored I’m seeing a lot of RUST I know some people call it patina I call it needs paint otherwise looks like a decent truck
My first pick-up truck was a ’66 C10. It had a 283 V8 and a three-on-the-tree. It was 9 years old, had about 70K on the odometer and got around 15-16 MPG. It cost $550. My mom bought me an aluminum camper shell for it.
Mine had the coil springs in the rear as well. I wish it had had leaf springs, as it seemed to sag easily. Maybe I overloaded it or perhaps an earlier owner did. :) I drove it for two years and added 20,000 miles. By that time, the valve guides were wearing and it was using a lot of oil.
I traded it in 1977 for a new ’77 F150 4×4. Sticker on the Ford was $6300 and the dealer gave me $1300 trade-in value.
In my opinion the builder has nailed it! Who needs an LS when you have a near 300 cube torquey six ………………
I had a C10 way back in 1978. Rust bucket was an understatement. The floor rotted out right where the cowl meets it. I had to stuff a plastic bag there because the front tire would spray up water inside. The 230 had the distributor mounted low and when you drove through a puddle it would drowned out the ignition. Once I had just put a brand new muffler on it the day before. next day it poured rain with giant puddles all over the roads. I was coming home from work and went through one of the puddles. Distributor got wet,truck started missing, and then KA POW!! The backfire blew my brand new muffler wide open on the seam. Not to mention the truck died and wouldn’t re-start. Had to wait for the rain to stop so I could pull off the distributor cap and dry everything out. But, i still love these trucks! lol