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If you want affordability and quality in the old car market, the best place to look is trucks. Overlooked for decades, worked to death in their prime, and neglected out behind barns and garages around the country. But sometimes they were treated as something special, lived easy lives, and landed with owners who knew that they were more than just tools. In particular, this 1972 Chevrolet K10 4x4, with awesome colors, factory A/C, and a useful 8-foot bed, is a nice example that is both fun and practical. Subject to a comprehensive freshening a few years ago, it’s the kind of truck that everyone can admire and delivers on the rugged promises made by its go-anywhere look. Totally redesigned in 1967, Chevy trucks were all about looking good as well as working hard and even Chevrolet advertising at the time said that “It’s time trucks stopped looking so trucky.†The results speak for themselves, a line of pickups that were as handsome as they were durable and they remain among the most popular of all Chevy trucks today. By far the most popular version was the regular cab 4x2 with a long bed and waaaay down the list is the long bed, regular cab 4x4, of which only a relative handful were produced, and by relative, I mean about 30,000. In truck terms, that’s rare. This Hugger Orange and Dover White 1972 Chevy C10 4x4 led an easy life in a warm climate before it was given a full makeover that addressed all the major systems on the truck. It was professionally refinished (the cab and bed have never been off the chassis) and everything that could be restored was addressed. The bodywork in particular was beautifully restored, and while starting with good base stock certainly helped, it’s clear that someone spent a pretty big pile of money. Modern two-stage urethane paint accurately replicates the original finish, with a shine that’s probably better than anything GM was doing in ‘72. You can see in the photos that it’s incredibly straight and nicely finished. The bed is in excellent condition with no real evidence of hard work or abuse and it wears a beautiful grille, fresh chrome bumpers, new chrome door handles, and a flush-mount tonneau cover that makes for a weatherproof cargo bay. An all-new original-spec black vinyl interior was installed at the same time, accurately re-creating the OEM look. The seat covers and door panels have western-style tooling meant to recall the look of a saddle (because that’s a manly thing and trucks are manly) and the new black carpets are probably a bit more plush than the original stuff. The original instrument panel and gauges are in excellent condition and these trucks offered some of the most handsome gauges ever fitted by the factory, all of which are fully functional including the optional tachometer. You’ll also find a late-model steering wheel that looks fairly appropriate here, and it’s mounted on a factory tilt column. Factory A/C is a very nice find in any vintage pickup, and the system works properly thanks to a recent service. The original AM radio is long gone, replaced by a JVC AM/FM/cassette stereo head unit that actually sounds quite good thanks to some additional sound-deadening materials inside the cab. A sliding rear window helps ventilation, creating pleasant breezes without hurricane-force winds inside, even at highway speeds. You’ll also note the chrome shifter on the floor for the 2-speed transfer case as well as a set of heavy-duty floor mats. It’s powered by a fresh GM crate 350 V8 with the usual upgrades, including an Edelbrock carburetor, but for the most part it looks very much like the factory intended. Everything was new at the time of restoration, including the alternator, radiator, water pump, and ignition system, so it runs and drives superbly. It’s got a great V8 rumble from the custom dual exhaust system, which uses Flowmaster mufflers and twin pipes just behind the rear wheels. The TH350 3-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and while we haven’t tested it in harsh off-road conditions, the transfer case shifts easily between high and low ranges. The rear axle is a GM 12-bolt, which is virtually indestructible, while the front axle is a familiar Dana 44, and we believe there are 3.73 gears inside both ends, which gives a good combination of acceleration and cruising with those big tires. The chassis is in good original condition with no major issues, clean floors, and solid rockers—just a little surface scale on the big parts. A modest lift kit with modern aftermarket shocks was installed during the restoration, so it has an awesome stance and the big 33x12.50-15 BFGoodrich off-road radials on factory Rally wheels look fantastic. You don’t see many 4x4 pickups of this vintage, and even fewer in this condition. There’s far, far more than the asking price invested in the restoration, so you can reap the benefits of someone else’s work and get a fantastic truck that’s a lot of fun to drive. Call today! For more details and photos, please visit Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory.
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