What do you guys think of a 1970 Chevy C/10 pickup for a BOV?

[MrJingles]

6 cyl three speed.

Runs good supposedly. Pretty cheap. I might enjoy putting around in it anyway so I think I may grab it.

Any thoughts on it? Should I wait for an old jeep instead?

[JeffS]

I don't know so much about a BOV, but it would be fun to have. Back when I was in high school about 8 million years ago, the cool thing was to have a short wheel base stepside 68-72 Chevy or GMC. Of course, they were only about 10 years old then, so they were a lot more plentiful. As I remember, most people cut a hole in the glove box to put a speaker.

I'm no mechanic by any means, but I'd give the nod to a 350 instead of the six. I don't know what kind of shape it's in, but bear in mind, it's a 40 year old truck.

I still think it would be fun to have though.

[E. Scrooge]

I had a 72 Chev, 6 cyclinder and it was a decent truck. Prone to rust up here in the northwoods, but the thing ran well. Not sure how it would handle an EMP or Solar Flare, but noone knows what will. Is definitely a decent size vehicle, but I would carry a couple of five gallon cans of gas if you need to bug out in a hurry. Seems to me about 15-17 mpg is the best I could get with it.

[bacpacker1513]

My dad had a 64 Chevy straight six, GrandPa had a 66 GMC V-6. They were both good trucks, non electronic ignition. If anything runs after EMP I bet that truck will. The straight six's even had decent power for their size. We hauled hay with 50 bales on the truck, plus pulling a trailer with another 150 bales. They would go with a load. Their pretty easy to rebuild as well, we tore my dad down and overhauled it when I was in high school. really a pretty simple engine.

[Archetype]

The straight six's even had decent power for their size. We hauled hay with 50 bales on the truck, plus pulling a trailer with another 150 bales. They would go with a load.

All 3 (GM/Mopar/Ford) had wonderfully torquey straight/slant 6's. I would not hesitate unless the thing was incredibly rusty...depends on how much they want for it I guess.

[SlowJoe]

Those are great trucks. Built well, and parts are easy/cheap to get for repairs. The inline 6 will run forever. Great engines with good torque for pulling. A V8 will swap right in also if it dies, bolting up to your existing trans and mounts. Jump on it if it is something you would like!

[Barachiah]

If it's a 70 engine still under the hood, it should be a 250 cu in. Great motor, strong runner. Didn't have a timing chain, it had timing gears. A lot more sturdy. Should get around 20 mpg if it is timed right and the carburator is tuned properly. They have a points-type distributor, so less of a worry as far as EMP is concerned. It should have either a 3-speed T-10 Borg warner manual transmission or a New Process compound 4-speed transmission. I don't believe too many had automatic transmissions behind the 6 cylinders back then. Both are good transmissions, but the 4-speed is much stronger. The 3-speed is a good car transmission, but not made to carry too much of a load. I would buy it just because it would be fun, but there are better BOV's out there if you have patience and know what to look for. But, if it's all you've got, it'll do nicely.

In regard to the V-8 swap: Unless you need to have a ton of power and want to haul ass, don't get in too big of a hurry to swap the engine of the 6 runs well. You will get a lot more use out of the 6 for more reasons than I can list in a timely manner. V-8's are fun and have their place, but 6-cylinders kick a different kind of ass if you're savvy with 'em.

[WvBoy]

I'm not positive about the 70's but I think it has the gas tank behind the seat, thats something I never liked but there's plenty of kits to move the tank. Power steering and power brakes were also very rare but easily added. I think they're good trucks but I always enjoyed tinkering with them.

I've had several 67/68 trucks, all with inline 6 and 3spd except one(it had a 327). They aren't geared for todays roads but for a local or farm vehicle it would probably work great, those 6 cyl engines can take some abuse.

BTW: Before I left texas in 1990 (pcs'ing to korea) I bought a rust free 67 stepside and drove it 1200 miles to park it at dads place. I was young and in a hurry driving a truck geared like a tractor, anything over 70-75mph it would smoke like a train and I filled the oil everytime I filled the gas. It was only driven a few thousand miles after I dropped it off and it never smoked or used any oil again. Its been in a storage shed ever since and will someday be roadworthy again. I have no doubt that I could have it running again with less than $50, roadworthy would be quite a bit more.

[Hess]

I just got a 74 Chevy P10 step van for a BOV. 292 six cylinder 102 inch wheelbase, aluminum body, and plenty of room. Something to think about.