The 1965 Chevrolet C10 Is A Beater Turned Classic Worth 20X Its Original MSRP

A Bit About The 1965 Chevrolet C/K Series

For newbies old Chevy monikers can get a bit handful and sometimes even for me, LOL. In C/K “C” means that the truck is 2WD while the “K” denotes its 4WD configuration. Similarly, C10, C20, and C30 denote (½ Ton or 5000 lb Gross Vehicle Weight, ¾  Ton or 5500-7000 lb GVW, and the C30 is the largest at 1 Ton 6700-7800 lb GVW ).

I decided to go for the C10 series as they were the cheapest of the lot and had all the bells and whistles of the bigger variants and looked a bit more timeless than its successors, imho. Chevy also offered them in either 6-½ or 8 ft beds with a 115-inch or 127-inch wheelbase.

Back in the day, C10 was offered in 2 body styles the “Fleetside” and the “Step Side”. The former looks like a plain old truck while the latter has built-in steps into the side of the bed for easy loading and unloading

As a result, the Step-Side ‘65 Chevy C10 has slightly expensive spares and costs a bit more in general too. BTW I got mine for $18,000 after haggling for a couple of days and was among the handful of Stock C10s left in MC state. ( More on that later).

You get to choose among 2 Sixes and a 283 V8.

The C10 series was offered with a couple of Slant Sixes. A 230 Cu was standard and a 290 Cu was optional. The former came with low restriction vale ports, hydraulic lifters, and a 7-bearing crankshaft capable of putting out a healthy 140 hp and 220 lb-ft.

Another Six was a 290 Cu unit with aluminum inlet valves and bearings making 170 hp and 275 lb-ft. The 283 OHV V8 was also optional and was the top dog with 5 bearing crankshaft and an 11-inch Clutch. But it wasn’t that much more potent than 290 Six as it made 175 hp and 275 lb-ft.

Tranny for every Occasion!

Standard tranny with 1965 Chevy C10 was a 3-on-the-tree with a 10-inch Clutch. An Overdrive or a Wide Ratio 3-speed, 4-speed, fully automatic Powerglide, and Positronic LSD with 3.73/4.11 rear end were all optional extras.

One of the reasons the C10 is among the toughest and most durable trucks of all time was due to its independent front and rear coil suspension that could easily tackle even the nastiest of bumps and could be equipped with auxiliary rear springs for further rigidity. 

The other was its high-strength ladder frame fabricated with lots of alligator jaw cross members.

A '65 Chevrolet C10 Had Plenty Of Custom Options

The standard interior was an all-vinyl affair. Still, the C10s equipped with Custom Cab with optional deep foam seats, white trim, armrest, air conditioner, all-weather HVAC, power steering, and chrome mirrors are highly sought after and cost extra in the used car market.

There aren’t many C10s listed to begin with. Finding a genuine unadulterated and bone-stock 1965 Chevrolet C/K C10 would be like catching a Unicorn, which is impossible and pricey.

Almost all of the C10s listed on eBay and Autotrader are modified in one way or another. Still, if you decide to press the trigger on the modified units expect to shell out $40,000 to $60,000 even 100k  depending on the extent of restoration or whether it's an SB or LB, Step Side or Fleetside.

What are some popular Chevrolet C10 mods?

Before tinkering with anything else get rid of the backrest/fuel tank thing that is nothing but a disaster waiting to happen. You can choose many crate motors from Chevy to shoehorn in your C10 or get a Blueprint 383/396 for about $7500 from Speedway motors.

1965 Chevy trucks came with a pretty useless vacuum braking system that should be upgraded with hydraulic units from Summit Racing for about $250. Other popular upgrades are 3-point safety belts, transmission, and coilover, wooden bed planks.

If you are like me and prefer an OEM restoration over a restomod CJ Pony Parts has an exhaustive list of all the spares you would ever need for taking your C10 back in time.  

1965 Chevrolet C10 ½ Ton Specifications

Image Source- Brochure