Restore Or Restomod? 1966 Chevrolet C-10
It’s hard to believe how far prices have come for old vehicles, and this 1966 Chevrolet C-10 short bed pickup isn’t even high compared to a lot of vehicles that we have seen lately. This cool-colored truck is listed on eBay and it’s located in Eads, Tennessee. The current bid is over $6,000 but the reserve isn’t met and there is a $10,000 buy it now price.
Most things go up in price in a normal market but it seems like old/classic vehicles, or certain ones, have gone up in price and value more than socks or Cheez Whiz. Not that those are my go-to items to judge a country’s financial stability on, but come on, Cheez Whiz! Patina-heavy pickups seem to be one of the hot numbers these days and this truck is at a current bid price of over $4,000. Not having met the reserve yet, that seems so foreign to those of us who grew up with these things being $1,000-$1,500 vehicles in ndecent shape. For the record, Hagerty is at $5,700 for a #4 fair condition version.
This is the original color, it’s just had a few decades of Tennessee sun beating on it. I love the look but there are legions of people who hate the word patina: “It’s just rust!” Hauling things notwithstanding, I prefer the look of a short box pickup.
The seller says that this is an original Tennessee barn find, “Grandpaw purchased this truck brand-new from Russell Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Company in McKenzie Tennessee on March 25, 1967 and has been in the area ever since”. And as far as the color, it’s original: “blue and white truck w/cool patina, Solid southern truck with some rust in the common areas easily repairable, Solid in all of the critical areas such as the frame, around both the front and rear windows and all body mounts, Some minor bodywork needed, Never subjected to salty roads or climates”. A three-on-the-tree manual transmission is the perfect way to use the power in the 250 inline-six.
This is, I believe, Chevy’s 250 cubic-inch inline-six with around 150 hp. It’s looking complete but it’s full of patina and not in a good way, I rarely like my engines to be rusty. The seller says that it “Runs but needs a new fuel pump and it would be a good idea to give it a good checkup before driving on a daily basis as the truck has been sitting more than it has been driven lately”. This looks like a great project for someone jumping into the hobby and preferring a pickup to an old car. I could easily see myself fixing this Chevy pickup and keeping it maintained and using it as it looks now. Would you maintain it, restore it, or restomod it?
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Comments
Cool old truck, 10K is optimistic. I’ve got 3800 in to this old tank. I’d be lucky to get that out of it.
Start washing only the door so it catches up with the rest, then watch the money roll in. ( looks like a nice solid truck)
10,000 is 9,250 too much
I know AMERICA is out of control right now and so are the SELLERS of older vehicles…..I don’t know where these folks come up with these outrageous prices but ten grand for “THIS”????? UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!
Nice truck, except for the price.
At least the flipper pulled thosnone off the trailer for pics. Unlike the 64 he has for sale that is still on the trailer & has different wheels in different photos. Seems to specialize in these trucks as he has sold a half a dozen in the last 6 months…
Nice truck, was a $500 truck forever until lately. I’d keep it like it is and make sure it’s safe and not deteriorating any more and enjoy it. There is something about driving and old original truck. I had a 1977 F100 for 5-7 years with very low mileage and no rust. I used it like a truck and enjoyed it thoroughly. I only sold it when the economy got bad and being a Realtor I sold what I could to stay afloat. Mine was a 300 six with 3 on the column. It was pretty quick. Here’s a picture of it. I sold it to a soldier in Chambersburg PA.
Nice old truck. Overpriced as most short beds are. Why would you want to restore it? Use it as to run parts or to the home improvement store.
This is a great project! Once again, I’ll ramble on like a stuck record in saying that the only way to do this one justice is a full resto. Keep the six and run the three speed manual. I would restore it bone stock and drive it. Too bad the purchase price puts the entire project out of my reach. It could be a lot of fun….
The perfect $5000 antique truck, if it were a long bed, which is of course the best type of truck. You tradesmen know what I mean.
250 straight 6 is dead-on. Love it.
If there was more people like you, we wouldn’t be inundated with 4-doored short boxes. It’s gotten to the point that dealers don’t have full boxes in stock, and a used full box with a standard cab is becoming nearly impossible to find.
I wonder what’s up with the upper radiator hose?
Here it is again.
https://northmiss.craigslist.org/cto/d/swap-1966-chevrolet-c10-swb/6549290956.html
The reserve must be pretty close to the 10K number.
I saw that too, it’s not the original radiator, as seen in this one from a few years back with the upper hose to one side, not in the middle.
https://barnfinds.com/1966-chevrolet-c10-fleetside/
Great honest old truck. Been looking for one for ages but 66 seems to be a hard year to find.
Learned to drive in one of these. Mine was the same color inside and out as the interior on this one.
I’d give 4K for this in a heartbeat, and just do what needs to be done to keep her happy.
This sound funny but I bought a 2003 Chevy 1500 Suburban from Russell Chevy, some years back.
For this truck, I would given at top end 5K for it. It appears to be pretty solid, this part of Tennessee is farm country and I have know many farmers in my life time, and they take care of Pickup trucks, because they are the backbone to most farm operation. My Grandfather owned a crop farm in SE Missouri for 45 years, but was able to replace his Pickup truck every 4 years, up till the time he sold the farm, and he had that truck for about 10 years before he gave it to me because he could no longer drive.
I can see the owner trying to get to most they think they can for this truck.
I had a ’63 shortbed with the big back glass. Someone told me they called them coupes. Had “patina” out the wazoo, but that was 25 years ago. Nice runner at the time and wish I had it back
I have a 66 C20 for my daily driver. It has the 327 and granny 4 speed. I installed the Sniper EFI system on it and it drives great. It is a long bed and can haul all kinds of stuff in that bed. Short beds seem to be the craze right now and I am seeing Long beds get pricey too. But that is the case here in Cali, lots of crazy people with lots of money and don’t know how to spend it.
worst fake patina I have seen for a week…………… if you are going to do it do it well!
He used a washing mitt made of steel wool.
Cheese whiz I’d like to have this truck. My dad drove one in 67-68 when was business agent for the carpenters union in Redding,California. He owned a 61 but really liked the 250 that was in the 66 better than the 235 in his 61. Oh well I think I can one here in Harris county, Texas for less money.
One of the worst fake patina jobs I’ve seen in the last year And a half with a six cylinder and a radiator from a 37 ford it’s about $7500 overpriced
Truck yes. Price NO!
What is being offered for 10K?
A straight body? No
Clean interior? No
Good running engine? No
Did anyone catch this?
“Grandpaw purchased this truck brand-new from Russell Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Company in McKenzie Tennessee on March 25, 1967”
That was well into the 1967 model year.
Nobody wanted this truck back then.
Compared to the Ford of that year, this was not an attractive truck.