The early 1970s marked the debut of Chevrolet’s “Square Body” pickups, a design that would go on to define American trucks for more than a decade. The first year of that series was 1973, and here we have a great example: a 1973 Chevrolet C-10 Cheyenne, now listed here on eBay. Finished in Desert Sand with a Saddle vinyl interior, this nicely equipped truck comes with several desirable options and plenty of original character.
According to the seller, the truck is powered by a 350 cubic inch V8 rated at 155 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired with a column-shifted three-speed manual, a setup that keeps things simple and mechanical while still delivering the right amount of grunt for everyday driving. The truck shows just 9,000 miles on the odometer, though it’s not clear if that figure reflects actual miles or if the odometer has rolled over during its life. Either way, it’s been maintained since new and is said to run well.
Being a Cheyenne trim model, this pickup was ordered with a healthy list of factory extras. It has factory air conditioning, power steering, and a sliding rear window, all of which make it far more comfortable than your average bare-bones work truck from the same era. A tonneau cover is included as well, and the body appears to have received an older repaint, still presenting well today.
The interior is trimmed in Saddle vinyl, which looks right at home with the Desert Sand paint. From the photos, it appears largely original and shows the kind of honest wear you’d expect from a well-kept but used truck of this age. The overall impression is of a survivor that hasn’t been heavily modified or abused, which is exactly what collectors and classic truck enthusiasts are looking for.
The seller even mentions they might consider a trade for a ’32 Roadster, which gives you an idea of how they value this Chevy. With its first-year square body styling, strong-running 350, and well-chosen options, this C-10 has plenty to offer whether you’re after a weekend cruiser, a light-duty hauler, or simply a piece of 1970s Americana to enjoy.
Would you leave this Cheyenne as-is and enjoy it, or would you take it further with a fresh restoration?
Neat truck. Did dual exhaust come from the factory ? 350 must sound great when moving up and down that 3sp manual box. 👍
Dual exhaust was optional at extra cost, but definitely available from the factory.
Chevrolet lost me in 1971, when it was obvious that the bean counters were thinning out the sheet metal and cheapening the interior finishes.
The trucks were good through the ’72 model year, but the ’73s just seemed cheap and flimsy to me.
Back in the good ol’ days we sold a pile of trucks like this. A lot of them, back then, didn’t have A-C so a lot of them were traded back for trucks with A-C. It’s interesting that this one would be fairly loaded, only to sport a 3-spd transmission. That was one piece of equipment that I don’t recall ever going through our dealership. Might’ve had some 4-speed manuals but never a 3-spd.
I don’t remember if the F-44 package was available in ’73 or not; I can’t say that I saw one before 1975. Anyways, the F-44 gave you exhaust valve rotators, 4-bolt mains, 5500 lb. GVW and dual exhausts (until 01/01/79 when that catalyst demon crashed through the gate and started picking on the heavier trucks.
In the ’79 model year, if your truck was built before 01/01/79 you could get dual exhausts. However, if it was after 01/01/79, you got that catalytic converter which was about as welcome as a tax auditor at a mafia convention. I ordered my K-1500 in good time to avoid the new regs but, wanting part-time 4×4, there was a shortage of the adapters between the TH350 transmissions and the 205 transfer cases. I finally relented and allowed them to build my truck with the 203 but by then it was into the new year and I got everything the tree huggers could throw at me, except the air pump. That was OK; I completed my PDI then drove the truck directly to the muffler shop and had a set of dual exhausts built. They were actually a little better because I used 2 1/4″ pipes instead of 1 7/8.”
Anyways, this truck. I’d rather have an automatic but I wouldn’t turn this down. Of course my bad ankle might object to constant clutch use but it does that anyways…
I don’t recall that there was ever any consideration given by GM to building some trucks with the ’78 emissions package through the end of the year, but I’m certain that none were ever built that way. I ordered a ’79 GMC Sierra Classic that was built during early pre-announcement production (late July or early August) to drive to college in late August, and it had the full 1979 emissions package — cat convertor, single exhaust, NP203 full time transfer case, etc., even with the 6100# GVW — and there was no other choice.
That was definitely a Federal Emissions reg. Emission control regs (I’m not sure now) ran from January 1 to December 31, which often confused the populace. 1978/1979 was definitely a period when it was more visible than before. I worked for a GM dealer until 1984 and saw the changes every year until then.
I remember in 1998, with the Dodge-Cummins 5.9. If your truck was built before December 31, you still got the inline injection (P-7100) pump, but if it was built after January 1, you got the VP-44 electronic-controlled distributor-type pump. I had some customers stop by the shop who were rather upset at not getting the P-7100. One customer got (2) identical trucks except that they had the two different injection systems, because one was built in November and the other, in January…
This is another excellent example of the two tone treatments the ’73 -’80 had. Love that front fender line. This one is a head scratcher, I’d expect the 3 speed to be hooked to a 250 straight 6 or a 305 or 307. But a 350? I almost wonder if whoever ordered it goofed, and was thinking 3 speed with the SM 465 4 speed due to the creeper gear 1st most people didn’t use. Or, maybe they just wanted it that way. Either way this one is absolutely beautiful. My Dads ’73 had rust through in spots in the bed and the rear quarters in the wheel arches by ’77 when he traded it in. To see this one like this is a huge treat.
“Cheyenne”. Living in ultra hip Colorado, it’s a popular woman’s name. To be clear, this is what my truck would have looked like when new. It sure is a lousy ad, Scotty will agree, if you are trying to sell a vehicle like this, don’t they think more proof is needed before someone shells out $18 grand? That’s a nice picture of the rear axle, whatever that is. I do think it’s the real deal, of the 260 viewers, only 16( perhaps 2) are willing to row through the gears. Naturally I think the price is malarkey, and if true, it’s gouging at it’s best.In ’73, it was bought when a 3 speed was what some old timers wanted, just never used it. It is a desirable short box, some may disagree, but why someone would spend this kind of money on something like this, especially the stick, man,,it doesn’t get much clearer how out of whack this whole mess is.
@ Howard A,
Hope you are sitting down for this. This truck sold last year on Bring-A-Trailer. You can look up what it sold for. We’ll just say it sold for more than an average suburban three-bedroom two bath two car garage house cost in 1973.
That is interesting, David. So much for the “buy low, sell high” approach to flipping cars!
Very nice clean older unmolested truck. It just needs more pictures if they want to sell it. I would like to see more pictures.
Already bid to 20K with 18 hours left. Nice looking truck.
Wants to trade for a ’32 Roadster? Maybe a fiberglass one.
very nice truck. love the colors but the stick shift and short bed is a turn off for me.