Save From Drag Racing: 1979 Chevrolet LUV
I guess the Big Three American manufacturers in the seventies decided to test the waters with captive import pickups before bringing out their own in the eighties. The LUV was produced by Isuzu for Chevrolet. Apparently, sales were well enough to warrant manufacturing their own pickups, which sold strongly through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s. Here is a 1979 Chevrolet LUV pickup for sale here on Craigslist in Joplin, Missouri. Thanks go out to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for finding this pickup and bringing to our attention.
This truck is a rust free surviving original. It has the original Jasmine Yellow paint. The seller bought this truck to make a drag racing truck but decided it was too nice to do that. It has new tires. This truck features a 7 1/2 foot bed which is in good condition with only normal scratches from loading and no rust.
The interior features the original bench seat with two-tone vinyl. I believe it has been covered to protect it because in one picture we see a seat cover. There is matching embossed door trim panels and color-keyed floor mats.
This Chevrolet LUV even has factory air conditioning, but unfortunately, the compressor has been removed. The dash also features a sizable crack. The radio and gauges still work. The selling information states this has an automatic transmission, but I’m thinking that is a 4-speed manual.
The engine is a 1.8 liter (110.8 cubic inch) OHC 4 cylinder. The LUV has front disc brakes with rear drums. The truck has 97,000 miles and the seller is asking $5,500. Have you been wanting a small truck? Somebody please save this one from conversion to a drag racer and keep this truck preserved!
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Comments
I had a friend of mine that had one of these that was cherry in color & condition. It was 2012 or so we had a hurricane coming through here in coastal NC so he decided that the best place to put it in the side/back yard where it’d be safe. Sadly that was not the case. It rained more than the wind blew. The torrential rain made the ground soft & the neighbors rather large oak tree came down across the little white picket fence & the bed of that poor little red Chevy LUV. Many hearts were broken that day my friends.
This is more than enough pick up that most people would require 99% of the time. Unlike the loaded 3/4 ton 4×4 pick ups that you see each day with just one person commuting to work and nothing in the bed.
I had an early version of the LUV truck to haul my race bike. The thing was all the truck needed to do the job. It was great on gas which was a definite plus traveling up and down the east coast to race. I tore out the bench seat and installed Thunderbird bucket seats and it had a “quadraphonic” 8 track player . I had to custom order my mag wheels because of the 6 lug pattern. Its a shame they don’t make anything like this any more. It never gave me a problem all the time I owned it.
My folks owned one in ’75 and we loved it! Dad and I tricked it out with some really cool stuff like big tires, Jackman
white spoke rims, Cibi driving lamps,
and a Robyn SX-101 CB radio. We left
the body and drivetrain alone but added
black pinstripes to the red-orange body.
We just got the truck done when Mom
drove it to K-mart to pick up some things.
She pulled into a parking space, hit a
parking block, and broke both driving
lights! We replaced them and drove the truck a couple of years before selling it on in 1977. These trucks were a rolling
blank canvas for any modifications you
chose to do. This truck needs to be saved and preserved the way it is. Oh
sure, I’d use it for hauling, but I’d take
great care in doing so. Drive and enjoy–
don’t destroy!!
Why would anybody race a long bed?
How can I contact the seller for the chevy luv 1979?