1973 c10 rescue.
 

My 1st square body rescue happened today. The truck was bought new by a local family and used on the farm until about 10 years ago. The truck was started and driven a short distance two years ago. I was shocked when the previous owner said she'd sell me the truck for $250. I couldn't pull the money out fast enough.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Score!

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

My favorite grill of the square bodies are 73-74. Nice find

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

:metal:

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

nice find . i say clean it up mechanical wise and run it as is . dont even wash it to much .

my current build i did just this . its got 1 hell of a killer look to it with all the dirt / gunk / paint peal / surface rust . . . :metal:

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

:metal:Sweet, nice score!!

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Very very nice find.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Cool!
What is all that "White Stuff" scattered around???:lol:

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

That white stuff keeps me from hauling home anything else until spring.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Pulled the old girl in where it's warm, to start getting her running and driving. She has an unusual mix of options and deleted options.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

She has the optional upper and lower trim, chrome front bumper, power steering, 350 w/4 barrel, posi rear with optional ratio, 16" rims/tires, cloth seat, but no radio! The original owner was a farmer/rancher in his 60's, so some of the options make sense for how he used the truck.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

She runs and drives again, but I wouldn't drive her very far or very fast yet.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Someone enlighten me on what a "rear window delete" is? I'm guessing deleting the sliding rear window, but why delete that?

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

To make the spid longer, more options. Just kidding that's a really good question.

That's a nice truck. Congrats on getting a great deal.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

I think for trucks that were destined to have a camper with a pass through, the rear window could be deleted. I remember the pass through was a popular option back then.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

I'd be interested to know. This option is not in the 73-78 CK parts book RPO list that starts on PDF page 52.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

I've never seen 5 hole C10 16" rims before. Did they come with the truck when you got it?
What no Rat's Nests to enter in the contest???
That truck couldn't been setting for more than a month!

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

The 16" rims were on the truck when I got it. The spid includes the rpo for 16" rims and tires. As for rats nest, the top of the motor has a decent nest, but I haven't found a nest inside the truck.....yet.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

The original owners son is my brothers father in law, so I'll follow up with him to see if he recalls the truck not having a rear window when it was new. If a sliding rear window was included in the custom deluxe trim package, that may explain why deleting it would be listed on the spid.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Great score! I hope some day doing something like this with any or all of my kids.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Sliding rear window was not included as part of the Custom Deluxe package. Sliding rear window is RPO A28 and was a separate option. The only thing that comes to mind, does this truck have the bright trim weather strip around the rear window? It looks like it has it around the windshield, I don't know if you could delete this type of weatherstrip for just the rear window and have standard weatherstrip installed instead.
Also ZN8 is 3.73 rear axle ratio

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

The rear window doesn't have the chrome insert. I talked with the original owners son yesterday and he didn't recall the truck ever being used with a camper. He couldn't recall if the truck did or didn't have a rear window when purchased. Lastly, the son didn't know if his dad ordered the truck or if he just picked it off the lot.

I wonder if the truck was special ordered by someone else and when that deal fell thru, the dealer installed a window and put it on their lot. We may never know the truth, but I'm fascinated by the possibility that you could buy a new pickup without a back window in 1973.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

Nice find! You should totally bring them a big ham or turkey for Christmas as a thank you gift.

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

I still can't get over those 16" 5 hole rims!
Has anyone ever seen another truck with 16" 5 hole rims on it?

Re: 1973 c10 rescue.
 

16" 5 hole wheels were a common option on government vehicles, not a common option on privately owned vehicles. What is more rare to me is the marine turquoise paint, probably a one year only color.