Vehicle Description
Original vehicles are special and with a growing segment of the
hobby starting to appreciate machines that haven't been taken apart
and restored to better-than-new condition, this 1980 Chevrolet K10
pickup might have a growing list of friends. It's nicely equipped,
offers a great-running 350, upgraded transmission, and a
no-nonsense look that is unique to unrestored survivors like
this.
Perhaps the very best thing about original vehicles like this K10
pickup is that there are no surprises. That's original paint, and
while it's showing age and wear that's entirely appropriate, you
know there's no rust or botched bodywork hiding underneath. The
two-tone paint is faded, and you'd expect that after a lifetime in
the hot southern sun, but you could probably give it a good buff
and really wake it up, so we're not quite to the point of saying
you should repaint it. It has obviously not been a work truck,
because the sheetmetal is extremely straight and it fits together
the way it did in 1980, which once again goes to show you that even
a restored truck isn't perfect. All the original trim is intact and
the grille is particularly nice, which is a relative rarity these
days. You also get a bed that's still ready to work and a
bumper-mounted winch for out back, just in case you need to do some
real work off-road.
The burgundy vinyl seat cover might be newer than 1980, but it's
correct and works rather well with the rest of the truck. Burgundy
door panels are unquestionably original, and while the driver's
side is showing some wear around the armrest, we're inclined to
leave it as-is. Options include ice cold A/C (with a $900 receipt
for recent service), a floor shifter that now manages a 700R4
4-speed automatic transmission, and an AM/FM radio that still
sounds decent today. In back, there's a run rack (of course there
is) and a sliding rear window for those days when it's not quite
hot enough to need A/C. The second lever on the floor manages the
2-speed transfer case and these trucks come with a fairly complete
array of gauges, all of which appear to still be operational. There
are plenty of worse places to hang out, and this truck proves that
comfort and function don't have to be mutually exclusive.
The original 350 cubic inch V8 engine still runs great, and with
just 47,867 original miles on the clock, it's never been opened and
may never need to be in our lifetimes. The engine bay is a little
dirty, but you could easily fix that with a weekends' worth of
elbow grease, and you can see that there are plenty of new parts,
including the aforementioned A/C system. Turn the key and the
original Rochester 4-barrel carburetor lights it off and it idles
easily, hot or cold. It was originally equipped with a 4-speed
transmission with an ultra-low towing gear, but it was just
recently upgraded to a 700R4 4-speed automatic with overdrive at a
cost of over $4000. Yeah, no kidding. The 4x4 system's operation is
unaffected, and you still get heavy-duty axles at both end that'll
pull you through just about anything. It's extremely clean
underneath, albeit original, so don't expect shiny floors or
anything like that. But you'll also get no surprises. Twin gas
tanks and that overdrive transmission will make for
bladder-bursting highway gas mileage and those big 31x10.50-15
off-road radials actually ride quite nicely.
Cool truck, lots of patina but also lots of potential, and
mechanically ready to roll. Hard to beat that at this price. Call
today!