C30 dually 454 4-speed; 1 of a matching pair of one family owned '76 Chevy pkups

1976 Chevrolet C/K Pickup 3500 Scottsdale Additional Info:

1976 Chevrolet C-30 Scottsdale, Camper Special; VIN CCS346B131128. Consigned on behalf of the owner (he’s not computer literate). Stated by the owner that this is one of a pair of 1976 Chevrolet pickups that was purchased new by his father (the other truck is also currently listed on eBay).

Both trucks had their titles transferred to the owner after his father’s passing in the mid-1990’s as part of transferring the family farm. They were operated and licensed as working trucks until the late 1990’s then parked in one of the machine sheds on his property until the fall of 2018. He had started the process of awakening both trucks within the last year, but his wife (the Chief Financial Officer for the farm) stated that she does not want to spend any more money on them and that they should go. Both painted the same color (GM code 61, Grecian Bronze), they became known in the area as “the butterscotch twins”.

This C-30 was purchased new from Ryan Chevrolet of Minot, North Dakota on February 3, 1976. Still existent and included with the truck is the owner’s manual, warranty booklet with the adhesive tags for the VIN number to attached when service is performed, mileage disclosure statement, and Pre-Delivery Inspection form. In addition, it retains most of its license renewal “cab cards” from 1977 through 1994 (when the original owner passed away). Indicated miles are 57,933, stated by the consignor to be actual from new. The truck has a gooseneck hitch kingpin in the bed, the consignor stating that it was used primarily to pull gooseneck flatbed trailers hauling round hay bales on and between the family farm and ranch properties.

The original Service Parts ID tag is loose but still exists and shows the truck to be configured as it was originally built. Factory options include the Camper Special package, 454 CID V8, 4-speed manual transmission (with “granny-low” first gear), 4.10 ratio differential, 8.75x16.5 dual rear wheel equipment, HydroBoost power brakes, power steering, tilt steering column, auxiliary fuel tank (currently operating on the right tank, with no attempt made to switch tanks), voltmeter/oil pressure gauges, and below eye-level mirrors. The original AM radio has been replaced with a 1980’s era Audiovox AM/FM/cassette deck (currently not working).

When the truck was first taken out of storage, the original engine ran, but shortly after broke a piston ring and scored the cylinder. The engine was torn down by a local shop over the winter of 2018-2019 to diagnose the extent of the damage, and the consignor elected to have the engine replaced with a good running take-out truck spec 454 CID V8. The consignor also insisted upon retaining the original engine, which is included with the truck disassembled should the new owner wish to go to the effort and expense to attempt its repair. Diagnosis, sourcing the replacement engine, removal of the old, and installing the new, plus a replacement stock exhaust system was done at a coat of over $3,500 - prompting the consignor’s spouse to cut off further funding of the project. The new engine has been run approximately 30 test miles since, with no drivability issues.

The four-speed transmission has a new clutch pack and throw-out bearing, and shifts well. It is recommended to replace the neutral safety switch, as it sticks and sometimes takes several cycles of engaging the clutch pedal for the truck to start. It goes down the road good and tracks true, but when braking it was pulling from the left rear corner. The last test run with the truck had both left rear dual tires blow out within a mile, as all six radial tires on the ground pre-dated the 1984 tire size standard and date coding and are dry-rotted. The newer spare tire was fitted to the outside dual and another black finished wheel of the same construction with a newer tire was fitted to the inside. Since then, the truck has been essentially parked, not risking any additional blow-outs. As such, it goes without saying that the new owner will need to get at least four new 7.50R16.5 LT tires (to match the two newer radials). A gray painted single-piece steel wheel is included loose in the bed of the truck with the blown tire mounted to it.

Electrical issues include the dashboard lights being on when the truck is running and intermittently working headlights and cab clearance lights. A new replacement headlight switch is highly recommended, as the originals didn’t hold up well to grit and dust in a rural environment. Three of the five rear clearance lights were reportedly broken when the tailgate was taken off the truck years back and immediately fell face first onto a concrete pad (the consignor calls it “pilot error”).

There is the start of rust blistering on the bottom rear cab corners and the bottom of the front wheel wells, along with the top of the right front fender wheel well. The bottoms of the doors seem to have more superficial surface rust than anything structural. The majority of the paint is original but is faded and lower panels have heavier chipping and scaring from regular use on gravel roads. The original paint on the tailgate is heavily flaked from extended improper storage off the truck, but only has light dents on the inner panel. The fiberglass dually rear fenders don’t have cracks but do have gravel road rock chips and some old red primer at the bottoms to cover the worst chipping.

The truck is fitted with a period aftermarket set of J-Mark Side Irons aluminum running boards and painted steel grille guard.

The original Saddle vinyl bench seat has heavy wear at the driver’s seat bottom position. The seat back has worn a western motif burlap cover essentially since “day two” and wasn’t removed for inspection. The colored textured rubber flooring is serviceable, with the inner engine components placed into the passenger’s footwell by the shop that did the engine swap. Plastic door panels and gauge bezels have heavier sun fading, with less fade on the dashboard and dash pad that has several cracks. An aftermarket trailer brake controller (untested) and tachometer (now inoperative) clamped to the steering column were also period add-ons.

At this point is not recommended to drive the truck beyond loading it on and off a trailer.

Few one-ton dually's from the 1970’s have survived, most were worked into the ground. Combined with a highly desirable 454 V8 and stick shift four-speed, this is now a unique surviving work horse that will either be a reasonably easy restoration or mechanically refurbished as needed to be a driver as-is with character. Buy just this one or, with this unique opportunity, continue the legacy and also bid on its long-term stable mate and keep the pair together.