Step side and a short bed? Few words have more meaning for a fan of pickups from the 1970s and 1980s. The fan base that loves vintage K10s will be all over this one (or should be, at least) as this 1977 Chevrolet pickup hails from sunny and dry New Mexico where it recently emerged as a barn find. The truck is being sold with its drivetrain in unknown condition, and the front driveshaft is missing (along with the two passenger-side windows). Still, the Buy-It-Now of just $5,900 here on eBay seems reasonable, and there’s the option to submit a best offer.

The short bed is definitely the way to go; whether you should also find a truck with a stepside bed is more up for debate. I don’t mind the stepside bed, but it can look slightly goofy from some angles. My biggest gripe is it sometimes makes the truck look older than it is, as if the rounded rear fenders belong on an early 70s or late 60s truck instead. This example has some “custom” taillights installed, which may amount to nothing more than a set of reflectors taped to the fender. Not a surprise for a truck that likely just became a work beater before short beds started attracting collectors.

The interior has clearly seen better days, and the bench seat that’s with the truck now is obviously not the original one. It does appear that the paint is at least original given what color is it inside the door jams, which amounts to a cream or white color with a black body stripe. The door panels are average and the dash looks like it’s suffering from some amount of heat-induced wrinkling. The good news is that making one of these classic short-bed pickups look like new again inside shouldn’t take much work given how many good spares are out there, along with plenty of aftermarket upholstery kits.

The seller has not attempted to do much exploratory work with the engine, simply stating that the health of the drivetrain is unknown. I realize there’s no truth to this, but I always feel like a plastic bag over the carburetor conveys at least one previous owner was doing the best that they could to protect this project truck, and perhaps even had plans to return to it sooner rather than later. If this were a clean, rust-free C10 from the late 80s in the same short-bed configuration, I bet it would have already sold by new; do you think the stepside bed is holding people back or is the price too high for what it is?