Today’s blog post is about my cousin Jim’s 1985 Chevy C10 shortbed pickup – this is a Squarebody and it is up for sale.  Yes, the shop’s work truck needs a new home and hopefully someone reading this post might be interested and appreciate it.

This truck was originally a US Forestry Service vehicle, so it was pretty basic from the get go.  The interior is rather spartan, no carpet, no headliner and rollup windows.  However, the rest of the truck is all modern stuff.

Here is a picture of the build sheet.  Of course, the engine and transmission are different.

Powertrain

The old truck had a very outdated engine/transmission.  All this has been replaced with a modern LSx engine and 4L60E four speed electronic automatic transmission.  The engine is the 5.3L version – so this is a 325cid version.  The heads and cam are Precision Race Components (PRC) replaced prior to the engine being installed in the truck.  It has a cold air intake and is the electronic fly-by-wire throttle.  Exhaust is routed through factory ‘headers’ flowing through separate dual exhaust pipes.

Here is a picture from HPTuners showing the current engine PCM showing the engine came from a 2004 Silverado:

The truck has a custom made wiring harness made by Jim and the engine’s PCM has been tuned accordingly.  The fuel tank has been rebuilt and equipped with a fuel pump capable of providing the proper pressure for the LSx.  To keep the transmission happy, the truck comes equipped with a transmission fluid cooler – you can see this in the closeup picture of the grill.  Finally, the engine also has a catch-can and includes an Optima Redtop battery.  You can see the pressure-residual valves on the brake lines – they provide just enough pressure to remove any lag in the brake lines.  Jim favored this in all his builds.  The engine PCM is housed in its aluminum box mounted towards the front of the truck.

Exterior

Let’s be clear, this is a 40-year-old work-truck.  The truck was repainted a number of years ago and the paint is not perfect, however it is decent; a blank canvas for an ultimate sleeper.  The paint has flaws, and will be documented but pretty much, the paint looks okay.  The main thing is there are no rusted panels on this truck.  The doors are solid, the fenders are solid and the bed is in good shape too; the rubber liner will be included.

Wheels

Stock rims on the work truck.  No beauty rims here and no center cap.  This can all be found on eBay if you like, but for the money probably nicer wheels might do the trick.

Interior

Like I mentioned previously, the interior is spartan, it is a work truck after all.  There is no radio, but the AC and heater work very well.  The AC has been upgraded to have a modern refrigerant and thus, the condenser is much larger.  The compressor is also modern, not the original Freon version.  I think this might be a new Sanden but I am not sure.  There is a electric SPAL ran properly shrouded controlled by a trinary pressure switch and runs only when the refrigerant pressure rises.

FYI, the vents all work properly so you get face, blend, defrost and floor modes – this means the vacuum system is plumbed correctly.  This is an ailment of Squarebodies, that the air routing is not consistent.  In this truck, the venting works.

The bench seat was reupholstered in a dark brown material.  Currently it is protected with a woven seat cover that can be easily removed.  Speaking of covers, there is also a dash cover that protects the undamaged dash.

You will see the rearview mirror is missing from the windshield.  The mirror is undamaged and little “foot” that gets glued to the windshield is attached, however the adhesive has let go.  This is a cheap item, LMC Truck sells these and that is not hard to fix.

There is no headliner.  Remember this used to be a US Forestry truck?  These trucks did not come fully loaded so the headliner was never installed.  Ditto for any carpet.  I am sure if you want that, it is available from LMC Truck.

Instruments are all VDO and even includes a clock.  They all work.  The original instruments were ditched in favor of the VDO’s because of the LSx engine.

I have several sets of keys too, that will be included in the sale.

 

The Not So Good Parts

OK – in the spirit of full disclosure and not wanting to waste your time and mine, I will list the known “issues”.  This is my cousin’s truck and he drove it pretty much every day.  This is what I know…

Engine

The truck runs strong and shifts very crisply.  However, when it sits and is cold, it is sometimes a bit hard to start.  Jim told me there is a crank positions sensor that might need to be replaced – I have connected my HPTuners and see no error codes, so I am at a loss on this one.  if you notice in the pics of the interior, there is a toggle switch under the steering column – that is an auxiliary ‘start’ switch.  Comes in handy when trying to star the engine.  Once the engine is warm though, it fires right up.

Interior

As shown in the photos above, there is no radio.  This was not an important thing for Jim, so he did not install one.  The windshield does not have a built-in antenna thinggie so if you want an radio you will need to add a hole somewhere for an antenna.  There is a panel where the radio used to be that can be replaced with something else.

There is no carpet either.  The truck has a rubber matt but carpet kits are easily obtain from LMC Truck.  i have a recent catalog from them and they pretty much have everything available for these old trucks.  But you probably know that already…

Instruments

The set is VDO.  They are all working.  Speedo works, tach, etc.  Here is what they look like:

The issue is that the speedo does not show mileage.  Something has happened to the ROM on that gauge and the actual mileage does not show.

Exterior

Sadly, the paint is not flawless.  For a work truck it serves very nice, but it won’t be winning an award at your local Cars and Coffee.  Jim built this as a no frills vehicle and that is what we have.  There are two spots that you need to be aware of.  They are on the bed on the driver’s side.  Also, on the bed gate, there is a ding.

There are other scratches on the body – you can probably already see them in the pictures I provided of the exterior previously.

The front bumper might not be everyone’s cup of tea.  Jim fabricated that – it is made from aluminum.  This bumper could be powder coated and made to look really nice.  Or, take it off and replace it with an original bumper.

The rear bumper is missing.  However, there is a special step-up bar that fits where the trailer hitch currently is.  That will be included with the truck also.

Steering Column

The steering column on the truck works.  The truck has been driven for a very long time with the current setup.  However, there is a bushing that has loosened up and the steering wheel has play in it.

I have a freshly refurbished steering column in a box that will be included with the truck.  If you know anything about Squarebodies, you will immediately know that steering columns are hard to come by and are also very expensive.  The column is in the box as the manufacturer sent it and again, will be part of the deal.

Final Words

By now you are probably asking yourself why this truck is for sale.  Well 2024 has been a very shitty year:  my cousin Jim Thompson unexpectedly passed away.  I have been tasked to handle his estate, and this is one of the many tasks ahead of me.

This truck was his daily driver and sadly it needs to go to a new owner.  The work truck needs a new home worthy of someone that understands the kind of work invested in the truck.  Yes, you could go get a newer truck for the money but this truck is the ultimate sleeper and also a blank canvas for someone that knows and appreciates what Jim built.  This truck with a nice lowering kit, some nicer wheels (or perhaps keep these?) – who knows – would be a killer machine.

Jim had me order the steering column just a few weeks before he passed away.  We were planning to install it together, that but sadly that did not happen.  I just don’t have the time and bandwidth to install it, so given we already have it I want to include that in the sale of the truck.

The truck is located in Greenville, South Carolina.  If you are interested in the truck let me know and we can arrange to meet and talk about it.  I am not giving the truck away, so don’t waste your time and mine with low ball offers.  I know what Squarebodies with LSx’s are worth, and I have a price in mind so if you are interested contact me.

I don’t want to sound abrasive, but also give me a little break:  This is Jim’s truck and I have described it as best I can.  I am sure I may have missed some info and I am sure you will ask me about that.  But, just keep in mind I did not build the truck myself, so I cannot give you information I don’t have.  The truck runs, shifts and handles correctly.  I would keep it myself, but I can’t keep it all.

If you want more info, you can leave a comment on this post.  That is easy to do – I read and moderate all comments.  Please, make sure you include your email address so we can converse.

Why this way?  Because if I list my email address on this post, I will get a ton of spam from bots scanning my blog.  It is more secure to add a response to this email in the form of a comment.  And don’t worry – any response made is PRIVATE – meaning it won’t expose your comments and email address.  I will also not make your post public.