Often, when an old pickup truck such as this 1980 Chevrolet C-10 is discovered, it’s either stock, in farm form, or somewhere on its way to hot rod status. This time we have a popular Square-Body truck that’s right out of government service (a school district) and is looking for a new home. I’d wager that this one has been sitting out in the hot Fresno, California sun for some time though it still shows as fair. That said, let’s take a more detailed look. This former Central Unified School District work truck is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $1,525 with nine bids tendered so far.

Square Body (’73-’87) Chevies have grown in popularity over the last several years and, depending on body style and equipment, have become collectible. A California provenance (it was assembled at Chevrolet’s Fremont, CA plant) is usually good news, integrity-wise anyway, and this example is not showing signs of body rot. It does have a few contusions here and there but none that look really serious. It has had the benefit of diamond plate protection applied to the cargo bed sills and is wearing a pretty heavy-duty-looking rear step bumper. It even comes with a built-in toolbox!

The VIN verifies this truck as possessing a 350 CI V8 engine, which according to period research, is rated at 170 net HP, in California emission control trim. The motor is said to turn over but does not start. The five-digit odometer reading of 29K miles puts it in once-around territory, and who knows, maybe even twice. The engine appears to be, as expected, in original and non-modified form. A Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission helps this Chevy put down tracks.

I’d describe the interior as “sun-baked”. It’s a filthy environment so there is some disguise of its true condition occurring. But this we can tell, the seating upholstery is kaput, the dash pad, in spite of the topper, is split, and the floor covering (carpet?) is destroyed. That’s the bad news, the good news is that all of this can be replaced and it is a compact environment.

The listing makes note of the fact that this truck is a long bed and not the more popular, at least with hot-rodders and restorers, short bed version. Still, this example has value in its own right as it is a blank canvas, and there are a multitude of directions that the next owner could take. And with that thought in mind, what would your course of direction be, restoration, hot rod conversion, leave it as a running work truck, or just forget about it and look for a different example?