This 1980 Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale Pickup would be the perfect vehicle for anyone who needs to tow a heavy load. It wouldn’t matter if you were towing a car trailer or a camper, this is a vehicle that has the muscle to take such tasks in its stride. It is now looking for a new home, so you will find it located in Manheim, Pennsylvania, and listed for sale here on Bring A Trailer. Bidding on the C-20 has reached $4,900 at the time of writing.
The Chevy cuts a dashing figure finished in the combination of Orange with Polar White on the top and incorporated into side stripes. The panels and paint present well, with no signs of any major defects or dings. Rust isn’t an issue, because this Pickup is as clean as a whistle. The owner provides an enormous catalog of photos, and they demonstrate just how clean and solid the whole vehicle is. The bed has to rate as close to perfect, and it would be a shame to just start throwing things in there. My Ford pickup is fitted with a plastic bed-liner, and those things are worth their weight in gold. If I owned this, that would be the first thing that I would buy for it. For those of us who are vertically challenged (short), the fitment of aluminum side-steps is a welcome addition. There are also signs of a receiver hitch hiding under the back of the Pickup, and this is supplemented by an electric trailer brake controller in the cab.
Speaking of the cab, it looks pretty good in there. The red upholstery on the bench seat is free of rips and tears, and only shows a bit of creasing on the outer edge. The dash pad and door trims are literally brand new, while the floor mat is generally quite good. There is some wear showing, but at the end of the day, this is a work-horse, not a trailer queen. In fact, this is a vehicle designed to tow those trailer queens! The seatbelts also show some dirty marks, but I think that these would clean off quite nicely. The dash looks good, and in addition to the trailer brake controller, a welcome addition is a neatly-fitted aftermarket AM/FM radio. While the C-20 hasn’t been loaded down with luxury equipment, ice-cold air conditioning, cruise control, and a tilt wheel will all combine to make life that bit more pleasant out on the road.
There’s no point having a vehicle that aspires to be a tough towing pickup if it is a mechanical wimp, and that simply isn’t a problem with this Chevy. What it packs under the hood is a 454ci V8, pumping out 210hp, but more importantly 340lb/ft of torque. This should ensure that the C-20 is capable of towing some pretty heavy loads, and I have seen these tow some pretty impressive fifth wheelers with ease. Backing the 454 is a 3-speed automatic transmission, while power steering and power brakes make light work of the whole towing experience. The Scottsdale has received a bit of TLC in recent times, including a new fuel tank, new rear brakes and wheel cylinders, new valve cover gaskets, an oil change, and a tune-up. The result of all of this hard work is a Pickup that runs and drives really nicely. In fact, if you check at the bottom of this article, you will find a video clip that confirms this.
This 1980 Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale is a great survivor pickup that would appear to have many years left in it. It seems to be well-suited to fulfill the role of a strong tow vehicle but contains enough optional equipment to allow the next owner to undertake those sorts of chores in comfort. That sounds like a pretty decent sort of combination to me.
Orange? Looks red to me. I can’t imagine an orange vehicle with a red seat.
Really clean truck! It should bring a decent dollar to the seller.
Please DON’T install a plastic bedliner in this!!
They trap moisture & dirt between the liner & the bed & thereby promote rust.
You’d be much better off getting the bed Rhino-lined instead.
This is a good looking, mostly original truck. As far as a plastic bedliner, it can be removed for cleaning. Rhino lining is pretty much permanent, can’t be removed, and takes away from originality.
Agreed, RTS. I’ve had a plastic bedliner in my ’95 F150 for 20 years. Easy to remove so you can hose out the bed and while it’s out I make sure the drain tubes are clear so water can drain away. The bedliner also protects the bed from dents, especially the tailgate which can take a lot of abuse from heavy objects. I would never Rhino line a pickup; it’s ugly and you can’t slide stuff around on it and like you pointed out it would be difficult to remove if you wanted originality.
This C20 is a really nice truck, perfect for towing duty, but not a truck you’d want for a daily driver unless you just don’t care about the fuel bill. I’d lose the running boards, I never cared for them and think they are unattractive. If you need a boost getting into the cab, a small single step looks better.
I had a plastic bed liner installed in my 91 Toyota when new. Seemed to do a good job protecting against dents but when I pulled it out one day after a few years – there was no paint left in the bed, it was all rubbed off.
great tow vehicle if you can stand the 6-8 mpg. Ask me how I know!
Seller has added some 250+(!) pics of his truck, still there’s NONE showing the spid label! That should’ve given us the answer as to what color it sports. I have every brochure for ’73-’80 Blazer; I’d believe colors available for regular trucks would be the same and the closest match would probably be Carmine Red?
IMHO the ’80 squarebody is the last of the great ones before being increasingly cluttered with more plastic and of course different ‘devices’ for each year… Like the color coordinated floor mat instead of carpet – so much better for a work truck
I owned a 79 ..it was 1 of my favorite trucks
Nice to know that its 6 to 8 mpg
I was sure that the distance to fill up was calculated by the foot …
Haven’t we seen this one before ?
Every now and then I see Delta III running boards or other accessories on trucks from this period. I designed these running boards and the bracket system and I owned a portion of the company. It’s fun to see.
This truck has always fascinated me.
Does anybody know why Chevrolet used this front end only in 1980 and only on the upscale trucks?
It seems like a waste of money to design something and only use it for some of a one year model.
Miguel, It was a 99 cent upgrade! A square headlight bucket and Plastic trim. If I remember correctly, the core support and center section of grill are the same. I believe the turn signal lenses from a 79 to an 80 are the same.
Partially right. Square headlight radiator support will interchange with round headlight versions but I may recall there are some brackets that must be transfered. Grill is unique for ’80 and identical for both versions. Latch, center section and grill brackets are identical ’77-’80 for all models. Same for moldings, though ’80 has no center molding. HOWEVER; turn signal lights are unique for square light models as well as the lower grille panel( the panel between grille and bumper).
Square lights came on the posher models for ’80, probably to introduce customers to the coming style of the 80s squarebodies. The lamp itself and bucket are same on ’80 and ’81-’88/’91 single headlight trucks
Not as plush inside as my ’78 GMC Sierra Classic C-35, but the Scottsdale trim is one step higher than the base Custom Deluxe. Seller mentions new door panels in the ad. A shame the restoration companies do not reproduce the Scottsdale door panels, Just the base trim and top trim level panels are reproduced. Scottsdale panels have a chrome inset around the portion that has the door latch handle and window crank. Love the stuffing out of these trucks. Mine has been the symbol of reliability, never lets me down. The 454 is great, as is the dual tank option (thanks, GM). :) New owner will be happy with this beautiful 1980 Scottsdale.
If I didn’t already have my 77 GMC C-25 Sierra Grande and 78 K-35 High Sierra, I’d be all over this! My 77 has the 454/TH-400 combo with 3.73 gear ratio. The 78 also has a 454, but, I replaced the original 4 speed with a NV4500 about 10 years ago, hoping to pick up a few m.p.g. I only gained about 1/2 m.p.g. though. The 78 also has 3.73 gears. If this truck was mine, the first thing I’d do is take those running boards off! Not that they don’t look nice, or serve a purpose, it’s just that they collect dirt, salt etc. and grind it against the sheet metal, therby promoting rusted rocker panels. The other thing I’d do to it? YES, I WOULD have the bed Rhino lined. Plastic liners are fine for those that like them. Personally, I don’t like heavy objects sliding around back there, and, I don’t have time to pull out a plastic liner every few weeks to clean the junk out from under it.
My 2018 Elantra Value edition weighs 2,811 pounds and the engine produces 147 horsepower. So it and this Chevy C-20 should be pretty even in a straight line. I wonder if the C-20 will give me 42 MPG in return (rated @ 37, but I can beat that on a regular basis).