My dad had a rootbeer brown 85 Silverado 2WD long bed. She'd get stuck on wet grass but it was a sweet truck. I can remember him waxing if all the time and "helping" him take off the bed cap. Helping = keeping the Old Milwaukee Light cold and in his hand. Ha ha. Cool video Steve.
Almost 100k subs! My guy, couldnt be happier for you! People are noticing and all the hard work involved in releasing an episode nearly every day seems to be paying off. Once you hit that benchmark things will really grow fast. Be well Steve!
That engine is known as the pulse air six. Those valve cover valves were known as aspirators which pumped crankcase fumes into the intake which was integrated with the cyl. Head
Those are the plenum chambers for the pulse air system it was a way to not use a air pump their way of trying to save money and horsepower what little it had
In Saudi Arabia, the last year of the round light is 1979, and in 1980 the single square light came and we call it the orphan, after that in 1981 the four lights came.
Still have my 1986 Scottsdale K20, purchased new by my dad. Took me all the way out to Wyoming for school at WyoTech then all the way back home again. But with 4.10 gears and the 3 speed auto, the gas mileage was awful and was finally parked just before my first son was born.
The vents also let air escape when shutting the doors. The pressure is high in the cab, and the release would help for doors closing and pressure on the ears.
Love the format Steve! Back in 83 when I started working with an electrical contractor, that was the hold fleet except for a lone ford f600 pole truck. My service truck was just like the one you were describing.I recall GM taking a lot of heat for that fuel tank located on the outside of the chassis
Great video Steve, We have had and continue to run Square bodies from 1973 to 88 Great robust and simple. An interesting note about the 7" Round headlight. After extensive testing the TMC (the maintenance recommendations of the ATA) found that the 7" round outlasted the square headlight by 75%! This prompted many fleets to refit there trucks with 7" rounds! Another automotive factoid. Great work Steve, I am glad to see other people are starting to tune in for the best information about automotive history. After all cars and trucks have had the greatest single impact on our way of life. Thank goodness we have you to explore the past!
Morning all. I had a 77 K5 Blazer with tube front and rear bumpers, 350 with Edelbrock manifold and carb, corvette cam, headers and dual exhaust, imported Italian leather steering wheel, 4 inch kit and 43 gallon oversized gasoline tank. Awesome truck driven every day. To this day I regret ever selling it, though it would kill me at the pump with today’s gasoline prices 😮
Steve, you always seem to find something to feature for everyone of your viewers. One of my grandads and an uncle bought new 79 C10s with that 250 and three speed automatics. Grandad’s truck was basically a work truck with power steering, manual brakes, and A/C while uncle’s was loaded Silverado trim. I was starting to drive when they bought them. I recall gassing my grandad’s up during that time and being limited to 10 gallons due to gas rationing. Being somewhat of an in-line six nerd, I remember being excited when i read Chevy had brought out the upgraded 250 for the 79 model year. It was good to see the camera angle show that Chevy had gone back to a bolt-on intake, as sometime in the early 70s they’d adopted a one piece head/intake casting like the Ford “small block” sixes. I remember reading that Chevy had called that two barrel carb “half a Q-jet.” It sounded cool when the secondary kicked in but in retrospect didn’t make it overly powerful. I don’t remember the horse power ratings, or how the intake manifold flowed compared to a Clifford or Offenhauser. The uncle who had the Silverado told me about hop-up tricks used on Chevy stove bolts in the 50s to include split exhaust manifolds, and Chevy finally offered them from the factory. Ironically Volvo straight sixes in the upscale 164s had split exhaust, and Ford finally used them when they fuel injected the 300 mid 80s. The Volvo, despite not being a cross flow head design, redlined at 5,500 - 6000 rpm. The sad thing was these 250s were not as good as previous years’ Chevy six bangers. Neither of the aforementioned family member owned motors managed to last 70k miles ( and didn’t have anything to do with this teenage driver occasionally getting behind the wheel). I don’t know what failed. One truck got a 350 and other got junked.
In 1988 we bought a 1978 Suburban Custom Deluxe as a family hauler for our new triplets. Never did feel safe in a minivan. That Suburban took us across Canada, from Vancouver to near Toronto, where we continued to use it for another decade. With a 350-4 barrel, no a/c, rubber floor mats and a power rear window in the back door, it was a burgundy beast. The dual exhaust we added caused muscle car nerds to look around, only to have our triplets wave at them from their child seats. 😉
My dad bought a 73 3/4 ton with the 454 and air conditioning in about 1978, it was already rusted out but went like a bat outta hell. Unfortunately it didn't last until I got my driver's licenses a couple years later but my older brother had a lot of fun with it. 😂
Back in the day my dad had a 1973 C20 custom deluxe setup the exact same way. Since it was a 3/4 ton it rode really rough when unloaded. It suffered from all the problems of the early square bodies such as excessive rusting of the wheel arches and the floors along with weak hoods buckling at the hood hinges. The early unreenforced hoods would bend even if the hinges were well lubricated if you tried to close the hood too quick.
Most people pull down in the hood. You have to push in towards the windshield to put the hood down, or it will 100% buckle. In fact most gm’s with big heavy hoods are that way
Got to love those altered wheelbase cars at the end of the video. I'm completely hooked on them and actively hunting for kits. I don't have a square body Chevy but I do have a 1953 Chevy 3800 here in the UK. On the subjects of kits, I collect British and Ukrainian FROG kits. FROG stands for Flies Right Off the Ground. Mainly aircraft but they did do some 1/16 scale cars too I've got quite a lot of Airfix and Revell stuff too (mainly unmade) from the 1950's on. On the subject of crankcase ventilation, my 1952 Buick Roadmaster straight eight suffers with some blow by and the road draft tube was not moving the fumes away from the car. I have now converted it to positive crankcase ventilation so it now consumes its own fumes Cheers Steve
No, that's not correct. The square body trucks were C and K series from 1973 to 1986 and then R and V series from 1987 to 1991. Both SUVs and pickups were offered as R and V series from 1987 to 1991. By 1992, they lined things up again and the R and V series were gone. In the spring of 1987, GM released the GMT400 trucks as C and K models and those were sold alongside the R and V series for a couple of years. GM did this to (unsuccessfully as it confuses a lot of folks) distinguish the two. I believe 1975 was the last year for the engine size callout on the grille off the top of my head. 1974, not 1975 as the first year for HEI on a GM product. It was an option in 1974, and standard mostly by 1975. I know of someone with a 1974 Grand Prix bought new with HEI. He still owns it today. Yes, that's a Rochester Varajet, likely a 2SE, (two barrel with electric choke) aka "Disaster Jet" and yes, I am not a fan of them. They were a headache and a poorly engineered carburetor. The Dualjet is fine, the Varajet, well, not so fine. The property where United Chevrolet was located is now a U-Haul. No VIN, can't win, but easy to figure out, no doubt: C for Chevrolet, C for 2WD conventional cab, D for 4.1L (250 CID) straight six with two barrel, 1 for 1/2 ton rated, 4 for cab and pickup box, A for 1980 model year, possible B for Baltimore, MD assembly (closed in 2005), S for St. Louis, MO assembly (closed in 1986), J for Janesville, WI (closed in 2009), Z for Fremont, CA (aka "Freaky Fremont", closed in 1982), A for Atlanta, GA (Lakewood Heights, closed in 1990), V for Pontiac, MI assembly (Pontiac East/Opdyke Road, closed in 2009), F for Flint, MI (still operates as of this writing), or 1 for Oshawa, Ontario Canada assembly (closed 2019, reopened in 2021) and the rest is the production sequence. No SPID, wish you did, but possible code 27 Blue exterior paint. I can't make out the chalk mark on the firewall that well, but that is likely the paint code put there by the line workers when the truck was built.
I did look for the SPID but the glove box door was absent and nowhere to be found in or under the cab. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
I bought a new Scottsdale short stepside with that ugly six banger, 4 speed granny, valure seat, rubber carpet and round headlights in 1980. Down in Rendon TX we didn't dig square headlights. Wish I still had it.
Just your basic everyday workhorse. Interesting that Chevy also used the dual exhaust lead pipes on their 6 bangers. Had thought that was only a Ford thing used on some of their 300ci engines. Then I bought my current ride, a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the venerable 4.0l inline. It uses dual lead pipes as well.
I thought this was my truck! I had a light blue 1980 with the 250 six, but mine had the three speed manual shift on the column. Drove it across the country from Maryland to Montana, twice! Took it to Maine camping. To Florida for bike week! It was a great truck! Steve doesn’t like that carburetor, but I think that two barrel contributed to great highway mileage! Thanks for the memories Steve!
Man those where some beautiful cool looking pickups trucks! I got to drive a few of those back in the late70s early 80s. I drove a 3speed manual steering column shifter and the 4speed manual on the floor! Very enjoyable especially when being young! At the age of 15-16. Awesome times indeed! Yes I learned how to drive young! If you live in a farm you’ll know what I’m talking about! Great video Steve!
I liked mine, but not for work. chevy trucks are more a car that can help your friends move, put any weight in them and look out. I sold a trailer, dropped it off with my 1/2 ton International, Guypicked it up with his new 2500 HD chevy, wheels bottomed out completely!!!
Cool trucks, Steve... ive owned several square bodies and a 70 and 88.. love my current 74 custom 10 short fleet 250ci 4 speed woth granny low radio delete disc brake work truck.. its the biggest tool i own😎👍🇺🇸
So many of those square bodies came out of my Dad's plant in Flint, MI... I always like to say those square bodies fed our family! Nice to know they're still cranking out the big HD trucks in Vehicle City
Some excellent production on this video Steve! I really liked the cutaway scenes when you explained the features noted in the brochure - shout out to Super Shane as well
It's kinda funny that the model that came after this "square body" was truly square, but alas, the moniker was already being used. Great video as always Steve.
Great video Steve, some things ld like to mention. In the 70’s chevy started using integrated heads (intake & head one casting) prone to cracking. Fixed by replacing parts from older engine. Also 73-79 the hood stretches to windshield,80-87 shorter hood and a cowl.
Thats a varajet carb which is a quadrajet cut in half . They put a plastic shield over the fuel tanks realizing the mistake of not installing it inside the frame for collision problems. The shield would accumulate sand n salt and rot the tank out
The Varajet is nothing like a Q-Jet and the service procedures are for the most part different. If anything the Dualjet (not the Varajet) is a "half of a Q-Jet'. Also in the late 1970s, GM used a four barrel casting and permanently sealed off the back two barrels and made it a two barrel. 1977 Pontiac 301 engines were like this among other applications.
@@googleusergp thats funny I would frequently be sent by my dealership to the gm training center on Rte 1 in Dedham mass. When the varajet carb was explained to the class that the varajet was designed off the quadrajet carb for the fuel economy of the primary and the needed extra power of the secondary. Another one of your baseless no experience challenges. Such a boring lil insect you are
@@googleusergp I used to see those bizarre "closed casting" Q-Jets in Los Angeles area Pick-A-Part yards back in my California days. I've not seen one in these New England yards but will keep an eye out. This disparity is perhaps due to "California emissions"? Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante Nah, I've seen several of them. My neighbor (not in CA) had a 1977 Bonneville with a Pontiac 301 V8 two barrel (VIN code "Y", RPO code "L27") on it. My other neighbor rebuild the carburetor and I ordered the parts for it, so I remember (oddly enough, I ordered the parts from the company I'd wind up working for about 5 years later) it vividly. In fact, when I interviewed for the job (29 years ago and about one month ago from today), my manager asked the question during the interview, "What is your explanation when you see a part with other components in it that aren't used on your application?" I said, "Consolidation of SKUs. An extra gasket or seal allows you to cover many more applications with one SKU. The mechanic will save that extra part in the drawer for future use. It's built into the price". When I sat down with my manager after I was hired he said, "I wanted a reasonable answer on that one, you gave the exact answer in the exact way I wanted it. That's one reason why I hired you and I know I made a good choice". I was there for 11 years before leaving private industry in 2005.
I always thought the dateline show was rigged to make the Chevys look bad. They couldn't make it catch fire hitting it in the side, until they overfilled the tank, left the gas cap loose, and had an open flame hid in the bedside to make sure it made an interesting tv segment. Almost like ford had covert operations going on to make gm look bad.
My oldest brother bought a brand new Silverado (I think '76 or '78) for his first new vehicle. 4×4 350 hopped up and lifted. Had it 2wks and a deer caved half the driver side in. Dealer decided to give him a new bed and door and did some extras. Cool truck. Learned to drive in it as he was 15yrs older than me. Old stuff holds a special place in my past. So do the Door(s)🤣
Always liked the older Chevy Pick Ups, especially the rubber floor instead of carpeting in a Pick Up back when they where work trucks and not Luxury Vehicles like todays so called Pick Up Trucks.
In '88 I bought an '81 K5 Blazer 4x4 with the 250/6 and a 4 speed with granny low. It was an unusual Blazer to say the least. But it got reasonable gas mileage for a full size Blazer, around 16 mpg. It also towed better than you might expect. I was moving from South Florida home to Missouri in '89 and I was towing my '87 Formula Firebird with the Blazer. Going through the Appalachians and was beating the engine a little hard and the head gasket started to leak. I made it to East Saint Louis and then a drunk driver in a '77 Camaro piled into the rear of the Firebird. It totaled the Firebird and pushed the tow dolly and hitch up and into the gas tank on the Blazer rendering it inoperative as well. The Camaro spun out and into the ditch and the drunken driver and his passenger climbed out of the side windows of the totaled car and ran. As the police and tow trucks were cleaning up the mess and getting everything loaded up on flatbeds a drunk driver came by and hit on of the roll backs with the A pillar of his Caprice. He got arrested. The Illinois Highway Patrol did nothing to help me track down the guy who hit my car. I was a young guy (21) with long hair from another state. They pretty much dismissed me out of hand. Thank you IHP! I never did get a penny for anything or even the satisfaction of the guy getting arrested. And we had his name, phone number and home address out of the paperwork in his car so it wasn't like it was hard to find him.
Loved this one Steve! You can do more 'specials' on most of the variations of the square series. A personal favorite is: on the Camper Special, IF you ordered the heavy duty chassis on a 3/4 ton, you got the same axles, springs & brakes as on the 1 ton. That one surprisingly is in fairly good shape,the lower half of the cab is hardly rusted. Bonus is that dashpad looked really good! Thanks!
Loved the way you talked about a feature on the truck, then showed it. Great editing. Great video Steve and Shane. Thank you for what you do. Very interesting, even on vehicles I wouldn't otherwise pay attention to...
I'm a BIG fan of the old 'square body' Chev trucks, so of course I think this is worth saving. I've always wanted to make my own square body super cab; it'd take a fair amount of cutting & welding, but I think it'd be worth it!
Not sure how true but I had heard that, while trying to convince the govt to allow square headlights, part of their reasoning was that square lights, having a lower overall height than round ones would offer a lower hood line for safety and aerodynamics. When they were given the green light, they immediately stacked them, negating both advantages
There used to be a Custom trim. But only offer in 73-74 model year. The custom deluxe was a step up before it became base trim. Like the looks of these trucks. Grew up on them. Dad had 74 C30 with the 454. ❤
My best friend had a 1980 short narrow with the 6 had a 3 speed on the column. He later changed it to a truck 4 speed because he pulled trailers sometimes. That thing was surprisingly quick stoplight to stoplight. I mean it was no race car but for the times it ran good. He has always regretted getting rid of it even though he had it for many years. P. S. His dad bought it new. He was a mechanic at the dealership. Was only a year and a half old when my friend bought it from his dad.
Square bodies were around till 91' Blazer , Suburban, and the optional heavy duty line. And technically 79' was last year gor round lights most people took square headlights out put round in looked better until in 81' they redesigned the nose to better integrate the square headlights. TBI started in 87' and in 88' the new design IFS model was built alongside the square bodys.
My first job out of high school was as a parts delivery driver for O’Reilly Chevrolet in Tucson, Arizona. This was the fall of 1972. Our trucks were brand new 1973 C-10s, but we also had a carryover 1972 C-10 for when our trucks were being serviced. All had 350ci 4bbl engines and T350 transmission. The 72 was noticeably quicker. I don’t recall the difference in smog equipment, differential gearing, etc, but it was the beginning of the smog era.
Rochester Vari- Jet 2 barrel, and it was essentially 1/2 of a Quadra Jet. Actually pretty good mileage, with a light foot on the throttle. It was on 2.5L, 2.8L and the inline 6
Thanks Steve, I’m really enjoying this junk yard crawl series. There seems to be a lot of cars in this yard that could have been restored at one time. I’m wondering why so many relatively complete cars have been left to the elements.
My feeling on Ford outselling Chevy or Dodge is because they're priced lower. It's not because they're better truck, it's because they're cheaper truck.
I always wondered what made the difference in 1980 square bodies having round or square headlights. My Grandfather (who adopted me at age 3) had an 80 C10 4x4 and it had the square headlights, I think it was a Scottsdale. What a great truck! That thing was awesome in the snow in Western PA. As far as the 5 lug wheels go on the 1/2 ton 2WD Chevy trucks, I think that started in 1970 or 71. I know my 71 C10 Cheyenne 2WD longbed 350 4-speed (and an honest 89k original miles!) has the 5 lugs and power front disc brakes (she still has the original "Disc Brake" sticker on the tailgate, although it has faded some over the years), and I think the lug pattern is 5 on 5? I have updated my wheels to the later Chevy Truck Rally wheels, 15x8, like came on the 80's Suburban 2WD's and such. Good stuff, Steve! Thanks, man, for all you do to keep the classics alive, even if the examples are kinda "dead". Take care, brother, and stay safe!
Steve back in 1988 when I bought the First 1 ton 1988 Chevy special order, I got every add on there was, That truck was called the Beast, By every company I plowed for Back then, While ford 's dodges were all Being Block and tackled out of the woods, My truck had to finish there Plow jobs, But Back to the square body, It was still made in 88, but only 1 ton body, 89 it was gone
Those 70's chevies trucks had serious rust issues. A friends folks had two, a 73 and a 80 in 80, and the 73 had holes big enough to put your foot through, on both sides.
The early ones rotted quick over the wheel wells, then the cab corners and rockers. Sometime around 1980(?) they seem to have fixed that a bit and just left the cab corners and rockers to rot.
Good morning Steve! The new editing is almost perfect 👍 thanks for that.. I am actively looking for one without an engine now myself. 😏 So far they've either been too dented, too rusted or the owner thinks he at a Barrett Jackson auction. I'll find me one though. There's plenty of them around. 😊
Love the Square Body trucks! A simple yet cool design. The door window frames had that Cadillac limo styling of the time. The truck lasted from ‘73-‘87 with a face lift between ‘80-‘81, pretty good life span for a truck model!
Cool to see you in this comment section, if you are the same who posts on Instagram. Very much enjoying seeing the differences south of the US border. Cars from cultures other than your own always have a mystical air to them...
Oh it has one of those varijet carbs on it. I had one on my 2.8 Camaro. I filed the secondary air flap limiter so it would open 100%. Nice boost in power.
I wouldn't say moving the tank outside the cab was such a good thing on these. The side saddle tanks became almost as infamous in side impacts as the pinto was in rear end impacts.
True, but also like the pinto, they had to rig it to make fires happen for the dateline show. Overfilled the tanks, left the gas cap loose, and had a lit open flame burning inside the fender in order to make them actually catch fire. It was definitely overblown. And who knows, probably was arranged by Ford's covert operations team to make gm look bad. That way they sell more ford trucks.
@@ryurc3033 Maybe, but it still really happened. Look up Shannon Mosely. He was a 17 year old killed in a 1985 GMC in 1989 because the side saddle tank ruptured when he was broadsided by a drunk driver that ran a red light. The coroner stated he had no broken bones or major injuries. He'd have survived if the tank hadn't ruptured and burned him alive.
@@ryurc3033sure, maybe that’s something they did to guarantee a fire for the tv but it doesn’t take a genius to see one of these things easily rupturing in the event of a side impact with nothing more than some thin sheet metal covering it.
@@ryurc3033 Not Really The side saddle fuel tank design installed in over 10 million trucks - all 1973-87 General Motors full-size pickups and cab-chassis trucks (pickups without beds) and some 1988-91 dual cab or RV chassis - is the worst auto crash fire defect in the history of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (formerly known as the Fatal Accident Reporting System), over 2,000 people were killed in fire crashes involving these trucks from 1973 through 2009.
@@lawnmowerdude If they were that dangerous and causing thousands of deaths, as you imply here, the design would have been changed long ago and it hasn't. You can pull examples to any rule out there.
Had a 1976 K5 Blazer, impossible to heat up/so cold inside during winter. If I had known then about those door vents, blocking them off would have no doubt helped a bit.
Square body Suburbans where used through 1989. I know because I owned one. They somehow made the grills in the Headlights fit into those bodies from the new body styles. Quite interesting in fact.
I think it was more that he had already showed all that stuff before and didn't want to crawl around under this one. I can't blame him for not wanting time re-doing what he already had.
Never seen that valve cover or split exhaust manifold before, so again I'm learning something new today. Another poster refered to it as an 'aspirator' valve cover..very interesting. Was the valve cover and manifold strictly truck or were they on some passenger cars too?
Steve did mention that a lot of Chevrolet wheels would interchange with the C10 pattern from passenger cars. I believe he's correct because I put a truck, 5 lug wheel on a 74 BelAir. It's a full size car. Frame also. The same year Monte Carlo was a little smaller. That MonteCarlo would fit on Dodge van, but not perfect. For emergency maybe. What other models of that size hub, I'd guess the luxury cars.
United Chevrolet In Worcester I remember that from when I was a kid. I was born in Worcester and we lived in Shrewsbury until I was ten years old in 1966. We still have relatives in that area but the old man found a job in Chicopee so that’s where we went
It's just like all the morons that call a 94-up Dodge pickup a "2nd gen" and a 93-down a "1st gen". They need to research when the Dodge bris started building trucks lol
Had a 250 straight 6 in my 78 Camaro. Bulletproof little engine. And made that Camaro handle like crazy too. Didn't realize how much a heavy V8 effected handling before that car. I wonder how much horsepower and torque you can get out of a 250 without a bunch of expensive machining
GM cars were almost all 5" except for Chevy which was 4-3/4". Then in later years mid-size were all 4-3/3 but full-size was still 5". Even full-size RWD was 5" through mid 90's
. I like old Chevy Truck's . I'm 62, and I owned a 1974 Silverado, in 1984 . It had a built in large, ice cooler, in-between the bucket seats . If I had the money, I was never thirsty . 😊 gb* ~ hard life (MULDEW) .
Chevy square body trucks emulated dodge trucks of that Era which came out a year earlier in 72 and stayed longer until 93. Although they never sold as well as chevu trucks
@@tristankelsey1746Development of the 73-87 Chevy's started before that of the 72-93 Dodge's. Dodge began to emulate Chevy starting in 81 by going with a more squared look, stealing Chevy mirrors, and redesigning their interiors to ones similar to the Chevy's. 72-80 Dodge's look quite different from the 81-93 ones.
Hi Steve, good video! The carburetor you see on this truck is a GM Rochester Varajet. One flap is the automatic choke for the primary and the other flap is the variable venturi secondary, (two stage) better fuel economy and lower emissions. Please reply. Dave...
My dad had a rootbeer brown 85 Silverado 2WD long bed. She'd get stuck on wet grass but it was a sweet truck. I can remember him waxing if all the time and "helping" him take off the bed cap. Helping = keeping the Old Milwaukee Light cold and in his hand. Ha ha. Cool video Steve.
@marklarson Old Milwaukee Classic. 👍
The round light front end looks so much better than the later version.
I've always felt this way too.
Especially ones with the square block off plates for the lower lights
To each their own. The 81-82 front clip is my favorite out of all of the squares.
Not exactly sure of the year, think it's a '81, one square headlight and turn signal in the bumper. Those are the worst. (my opinion)
As correct as you are I have to add that the 87 grille setup can look absolutely fantastic as well.
Good morning everyone. 👍👍🇨🇦
Good morning!!
☕️☕️🍩🇺🇸
Almost 100k subs! My guy, couldnt be happier for you! People are noticing and all the hard work involved in releasing an episode nearly every day seems to be paying off. Once you hit that benchmark things will really grow fast. Be well Steve!
help by spreading the word!!
At 100,000 subscribers I believe TH-cam will send Steve an award like certificate indicating 100,000 subscribers! 🥇
I like the way you would read brochure facts and "fade" to the visual scene vs. a continuous feed.
That engine is known as the pulse air six. Those valve cover valves were known as aspirators which pumped crankcase fumes into the intake which was integrated with the cyl. Head
I like the improved editing in this one!
Agreed!
I have never seen a 250 six with that type of valve cover before.
They made lot's of them ,smog tunes all over
Those are the plenum chambers for the pulse air system it was a way to not use a air pump their way of trying to save money and horsepower what little it had
I've seen a few.
I had an ‘83 that was basically that truck. Had the same valve cover.
In Saudi Arabia, the last year of the round light is 1979, and in 1980 the single square light came and we call it the orphan, after that in 1981 the four lights came.
Had a 78' with the 250 straight 6 cyl. 3 Spd column..First vehicle in high school 1994'
Great editing, makes your videos much easier to follow, Thanks Steve!
Agreed. I like this new editing style. I'm sure it takes a bit more work for them, but the product is just a touch smoother for the consumer.
Super Shane working hard!!!!!!
Nice! I also love the new editing technique with inserts! Great stuff! Thanks Steve!
Great new format with the cutaways!
Great video thumbs up, starting our morning cars and coffee
Still have my 1986 Scottsdale K20, purchased new by my dad. Took me all the way out to Wyoming for school at WyoTech then all the way back home again. But with 4.10 gears and the 3 speed auto, the gas mileage was awful and was finally parked just before my first son was born.
Good Morning Gents ! 🇺🇸
Did not know the what the vent on backside of my 1983 C10 was for but I do now! Thanks for another great video.
The vents also let air escape when shutting the doors. The pressure is high in the cab, and the release would help for doors closing and pressure on the ears.
Love the format Steve! Back in 83 when I started working with an electrical contractor, that was the hold fleet except for a lone ford f600 pole truck. My service truck was just like the one you were describing.I recall GM taking a lot of heat for that fuel tank located on the outside of the chassis
Some drivers and passengers felt more heat.
Great video Steve, We have had and continue to run Square bodies from 1973 to 88 Great robust and simple. An interesting note about the 7" Round headlight. After extensive testing the TMC (the maintenance recommendations of the ATA) found that the 7" round outlasted the square headlight by 75%! This prompted many fleets to refit there trucks with 7" rounds! Another automotive factoid. Great work Steve, I am glad to see other people are starting to tune in for the best information about automotive history. After all cars and trucks have had the greatest single impact on our way of life. Thank goodness we have you to explore the past!
Like the new editing...
I noticed these square bodies making a good comeback in the collector hobby.
They are hot as ever now.
Morning all. I had a 77 K5 Blazer with tube front and rear bumpers, 350 with Edelbrock manifold and carb, corvette cam, headers and dual exhaust, imported Italian leather steering wheel, 4 inch kit and 43 gallon oversized gasoline tank. Awesome truck driven every day. To this day I regret ever selling it, though it would kill me at the pump with today’s gasoline prices 😮
Steve, you always seem to find something to feature for everyone of your viewers. One of my grandads and an uncle bought new 79 C10s with that 250 and three speed automatics. Grandad’s truck was basically a work truck with power steering, manual brakes, and A/C while uncle’s was loaded Silverado trim. I was starting to drive when they bought them. I recall gassing my grandad’s up during that time and being limited to 10 gallons due to gas rationing.
Being somewhat of an in-line six nerd, I remember being excited when i read Chevy had brought out the upgraded 250 for the 79 model year. It was good to see the camera angle show that Chevy had gone back to a bolt-on intake, as sometime in the early 70s they’d adopted a one piece head/intake casting like the Ford “small block” sixes. I remember reading that Chevy had called that two barrel carb “half a Q-jet.” It sounded cool when the secondary kicked in but in retrospect didn’t make it overly powerful. I don’t remember the horse power ratings, or how the intake manifold flowed compared to a Clifford or Offenhauser. The uncle who had the Silverado told me about hop-up tricks used on Chevy stove bolts in the 50s to include split exhaust manifolds, and Chevy finally offered them from the factory. Ironically Volvo straight sixes in the upscale 164s had split exhaust, and Ford finally used them when they fuel injected the 300 mid 80s. The Volvo, despite not being a cross flow head design, redlined at 5,500 - 6000 rpm.
The sad thing was these 250s were not as good as previous years’ Chevy six bangers. Neither of the aforementioned family member owned motors managed to last 70k miles ( and didn’t have anything to do with this teenage driver occasionally getting behind the wheel). I don’t know what failed. One truck got a 350 and other got junked.
We're all pulling for you Steve. Hope to see you soon
In 1988 we bought a 1978 Suburban Custom Deluxe as a family hauler for our new triplets. Never did feel safe in a minivan. That Suburban took us across Canada, from Vancouver to near Toronto, where we continued to use it for another decade. With a 350-4 barrel, no a/c, rubber floor mats and a power rear window in the back door, it was a burgundy beast. The dual exhaust we added caused muscle car nerds to look around, only to have our triplets wave at them from their child seats. 😉
My dad bought a 73 3/4 ton with the 454 and air conditioning in about 1978, it was already rusted out but went like a bat outta hell. Unfortunately it didn't last until I got my driver's licenses a couple years later but my older brother had a lot of fun with it. 😂
Back in the day my dad had a 1973 C20 custom deluxe setup the exact same way. Since it was a 3/4 ton it rode really rough when unloaded. It suffered from all the problems of the early square bodies such as excessive rusting of the wheel arches and the floors along with weak hoods buckling at the hood hinges. The early unreenforced hoods would bend even if the hinges were well lubricated if you tried to close the hood too quick.
Most people pull down in the hood. You have to push in towards the windshield to put the hood down, or it will 100% buckle. In fact most gm’s with big heavy hoods are that way
I have a 72, 2- 82, 1978, 1976, 1988, 1984, I drive one of my original 82 all original no rust in any floorboards Fender Wells or bad.
Morning Steve....
☕️☕️🍩
Great new format ❤😊
Got to love those altered wheelbase cars at the end of the video. I'm completely hooked on them and actively hunting for kits. I don't have a square body Chevy but I do have a 1953 Chevy 3800 here in the UK.
On the subjects of kits, I collect British and Ukrainian FROG kits. FROG stands for Flies Right Off the Ground. Mainly aircraft but they did do some 1/16 scale cars too I've got quite a lot of Airfix and Revell stuff too (mainly unmade) from the 1950's on.
On the subject of crankcase ventilation, my 1952 Buick Roadmaster straight eight suffers with some blow by and the road draft tube was not moving the fumes away from the car. I have now converted it to positive crankcase ventilation so it now consumes its own fumes
Cheers Steve
Liked the way you did this one
No, that's not correct. The square body trucks were C and K series from 1973 to 1986 and then R and V series from 1987 to 1991. Both SUVs and pickups were offered as R and V series from 1987 to 1991. By 1992, they lined things up again and the R and V series were gone. In the spring of 1987, GM released the GMT400 trucks as C and K models and those were sold alongside the R and V series for a couple of years. GM did this to (unsuccessfully as it confuses a lot of folks) distinguish the two. I believe 1975 was the last year for the engine size callout on the grille off the top of my head. 1974, not 1975 as the first year for HEI on a GM product. It was an option in 1974, and standard mostly by 1975. I know of someone with a 1974 Grand Prix bought new with HEI. He still owns it today.
Yes, that's a Rochester Varajet, likely a 2SE, (two barrel with electric choke) aka "Disaster Jet" and yes, I am not a fan of them. They were a headache and a poorly engineered carburetor. The Dualjet is fine, the Varajet, well, not so fine. The property where United Chevrolet was located is now a U-Haul.
No VIN, can't win, but easy to figure out, no doubt: C for Chevrolet, C for 2WD conventional cab, D for 4.1L (250 CID) straight six with two barrel, 1 for 1/2 ton rated, 4 for cab and pickup box, A for 1980 model year, possible B for Baltimore, MD assembly (closed in 2005), S for St. Louis, MO assembly (closed in 1986), J for Janesville, WI (closed in 2009), Z for Fremont, CA (aka "Freaky Fremont", closed in 1982), A for Atlanta, GA (Lakewood Heights, closed in 1990), V for Pontiac, MI assembly (Pontiac East/Opdyke Road, closed in 2009), F for Flint, MI (still operates as of this writing), or 1 for Oshawa, Ontario Canada assembly (closed 2019, reopened in 2021) and the rest is the production sequence.
No SPID, wish you did, but possible code 27 Blue exterior paint. I can't make out the chalk mark on the firewall that well, but that is likely the paint code put there by the line workers when the truck was built.
I did look for the SPID but the glove box door was absent and nowhere to be found in or under the cab. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante The VIN on the dash would have been good to get.
Another shout out for the goog user 😂
@@samholdsworth420 Nice of you to say.
I bought a new Scottsdale short stepside with that ugly six banger, 4 speed granny, valure seat, rubber carpet and round headlights in 1980. Down in Rendon TX we didn't dig square headlights. Wish I still had it.
We don’t much cotton to square headlights down here, boy. You best get back in that pickup and keep driving.
Just your basic everyday workhorse. Interesting that Chevy also used the dual exhaust lead pipes on their 6 bangers. Had thought that was only a Ford thing used on some of their 300ci engines. Then I bought my current ride, a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the venerable 4.0l inline. It uses dual lead pipes as well.
Thanks, Steve, for showing us that C10, er, C2.09. 😀
I thought this was my truck! I had a light blue 1980 with the 250 six, but mine had the three speed manual shift on the column. Drove it across the country from Maryland to Montana, twice! Took it to Maine camping. To Florida for bike week! It was a great truck! Steve doesn’t like that carburetor, but I think that two barrel contributed to great highway mileage! Thanks for the memories Steve!
Man those where some beautiful cool looking pickups trucks! I got to drive a few of those back in the late70s early 80s. I drove a 3speed manual steering column shifter and the 4speed manual on the floor! Very enjoyable especially when being young! At the age of 15-16. Awesome times indeed! Yes I learned how to drive young! If you live in a farm you’ll know what I’m talking about! Great video Steve!
I liked mine, but not for work. chevy trucks are more a car that can help your friends move, put any weight in them and look out. I sold a trailer, dropped it off with my 1/2 ton International, Guypicked it up with his new 2500 HD chevy, wheels bottomed out completely!!!
The 'real life' references to the 'start points' in the brochure made this quite informative. Thx, Steve!
Cool trucks, Steve... ive owned several square bodies and a 70 and 88.. love my current 74 custom 10 short fleet 250ci 4 speed woth granny low radio delete disc brake work truck.. its the biggest tool i own😎👍🇺🇸
So many of those square bodies came out of my Dad's plant in Flint, MI...
I always like to say those square bodies fed our family!
Nice to know they're still cranking out the big HD trucks in Vehicle City
Some excellent production on this video Steve! I really liked the cutaway scenes when you explained the features noted in the brochure - shout out to Super Shane as well
It's kinda funny that the model that came after this "square body" was truly square, but alas, the moniker was already being used.
Great video as always Steve.
Great video Steve, some things ld like to mention. In the 70’s chevy started using integrated heads (intake & head one casting) prone to cracking. Fixed by replacing parts from older engine. Also 73-79 the hood stretches to windshield,80-87 shorter hood and a cowl.
Thats a varajet carb which is a quadrajet cut in half . They put a plastic shield over the fuel tanks realizing the mistake of not installing it inside the frame for collision problems. The shield would accumulate sand n salt and rot the tank out
The Varajet is nothing like a Q-Jet and the service procedures are for the most part different. If anything the Dualjet (not the Varajet) is a "half of a Q-Jet'. Also in the late 1970s, GM used a four barrel casting and permanently sealed off the back two barrels and made it a two barrel. 1977 Pontiac 301 engines were like this among other applications.
@@googleusergp thats funny I would frequently be sent by my dealership to the gm training center on Rte 1 in Dedham mass. When the varajet carb was explained to the class that the varajet was designed off the quadrajet carb for the fuel economy of the primary and the needed extra power of the secondary. Another one of your baseless no experience challenges. Such a boring lil insect you are
@@googleusergp I used to see those bizarre "closed casting" Q-Jets in Los Angeles area Pick-A-Part yards back in my California days. I've not seen one in these New England yards but will keep an eye out. This disparity is perhaps due to "California emissions"? Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante
@@SteveMagnante Nah, I've seen several of them. My neighbor (not in CA) had a 1977 Bonneville with a Pontiac 301 V8 two barrel (VIN code "Y", RPO code "L27") on it. My other neighbor rebuild the carburetor and I ordered the parts for it, so I remember (oddly enough, I ordered the parts from the company I'd wind up working for about 5 years later) it vividly.
In fact, when I interviewed for the job (29 years ago and about one month ago from today), my manager asked the question during the interview, "What is your explanation when you see a part with other components in it that aren't used on your application?" I said, "Consolidation of SKUs. An extra gasket or seal allows you to cover many more applications with one SKU. The mechanic will save that extra part in the drawer for future use. It's built into the price". When I sat down with my manager after I was hired he said, "I wanted a reasonable answer on that one, you gave the exact answer in the exact way I wanted it. That's one reason why I hired you and I know I made a good choice".
I was there for 11 years before leaving private industry in 2005.
I always thought the dateline show was rigged to make the Chevys look bad. They couldn't make it catch fire hitting it in the side, until they overfilled the tank, left the gas cap loose, and had an open flame hid in the bedside to make sure it made an interesting tv segment.
Almost like ford had covert operations going on to make gm look bad.
My oldest brother bought a brand new Silverado (I think '76 or '78) for his first new vehicle. 4×4 350 hopped up and lifted. Had it 2wks and a deer caved half the driver side in. Dealer decided to give him a new bed and door and did some extras. Cool truck. Learned to drive in it as he was 15yrs older than me. Old stuff holds a special place in my past.
So do the Door(s)🤣
Always liked the older Chevy Pick Ups, especially the rubber floor instead of carpeting in a Pick Up back when they where work trucks and not Luxury Vehicles like todays so called Pick Up Trucks.
In '88 I bought an '81 K5 Blazer 4x4 with the 250/6 and a 4 speed with granny low. It was an unusual Blazer to say the least. But it got reasonable gas mileage for a full size Blazer, around 16 mpg. It also towed better than you might expect. I was moving from South Florida home to Missouri in '89 and I was towing my '87 Formula Firebird with the Blazer. Going through the Appalachians and was beating the engine a little hard and the head gasket started to leak. I made it to East Saint Louis and then a drunk driver in a '77 Camaro piled into the rear of the Firebird. It totaled the Firebird and pushed the tow dolly and hitch up and into the gas tank on the Blazer rendering it inoperative as well. The Camaro spun out and into the ditch and the drunken driver and his passenger climbed out of the side windows of the totaled car and ran. As the police and tow trucks were cleaning up the mess and getting everything loaded up on flatbeds a drunk driver came by and hit on of the roll backs with the A pillar of his Caprice. He got arrested. The Illinois Highway Patrol did nothing to help me track down the guy who hit my car. I was a young guy (21) with long hair from another state. They pretty much dismissed me out of hand. Thank you IHP! I never did get a penny for anything or even the satisfaction of the guy getting arrested. And we had his name, phone number and home address out of the paperwork in his car so it wasn't like it was hard to find him.
That is when you pay somebody to pay the guy a visit.
👍👍👍👍
Loved this one Steve! You can do more 'specials' on most of the variations of the square series. A personal favorite is: on the Camper Special, IF you ordered the heavy duty chassis on a 3/4 ton, you got the same axles, springs & brakes as on the 1 ton.
That one surprisingly is in fairly good shape,the lower half of the cab is hardly rusted. Bonus is that dashpad looked really good!
Thanks!
Hey Mr. M. I'm digging the new angles to your vids. Down and underneath is pretty cool.
Loved the way you talked about a feature on the truck, then showed it. Great editing. Great video Steve and Shane. Thank you for what you do. Very interesting, even on vehicles I wouldn't otherwise pay attention to...
at 4:40, tribute to Jim Morrison! I love it!
Oh yes, the old camelback six cylinder haven’t seen one of those since I had one in my old square body Chevy
I'm a BIG fan of the old 'square body' Chev trucks, so of course I think this is worth saving. I've always wanted to make my own square body super cab; it'd take a fair amount of cutting & welding, but I think it'd be worth it!
There ARE a few out there to try to find. An outfit in Texas did them for a dealership as I recall learning later on. I've seen two irl.
Not sure how true but I had heard that, while trying to convince the govt to allow square headlights, part of their reasoning was that square lights, having a lower overall height than round ones would offer a lower hood line for safety and aerodynamics. When they were given the green light, they immediately stacked them, negating both advantages
There used to be a Custom trim. But only offer in 73-74 model year. The custom deluxe was a step up before it became base trim. Like the looks of these trucks. Grew up on them. Dad had 74 C30 with the 454. ❤
My best friend had a 1980 short narrow with the 6 had a 3 speed on the column. He later changed it to a truck 4 speed because he pulled trailers sometimes. That thing was surprisingly quick stoplight to stoplight. I mean it was no race car but for the times it ran good. He has always regretted getting rid of it even though he had it for many years. P. S. His dad bought it new. He was a mechanic at the dealership. Was only a year and a half old when my friend bought it from his dad.
Square bodies were around till 91' Blazer , Suburban, and the optional heavy duty line. And technically 79' was last year gor round lights most people took square headlights out put round in looked better until in 81' they redesigned the nose to better integrate the square headlights. TBI started in 87' and in 88' the new design IFS model was built alongside the square bodys.
Correct, R and V series square body from 1987 to 1991.
@@googleusergp your vanity has no bounds.....
@@michaelatkins9780 ?
Definitely were round headlights on lower level squares in 1980.
The square body was also produced in Mexico as regular cab short bed trucks with the dual small headlight design until 1991
My first job out of high school was as a parts delivery driver for O’Reilly Chevrolet in Tucson, Arizona. This was the fall of 1972. Our trucks were brand new 1973 C-10s, but we also had a carryover 1972 C-10 for when our trucks were being serviced. All had 350ci 4bbl engines and T350 transmission. The 72 was noticeably quicker. I don’t recall the difference in smog equipment, differential gearing, etc, but it was the beginning of the smog era.
Rochester Vari- Jet 2 barrel, and it was essentially 1/2 of a Quadra Jet. Actually pretty good mileage, with a light foot on the throttle. It was on 2.5L, 2.8L and the inline 6
agree, and much bettet fuel control than the mono jet it replaced. Some mechanics hated working on them, I did not mind, made a ton of money.
Pretty cool idea to show the new features in the advertisement on the junkyard truck! Would enjoy seeing that done with other vehicles as well.
Thanks Steve, I’m really enjoying this junk yard crawl series. There seems to be a lot of cars in this yard that could have been restored at one time. I’m wondering why so many relatively complete cars have been left to the elements.
Because they cost more to restore/repair than they are worth.
Great video, absolutely love square bodies. The only problem in the video was the 5 lug wheels on these were 5x5, and the passenger car was 5x4 3/4
Only mid size was smaller. Full-size was 5"
Many people uses those sexy Buick 5" rally rims on thier half ton pickups n vans back then
My feeling on Ford outselling Chevy or Dodge is because they're priced lower. It's not because they're better truck, it's because they're cheaper truck.
The first vehicle I drove was a 73 GMC Super Custom 1500. I was 12 and on a farm. That was 1976 so a fairly new truck at the time.
Great, informative video. Nice editing skills, this made my day. I’m also a 1980!!!
I always wondered what made the difference in 1980 square bodies having round or square headlights. My Grandfather (who adopted me at age 3) had an 80 C10 4x4 and it had the square headlights, I think it was a Scottsdale. What a great truck! That thing was awesome in the snow in Western PA. As far as the 5 lug wheels go on the 1/2 ton 2WD Chevy trucks, I think that started in 1970 or 71. I know my 71 C10 Cheyenne 2WD longbed 350 4-speed (and an honest 89k original miles!) has the 5 lugs and power front disc brakes (she still has the original "Disc Brake" sticker on the tailgate, although it has faded some over the years), and I think the lug pattern is 5 on 5? I have updated my wheels to the later Chevy Truck Rally wheels, 15x8, like came on the 80's Suburban 2WD's and such. Good stuff, Steve! Thanks, man, for all you do to keep the classics alive, even if the examples are kinda "dead". Take care, brother, and stay safe!
Steve back in 1988 when I bought the First 1 ton 1988 Chevy special order, I got every add on there was, That truck was called the Beast, By every company I plowed for Back then, While ford 's dodges were all Being Block and tackled out of the woods, My truck had to finish there Plow jobs, But Back to the square body, It was still made in 88, but only 1 ton body, 89 it was gone
Those 70's chevies trucks had serious rust issues. A friends folks had two, a 73 and a 80 in 80, and the 73 had holes big enough to put your foot through, on both sides.
The early ones rotted quick over the wheel wells, then the cab corners and rockers. Sometime around 1980(?) they seem to have fixed that a bit and just left the cab corners and rockers to rot.
Good morning Steve! The new editing is almost perfect 👍 thanks for that.. I am actively looking for one without an engine now myself. 😏 So far they've either been too dented, too rusted or the owner thinks he at a Barrett Jackson auction.
I'll find me one though. There's plenty of them around. 😊
actually 1991 glad to help
Love the Square Body trucks! A simple yet cool design. The door window frames had that Cadillac limo styling of the time. The truck lasted from ‘73-‘87 with a face lift between ‘80-‘81, pretty good life span for a truck model!
The regular cab short bed square body lasted until 1991 in Mexico with the 2 small headlight design. They are cool looking trucks.
Cool to see you in this comment section, if you are the same who posts on Instagram. Very much enjoying seeing the differences south of the US border. Cars from cultures other than your own always have a mystical air to them...
@@sc3ku I am the very same and thank you very much for your comments.
Oh it has one of those varijet carbs on it. I had one on my 2.8 Camaro. I filed the secondary air flap limiter so it would open 100%. Nice boost in power.
Thank you Steve
I like the editing on this video Steve
Your legend bro yes we need you Steve especially in the winter 100k nice. Up from there mint utg Tony says hi 👋 thanks ✌️
I wouldn't say moving the tank outside the cab was such a good thing on these. The side saddle tanks became almost as infamous in side impacts as the pinto was in rear end impacts.
True, but also like the pinto, they had to rig it to make fires happen for the dateline show.
Overfilled the tanks, left the gas cap loose, and had a lit open flame burning inside the fender in order to make them actually catch fire.
It was definitely overblown. And who knows, probably was arranged by Ford's covert operations team to make gm look bad. That way they sell more ford trucks.
@@ryurc3033
Maybe, but it still really happened. Look up Shannon Mosely. He was a 17 year old killed in a 1985 GMC in 1989 because the side saddle tank ruptured when he was broadsided by a drunk driver that ran a red light. The coroner stated he had no broken bones or major injuries. He'd have survived if the tank hadn't ruptured and burned him alive.
@@ryurc3033sure, maybe that’s something they did to guarantee a fire for the tv but it doesn’t take a genius to see one of these things easily rupturing in the event of a side impact with nothing more than some thin sheet metal covering it.
@@ryurc3033 Not Really The side saddle fuel tank design installed in over 10 million trucks - all 1973-87 General Motors full-size pickups and cab-chassis trucks (pickups without beds) and some 1988-91 dual cab or RV chassis - is the worst auto crash fire defect in the history of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (formerly known as the Fatal Accident Reporting System), over 2,000 people were killed in fire crashes involving these trucks from 1973 through 2009.
@@lawnmowerdude If they were that dangerous and causing thousands of deaths, as you imply here, the design would have been changed long ago and it hasn't. You can pull examples to any rule out there.
When u threw that door down I felt attacked 😂
Had a 1976 K5 Blazer, impossible to heat up/so cold inside during winter. If I had known then about those door vents, blocking them off would have no doubt helped a bit.
Square body Suburbans where used through 1989. I know because I owned one. They somehow made the grills in the Headlights fit into those bodies from the new body styles. Quite interesting in fact.
The square bodies were C and K from 1973 to 1986 and then from 1987 to 1991. In 1992, GM lined things up and everything was a C and K series again.
Till 91
You guys and your "fancy" editing this morning with the cut to the features.
I think it was more that he had already showed all that stuff before and didn't want to crawl around under this one. I can't blame him for not wanting time re-doing what he already had.
22k on Barrett-Jackson!
I love your door joke on the video.
Still lovin this channel And yall r doin a good job.
I found this video to be edifying.
Never seen that valve cover or split exhaust manifold before, so again I'm learning something new today. Another poster refered to it as an 'aspirator' valve cover..very interesting. Was the valve cover and manifold strictly truck or were they on some passenger cars too?
The straight six was last used in a GM passenger car in 1979.
Morning Steve Hope you're doing well
Chevy C10 started 5 lugs in 72. They are 5 on 5" and cars are 5 on 4.75" so Chevy car wheels were not interchangeable. Other GM wheels will work.
Steve did mention that a lot of Chevrolet wheels would interchange with the C10 pattern from passenger cars. I believe he's correct because I put a truck, 5 lug wheel on a 74 BelAir. It's a full size car. Frame also. The same year Monte Carlo was a little smaller. That MonteCarlo would fit on Dodge van, but not perfect. For emergency maybe. What other models of that size hub, I'd guess the luxury cars.
Full-size Chevy cars went to 5" pattern in 1971
United Chevrolet In Worcester I remember that from when I was a kid. I was born in Worcester and we lived in Shrewsbury until I was ten years old in 1966. We still have relatives in that area but the old man found a job in Chicopee so that’s where we went
My brother has a truck like this, in pretty much the same condition. Except it has a 350 in it. It will start in -40c and he drives it every day
GM called this generation of truck the rounded line internally. So where people got the idea these are square bodies are beyond me.
Park one next to an '88 GM truck and it will be obvious.
They were about as rounded as a brick. LOL.
"square body"=recent lingo
It's just like all the morons that call a 94-up Dodge pickup a "2nd gen" and a 93-down a "1st gen". They need to research when the Dodge bris started building trucks lol
Had a 250 straight 6 in my 78 Camaro. Bulletproof little engine. And made that Camaro handle like crazy too. Didn't realize how much a heavy V8 effected handling before that car. I wonder how much horsepower and torque you can get out of a 250 without a bunch of expensive machining
Excellent... I believe the the truck bolt pattern was 5 x 5 inches vs most GM cars is 5 x 4.75 inches.
GM cars were almost all 5" except for Chevy which was 4-3/4". Then in later years mid-size were all 4-3/3 but full-size was still 5". Even full-size RWD was 5" through mid 90's
. I like old Chevy Truck's . I'm 62, and I owned a 1974 Silverado, in 1984 . It had a built in large, ice cooler, in-between the bucket seats . If I had the money, I was never thirsty . 😊 gb* ~ hard life (MULDEW) .
When it’s quoted that Ford outsells Chevy Pickups I always wonder if that includes GMC pickups. Any idea? Thanks
My father had a 81 same color throughout my childhood
Chevy square body trucks emulated dodge trucks of that Era which came out a year earlier in 72 and stayed longer until 93. Although they never sold as well as chevu trucks
Gotta love a chevu truck..
Lol you got me on the typo good job. That's what I get for drinking in the morning haha
@@tristankelsey1746Development of the 73-87 Chevy's started before that of the 72-93 Dodge's. Dodge began to emulate Chevy starting in 81 by going with a more squared look, stealing Chevy mirrors, and redesigning their interiors to ones similar to the Chevy's. 72-80 Dodge's look quite different from the 81-93 ones.
Hi Steve, good video! The carburetor you see on this truck is a GM Rochester Varajet. One flap is the automatic choke for the primary and the other flap is the variable venturi secondary, (two stage) better fuel economy and lower emissions. Please reply. Dave...
They're like half a Quadrajet
@@johneckert1365 You might say that, with an active variable size secondary.
Hi Steve..