Little advice from the square body guys

[cory d]

like all of the previous post show, its just personal preference

[motornut]

i had a 78 4X2 burb first.it died a rusty death
liked getting into the 87 and 88 when i got them it was "newer"
now i'm back to 78 and love it(i've noticed round eye getting harder to find/see around)
I've read(here) the 87 tbi were the easiest to mod as the puter is wired seperately?i duno
do you have to etest?
consider it's costs if you do
my 78 has glass fuses and my 79 has the blades

[brothers69c-10]

Its all gonna be preference. Just like the 67-72's, tons of parts are interchangeable. For example I started with a 74 ish crew cab and 2wd frame. I like the 77-87 doors better and i like the door panels out of the 88-91 suburbans along with the newer dash pad. I'm going to use the front clip off a 78, the front axle from a 76, a ford rear end, and the list goes on. For me it was just easier to build a truck and take the best of all he years and put it in one truck. Alot of the options are universal over many years, but like i said you can put just about anything on whatever you want.

[sethv]

Originally Posted by brothers69c-10

Its all gonna be preference. Just like the 67-72's, tons of parts are interchangeable. For example I started with a 74 ish crew cab and 2wd frame. I like the 77-87 doors better and i like the door panels out of the 88-91 suburbans along with the newer dash pad. I'm going to use the front clip off a 78, the front axle from a 76, a ford rear end, and the list goes on. For me it was just easier to build a truck and take the best of all he years and put it in one truck. Alot of the options are universal over many years, but like i said you can put just about anything on whatever you want.

I like this! I really like the suburban/blazer doors from 88-91 with the power mirror! The updated mirrors look really good IMO on squares. +1 on the newer dash pad, I swapped one in my '78.

[motornut]

mine too my 89 dash in an my 78
(gave me holes for front speakers,and a wide food/coffee holder)
combined my 87 and 89 door panels to 78
and my 89 front seats ,mirrors ,center console,wing windows too

[cory d]

Originally Posted by motornut

now i'm back to 78 and love it(i've noticed round eye getting harder to find/see around)

saem thing around here, they all got driven to the scrap yard

[weider1717]

I lik them all but I knew what I wanted before I bought and that was the 87. Out of the 81-87 the 87 is hands down the year to get.

I like the older ones too but I remember my dads 73 k5 blazer being rusted out in the mid to late 80's when I was a tiny kid and were from SC! and he bought it new! you could see through the side of the bed above the fender lips in the damn thing in like 1987...I have it on video and it was just as I remembered rusted through!

those trucks rusted out fast for some reason and the hoods were always bent because the the hinges sucked and when people would shut the hood and not do it from the center it would warp the hood..horrible design.

so 87 for me

[chopnchaneled]

Thanks Guys for all the input.

It kinda looks like there is a lot of ways to go,as far as updating and back dating.
I'm thinking about a swb no moulding,4 in the front and 5 in the rear and comfort creature interior, a/c,p/s,tilt, auto,power windows,door locks,tinted glass,etc. and from what i'm reading its a do able thing kinda like the 67/72s up and back dating.

One other thing and i know everyone has there own opinion, If you were going out searching for another truck, knowing the earlier one's are more sought after, but RUST being an issue, and you wanted to get just a real clean and neat comfortable truck. what year would you look for?

THANKS!

[74 stepside]

Depends on if you wanted a stock style interior. I believe the 73 & 74 cheyenne super is the rarest of the squares. I have one of each. I love their interiors, but thats my preferance. They didnt have power windows or locks. But im ok with that. Other than stock interiors, these trucks are mostly the same. So if you are going to mix match parts then it really doesnt matter what year you buy. I also chose those years because they are smog exempt in CA where I live. I would just choose the best quality truck you can for the fairest price you can get and make it yours.

[motornut]

I'd go 78 79 round eye again for sure
cause it seems to be a start of changes/parts held over for a number of years

[weider1717]

just look at the fall guys truck changes..to me the later square looks better. Pull up his earlier truck compared to the later one..same color same wheels same lift.

most will say the slant looks better. easy comparison there

[big10ratrod77]

well the 73-78ish trucks didnt have a bunch of smog items to worry about but if it were me looking a new truck it would definatly be a 77-79 chevy big ten it is the best truck for the money in my opinion. i dont care much for the 80's chevys lots of farmers owned them around here and they were always giving trouble with emissions junk or the trans dieing on them. but i would own a 80's chevy if i had the chance to go though it all the way and check everything over realy realy good befor i put it on the road

[ghettoluxury]

Seeing as I know most of the Square Body tricks it doesn't matter. I can turn it into what I want with the correct parts.

[kelsfine69]

Originally Posted by weider1717

I lik them all but I knew what I wanted before I bought and that was the 87. Out of the 81-87 the 87 is hands down the year to get.

Thats why I have 2...

[made2drag]

Originally Posted by chopnchaneled

Thanks Guys for all the input.

It kinda looks like there is a lot of ways to go,as far as updating and back dating.
I'm thinking about a swb no moulding,4 in the front and 5 in the rear and comfort creature interior, a/c,p/s,tilt, auto,power windows,door locks,tinted glass,etc. and from what i'm reading its a do able thing kinda like the 67/72s up and back dating.

One other thing and i know everyone has there own opinion, If you were going out searching for another truck, knowing the earlier one's are more sought after, but RUST being an issue, and you wanted to get just a real clean and neat comfortable truck. what year would you look for?

THANKS!

i prefer the new front clip and the grille that comes on my 86. i even like the single rectangle headlight more than the 4 square headlights. it has cruise and tilt steering but no power windows. i dont need anything else but love the features it does have. i also feel like im a step ahead getting the custom delux because i would have shaved the aluminum trim under the back window and the cargo light and i like a tailgate with no aluminum cover plate. just wish it came with the sport rear bumper that im going to have to buy. also, my truck is rust free due to the rust prevention. sliding underneath and finding no rust amazed me

[brothers69c-10]

Considering rust issues I had always heard that 81-87 trucks had more galvanizing on them then the earlier trucks.

[lap15]

Guess I should feel lucky then to have a '75 K20, '79 C20 and an '86 C10! Love them all for different reasons. The '75 is my favorite because it's the simplest to work on and I think it has the coolest grill with the engine call out badge. The speedo also doesn't have kilo's listed yet, and I actually love the plaid design on the seat. '75 was also the last year for the "older" style hubcaps and NO catalytic converter. The '79 I like because it is almost the end of the line for a great series, but it has too much stupid emissions crap on it. The '86 has great "modern lines" that are so 80's and Chevy finally got the body right- my '86 has zero rust even after being driven in the northeast all of it's life.

[KrazyRay]

Let's see...The 73 has the mechanical fuel selector valve for the dual tanks, the 86 has the windshield washer pump in the bottle, the 78 has the fuel doors, The 79 has the hydroboost option, the 87 has the fuel injection, the 81 has the hood that doesn't taco in the middle, the 82 has the overdrive trans...ok I might be off a year on some of these things. It would be fun to build a square using the best parts from all of the years.

[1985-GMC]

85 has electric washer pump, 78 has fuel caps and hydroboost

[78 Chevyrado]

I found for the round light trucks, I like 77-78 but especially 78. I like the interior better, though 77 is a close second. Don't care for the 73-76 interiors, and don't care for the 79-80 front headlight bezels.

For the 81-up, I'd want an 87. Personally I loved the TBI on the truck, never had to fiddle with it, just got in it and drove it like a new car. change the oil, and drive it, i like it.

[chopnchaneled]

This is Great, Thanks for the input, anymore?