We aren’t completely against sports-utility vehicles, don’t get us wrong. Chad practically lives out of a Suburban during the summer months, it seems. But when you have multiple vehicles and you find that you own a Chevrolet Tahoe that isn’t being used much, maybe it’s time to reconsider whether or not you need to own a Chevrolet Tahoe at all. BangShifter Chris, aka “74NovaMan”, found himself in such a spot. On one hand, they did have a need for the occasional use of a truck, but Chris was scratching for a new build and though it was clean and dependable, the 1996 Tahoe just wasn’t as appealing as the thought of a random-use classic truck was. His wife was on board with the plan, so long as the Tahoe was sold first, so the SUV went on the classifieds and in short order, the $2,500 it earned was hunting for a classic truck. The goals were simple: they wanted a 1973-79 GM Rounded-Line truck in an attractive two-tone color setup, in two-wheel-drive form, with a V8 and an automatic, that was drivable and wasn’t so ragged out that it couldn’t hold up for a bit until they could address issues.
And here was their gem: a 1979 Chevy C-10 in blue and white that they found in Missouri. Driving down from Wisconsin to Missouri and back in under 31 hours is rough enough…driving half of that back in a truck with no radio is something else altogether. Shortly after getting it home the truck got some much needed maintenance love and and a thorough look-over. It’s got patina, it’s got some Bondo on the hood, but for a Midwest truck, this Chevy is in pretty decent condition! These GM trucks used to number in the millions…nowadays, not so much, so seeing another one saved and cared for makes us happy. So where is Chris taking this Chevy? It needs to be a driver, so a 700R4 swap is in the works as well as more remedial attention to parts. How does thirty-seven year old truck hold up and what needs work? Check out the thread…
BangShift Project Thread: 74NovaMan’s 1979 Chevrolet Truck
McT: The last GM product I owned was a ’79 Silverado SWB Fleetside, sold it in ~1983. It’s probably fortunate I don’t own it now, because that would result in PORTERBUILT getting waaaaay too many of my hard earned dollars:)
Flipped lid glory! Gotta love that q-jet noise. I do the same thing on my 75 C20
Make sure those hood hinges are lubed well. I can’t count how many of those trucks had bent hoods!
Investigate if a gas tank relocation is possible. Factory “outside the frame rail” location kept the lawyers busy for years.
These trucks are dead nuts reliable. I swapped a TH400 in the 87 I had, I just feel the earlier transmissions are more reliable. Also go ahead and just rip off your arm rest, they’ll break off anyway.
Nice write up. Thanks for the ink!
I just bought my ’79 in January, 2015. I’m only the fourth owner. Original dash is 100% perfect, I’ve replaced the interior, added tilt wheel, A/C works. Will start body work this summer.