Classic pickup trucks like today’s Nice Price or No Dice Chevy C20 are enjoying a wave of popularity amongst auto collectors. Let’s find out if this one is priced to help complete someone’s set.
When it was new, the 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300 SD we looked at last Friday sat at the pinnacle of automotive engineering and stately style. Now, it exhibits the scrapes and scratches built up over the intervening years and the 185,000 miles it has traveled. Based on the comments, many of you were scared off by the big Benz’s age and complexity. A few more were concerned about its potential for regicide, as Princess Diana famously died in a car crash involving a Mercedes similar to our car.
In the end, however, none of those threats could overcome the car’s charms, nor the allure of obtaining them at a mere $5,995 asking price. The result was a tidy 67% ‘Nice Price’ win.
Stepping up to a Stepside
How great a name is “Action Line”? It just oozes the potential for adventure and engaging action all down the line. Action Line was the internal name given by General Motors to the second generation of C/K pickup and cab/chassis trucks that debuted under the Chevy and GMC brands in 1967. These models offered substantially more modern styling compared to their first-generation predecessors, which had been designed in the late 1950s. Still, they retained much of the earlier trucks’ ladder frame chassis and several drivetrain combinations.
This 1971 Chevrolet C20 long bed is a three-quarter-ton chassis featuring a stepside bed. Unlike many modern interpretations of the design, this literally is a step-side, with textured platforms running between the cab and sculpted rear fenders. While presented as a 1971 model, this Chevy wears the front fascia of a pre-1970 edition rather than the egg crate grille introduced for the ’71 model year. In fact, it appears the entire front clip was replaced with a 1967 edition at some point in this truck’s life, as evidenced by the lack of side-marker lights in the front fenders. On the plus side, it does have a chrome-plated bumper up front and an industrial diving platform with an integrated trailer hitch (but no obvious electrical connections) out in the back.
A pleasant patina
The seller claims to have owned the truck for the past 15 years and says in the ad that it has developed a “great patina” over that time. The truck presents well in the pictures, even though the seller says it has a few scratches and minor rust spots in places. It’s all said to be very solid overall and comes in an excellent shade of 1970s minty metallic green.
Under the hood is a 350 cubic inch displacement V8. That has been tarted up to look nice, but it’s not bling city in there. Behind that is a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 three-speed automatic driving the rear axle only. Power steering and brakes (discs up in the front starting with this model year) provide added civility. According to the seller, the drivetrain is “fast and powerful and can be driven anywhere.” Other pluses include new tires all the way around, and a new exhaust that begins at a set of tubular headers snaking out on either side of the 350 engine.
All-new interior
Naturally, the interior is where most of the time will be spent enjoying this truck and that’s all-new but carefully curated to provide a period-correct vibe. Updates include a new gauge cluster, steering wheel, seat upholstery, and carpet. This being an old-school truck, that’s pretty much all there was to change out. The rest of the interior, save for the door cards and dash cap, is all bare metal, bringing the outside in. It all looks to be in wonderful condition, and, save for a modern AM/FM/CD stereo and door speakers, it sets up a full-court 1970s look.
According to the ad, all of the gauges and lights work. Still on the truck’s honey-do list, the wood flooring of the bed needs replacing as it’s mostly rotted out. The truck does come with a clean title and of-the-era black and gold California license plates, so it’s got that going for it.
Market pricing
As we noted at the outset, classic trucks are having their moment right now. This truck, simple as it is, is both a classic and pretty classy. It’s far from perfect, and the 7,500 miles the ad claims are obviously not accurate, but there’s a lot to like here nonetheless. Could it be enough to like that we also like its $14,500 asking price?
What’s your take on this stepside and that not-insubstantial price tag? Does that feel right for a truck with both a past and potential? Or is that too much for a truck with a bed you can’t even sleep in?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Contact me at [email protected] and send a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.
