I like to keep an eye on pickup truck prices as I’m still amazed at the popularity that they have amassed over the last ten years or so. Early ’50s Fords, as well as those made in the late ’60s, are always a hit but there’s also a big movement with ’67-’72 Chevrolet & GMC half-tonners too. Today’s find fits that latter category, a 1971 Chevrolet C-10 long bed. It’s a bit “distressed” but it’s still worth giving it the once-over. Residing in Silver Spring, Maryland, this two-toner C-10 is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $2,800. There is a make-an-offer option too.

Have it your way is how Chevy offered up its light truck fleet for ’71. There were three different wheelbase sizes (115″, 127″, and 133″), three different lengths, three different carrying capacities – half, three-quarter, and one-ton ratings, and two body styles, a Fleetside, such as our subject truck, or a Stepside. In our case, we have a half-ton, 127″ wheelbase frame supporting a 98″ cargo bed.

Mechanically speaking, as with so many Chevy trucks from this era, this one originally sported a 250 gross HP, 350 CI V8 but it was given the bum’s rush somewhere in the past and it’s now relying on a 283 CI V8 of unknown provenance. The seller tells us that it’s wearing a 350’s cylinder heads and feeds itself via a Holly four-barrel carburetor. It’s a non-smoking runner, three-on-the-tree style, but according to the seller, it’s not a stopper, “left caliper sticks, right rear drum/hardware missing“.

This truck is claimed to be a top-of-the-line Cheyenne trim (that explains the front disc brakes) and that package included the optional two-tone paint scheme, chrome plated front bumper, full cab carpeting, a nicer than standard-quality vinyl upholstery with full foam support, color-keyed headliner with bright trim, stainless foot pedal trim, dual horns and appropriate badging. Bucket seats and a center console were available but the original orderer of this truck decided to ixnay that option. Regardless, rust seems to be the order of the day, 51 years after the fact. The seller adds, “Truck is obviously rusty throughout the body, but the frame is good with just surface rust and no rotted cross members (see pics). Suspension arms are rusty also but look reusable with new bushings/paint“. What’s not shown is the cargo bed, I’d be curious about its condition.

The inside is rather ratty – bare rusted floors, rotted through in places and patched with some sort of hardware store patch panel, and a bench seat that gives you an up close and personal of that Cheyenne full foam support. No worries about a split dash pad as the entire thing is missing. Beyond these observations, it’s difficult to discern much else. Of course, the good news is a C-10’s cab is a rather confined area so it doesn’t take much to return one to its original clean and functional condition.

The price for this truck, and the seller’s willingness to negotiate, are what originally caught my attention. In spite of this being a long bed version, there’s still a steady demand for these “Action Line” trucks regardless of size and carrying capacity. Now that I have seen it in the steel (and rust), I understand the ask. If so inclined, I’d probably keep looking, how about you?d