4 Square-Body Chevys Worth Buying Today

Square-body Chevy trucks are the third generation. Chevrolet C/K pickups from model years 1973 through 1987. The square-body Chevrolet truck is widely best looking truck designs values ​​as a whole vary depending on specific model years.

Advertising

If you’re looking for something classic pickup truck for your next projectThe square-body Chevy is a great option. In this category, it’s possible to find project trucks priced under $5,000 that have the potential to sell into six-figure regions when restored to original or resto-mod condition.

According to incoming data classic.comIn the last five years, at least one example of four square-body Chevy truck models, including 1973, 1979, 1983 and 1984, has sold for more than $160,000. Honorable mention went to the 1986 model year, which had a sales price of $147,500 during the same five-year period.

(Featured image by Michael Barera Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0)

Advertising

Chevrolet has discontinued the Action Line, its second-generation C/K pickup trucks. The most iconic Chevrolets of the 1970sWhen the automaker introduced its third-generation C/K trucks for the 1973 model year, it tried to call them the Rounded Line. However, the new name was not very popular and the new generation body style was quickly referred to as the square body by the public.

Advertising

Over the past five years, Classic has recorded 37 sales totaling more than $1 million. The top seller for the 1973 square-bodied vehicle was a heavily modified Burnt Orange C10 Custom model (shown above), which brought $220,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale Arizona in January 2023. The truck was purchased for $6,600 in November 2020 before restoration and modification.

The truck’s original engine was replaced with Chevrolet Performance’s 650-horsepower supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8 engine backed by an eight-speed automatic transmission. Additional modifications include a 4×4 chassis with new independent front suspension and a heavy-duty transfer case with on-the-fly shifting capability.

While this individual truck is at the higher end of the scale, average prices for a 1973 Chevy square box are more reasonable at $28,773. The most recent sale recorded by Classic was for $27,000, which included another highly modified 1973 Chevy C10.

Advertising

Classic has recorded sales of 102 1979 Chevy trucks over the past five years, with a total value of approximately $2.7 million. Its position as the seventh installment of the square-body generation retains its 1970s status while incorporating the potential technological gains of six years of progress.

Advertising

The Classic’s highest recorded square-body Chevy truck sale in 1979 brought $165,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale Arizona in January 2023, the same as the 1973 square-body Chevy truck sale discussed above. A factory-installed four-wheel-drive, short-bed K10, this truck had a full restoration in 2022 that included the Rough Country six-inch suspension lift, 400 cubic-inch V8, four-speed automatic transmission, and 35-inch transmission. inch Dick Cepek Trail Country tires. According to Classic, the project truck was purchased for $1,000 in September 2021 and was listed on Bring a Trailer, but remained unsold despite receiving a bid of $46,250 in December 2022.

The average sales price for the 1979 square-body model was $26,692, with the last sale in October 2024 being $22,000. The latest sale is a yellow and cream C10 Super Cheyenne with a 5.0L V8 and 22-inch US Mags wheels.

Advertising

Square-body Chevy trucks from the last half of the third generation of the C/K series achieved some of the highest sales. The 1983 square body brought in the period’s highest gross sale of $228,250, while maintaining a relatively low average sales price of $25,350 based on the Classic’s 72 sales recorded over the past five years.

Advertising

This particular sale took place on January 14, 2023 at the Mecum auction in Kissimmee Florida. Before the auction, the price-reduced 1983 C10 Custom already had a long list of accolades, including the 73-87 Truck of the Year, 2022 Goodguys at the 2022 C10 Nationals. A Final Truck of the Year finalist and an appearance on the cover of Street Trucks Magazine. The truck was purchased for $4,800 in Texas in April 2021, just a few months before its success in 2022, and then sold again in November 2021 for $8,750. Although it is difficult to find pictures of this custom model, a similar model is depicted above.

If you’re looking to repeat that feat, Classic has a 1983 Chevrolet C10 currently listed as “original and highly original” for sale in Staunton, Illinois, for $6,900. It has 48,341 miles on the odometer and has a 305 cubic inch (5.0L) V8 and automatic transmission.

Advertising

The last four square-body Chevy truck model years are the most traded. Prior to the 1984 model with 159 units sold, only the 1979 square-bodied model had achieved sales of over 100 units in a five-year period. In 1984, the dollar volume of square body sales reached $4.4 million and the average sales price was $27,545.

Advertising

The highest sale on record was for a 1984 K10 Custom pickup that sold for $194,700 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale Arizona on January 26, 2024. Restored by Hill’s Hot Rods, the modified K10 featured the Gen V 5.3-liter V8 engine backed by an 8L90 automatic transmission and Atlas II 3.0 transfer case. The upgraded suspension included a custom Offroad Design four-inch lift, Fox shock absorbers, and 35-inch Toyo Open Country M/T tires.

There are currently 12 1984 Chevy square box trucks for sale on Classic’s website. Asking prices range from $79,900 on the high end for a modified K10 4×4 in Michigan to $15,000 for an original C20 Silverado long bed with a 454-cubic-inch big-block engine in California.

Advertising

Some of these square-body Chevys rose in value from a few thousand dollars to six figures within a year or two, despite the addition of plenty of elbow grease and some quality parts. With that kind of return on investment and the satisfaction of driving a classic pickup truck, square-body Chevys still seem worth buying today.