Did truck production numbers decrease after 1972?

[Chevyland]

I've always been a 67-72 guy.
Mostly 72's
Although I do own square bodies,
I always notice there are a ton of 67-72's out there, when searching
And, only limited 73-80's

What gives?

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

I've always been a 67-72 guy.
Mostly 72's
Although I do own square bodies,
I always notice there are a ton of 67-72's out there, when searching
And, only limited 73-80's

What gives?

Can't say. You'd think they'd have built just as many trucks, because people still need them. Maybe our trucks were so fine post 73 weren't necessary

Could be they just weren't as popular, so they let them die a natural death.

73 to maybe 76 were pretty cool trucks. My brother had a 75 SWB with a Corvette engine. It was fast.

Here's a beauty:

[el_fantasma]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

I've always been a 67-72 guy.
Mostly 72's
Although I do own square bodies,
I always notice there are a ton of 67-72's out there, when searching
And, only limited 73-80's

What gives?

I always thought they weren't as popular because of the stricter emission controls, at least here in CA. Started in 1974, right?

[jocko]

I think that back in 73, 72's weren't yet the classics we drool over to day - and just like today, people would rather have a 2017 than their old 2016. If only they'd known back then...

[James the III]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

I've always been a 67-72 guy.
Mostly 72's
Although I do own square bodies,
I always notice there are a ton of 67-72's out there, when searching
And, only limited 73-80's

What gives?

Same thing with cars.. emissions..
the model years with less emission crap was more popular and saved, and the later vehicles were not they got used up and junked..

Same reason you see tons of 70 olds cutlasses be it a base or a 442.. but the 76-77 cutlass that was America's #1 selling car but how many you see now??
Trucks, even when in normal use, the less parts and crap under hood the less cost to keep it on the road..

The mid 70's anything got no love..
Other than a few Pontiac's t/a's
Even the Camaro didn't fair well those years.. you don't see many 73-77 now..

I'd also guess that the oil issues in the 70's made trucks a drive it only if you needed one.. not a vehicle you'd buy and drive unless you had to..

[drewbert41]

Out west must be different because it is the exact opposite in my experience. Squarebodys everywhere. 67-72 few and far between and either a rust heap or 15-30k asking price.

[James the III]

Originally Posted by drewbert41

Out west must be different because it is the exact opposite in my experience. Squarebodys everywhere. 67-72 few and far between and either a rust heap or 15-30k asking price.

West more farms /etc and the need to drive a truck, wasn't an option even with the fuel problems in the 70's..

What states are these cheap square bodies in so I can go grab one..

[special-K]

I don't know about in California, but I figure you see less 73-77s because most rusted away. The other factor affecting all of them is that there were a whole bunch made...yes, more, and for so many years. They were just taken for granted when the 67-72s were the good old trucks people really liked that only lasted 6 years. There were no real improvements to the '73-ups to take many 67-72 lovers away from their beloved trucks, just style change to a more modern look. You see more original owners 67-72s than any other vehicle out there. Special interest in 67-72s started, virtually, on day one. As years went by it only grew tear to year till all these years later we have so so many lovers. The style moved them into the future while holding on to the line that came before. Stout and tough with just enough rounded edge to be friendly looking and tough.

[n33k0]

I see more squarebodies in my area than 67-72 trucks. I've crossed paths with a couple of our trucks on the road, but it's a rare occasion. Squarebodies, on the other hand, I see a couple every day... not show trucks though, they're beat up usually pulling trailers full of lawn equipment. I'm not familiar with the styling differences for the specific years, but I know for sure they're in the '73-'88 generation.

The local craigslist reflects this, too; squarebodies outnumber the 67-72s. I feel like even the 60-66 trucks are more common on local listings... but maybe they just don't sell as quickly as the other trucks so the ads stay up longer.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

Did truck production numbers decrease after 1972?

No. It went up. We produced about 15 million squarebody pickups between '73 and '87.

I'm with Special K on this one - I think the squarebodies were just "work trucks" and rusted out. We used to see them around here and the only thing left of the fenders and quarters were the wheel opening moldings.

That, and the squarebodies were not yet classics like the '67-72s. In my opinion the '67-72 are still held in higher regard as classics even now.

K

[James the III]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

No. It went up. We produced about 15 million squarebody pickups between '73 and '87.

I'm with Special K on this one - I think the squarebodies were just "work trucks" and rusted out. We used to see them around here and the only thing left of the fenders and quarters were the wheel opening moldings.

That, and the squarebodies were not yet classics like the '67-72s. In my opinion the '67-72 are still held in higher regard as classics even now.

K

I'm not buying the 67-72 were classics from day one, as trucks back then were TRUCKS.. and bought and used as TRUCKS.. not a enthusiast vehicle..
That trucks became in the late 80's early 90's..
And these started to be dragged off farms, or barns..
Ask any business owner that needs trucks they hate that trucks became an "in" thing..
As the factories started building loaded trucks and started charging a lot more for them..

Working at a gas station I never saw many hopped up trucks until the mid/late 80's when the trucks and mini truck took off. Then they started showing up at cruise nights and shows..
Of course this was here.. but I have most of the mag's from the 70's-200o's
and other than the dodge little red express.. not much if any coverage on them..

If these were classic's from day one,, we'd not be able to go get a truck on a farm or a barn in great numbers. as they all be accounted for, and not avail still in numbers and cheap..

[67ChevyRedneck]

Where I live I see a lot of square bodies daily, but that's mostly because the dang things ran from 73-87 for the trucks and I think some models (burb/blazer) ran until 1991.

That said, the vast majority I see are the later model ones at the end of the run. It does seem that the 73-80's are in limited supply. I quickly skimmed my local craigslist and there's only a handful of 73-80 for sale but a much larger supply of 81-87's.

I grew up in NY, I know these trucks rusted terribly, even compared to the 67-72's. Ironically, here in SC it's still possible to find very clean with little to no rust examples of 73-80's, and some extremely nice 81-87's, while it's near impossible to find a "rust free" 67-72 anymore. Even time has finally caught up with SC trucks.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Where I live I see a lot of square bodies daily, but that's mostly because the dang things ran from 73-87 for the trucks and I think some models (burb/blazer) ran until 1991.

That said, the vast majority I see are the later model ones at the end of the run. It does seem that the 73-80's are in limited supply. I quickly skimmed my local craigslist and there's only a handful of 73-80 for sale but a much larger supply of 81-87's.

I grew up in NY, I know these trucks rusted terribly, even compared to the 67-72's. Ironically, here in SC it's still possible to find very clean with little to no rust examples of 73-80's, and some extremely nice 81-87's, while it's near impossible to find a "rust free" 67-72 anymore. Even time has finally caught up with SC trucks.

On topic of rust, to me square bodies appear/sound/feel like thinner sheet.

[cypressbog]

China saw a huge influx of steel trade to the U.S. beginning in the early 1970's. This China steel was inferior to U.S. made steel.

[JustToxic]

Square body's are huge around where I'm at. With that being said, its more '78-'85 that you find. If you find a '73-'77 it is rusted out and falling apart. Old timer at the one junkyard I deal with said that early square body trucks had junk steel and if they saw a tiny bit of salt the body would fall off. May have something to do with what "cypressbog" is saying.

[outfield]

Here in Portland Oregon I see square bodies every day, 73-79, and 80 to 87's. The 67 to 72's not some much, but on sunny days they will come out...
Portland Craiglist has a bunch of square bodys, just a hand full of 67 to 72's.

[drewbert41]

Originally Posted by James the III

West more farms /etc and the need to drive a truck, wasn't an option even with the fuel problems in the 70's..

What states are these cheap square bodies in so I can go grab one..

Chicago Craigslist, Champaign, IL Craigslist and surrounding areas.

[Toms67]

I think a lot of them fell victim to the gas guzzler rebate. Went to the crusher.

[Sicklajoie]

Like others have said, they were notorious for rust.
I bought an 86 C/20 in 1992 and the cab corners were already gone on them.

[46stude]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

On topic of rust, to me square bodies appear/sound/feel like thinner sheet.

That's funny. To me, I see the exact opposite. The '67-'72s were some crappy built trucks. The previous & following body styles always seemed built sturdier. I feel like I'm in a tin can in my Cheyenne. My '64 & my '84 just came off as better engineered to me.

On another note- lots of squares got upgraded to the later sheetmetal, so that may be why it seems the earlier versions are fewer.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by James the III

I'm not buying the 67-72 were classics from day one, as trucks back then were TRUCKS.. and bought and used as TRUCKS.. not a enthusiast vehicle..
That trucks became in the late 80's early 90's..
And these started to be dragged off farms, or barns..
Ask any business owner that needs trucks they hate that trucks became an "in" thing..
As the factories started building loaded trucks and started charging a lot more for them..

Working at a gas station I never saw many hopped up trucks until the mid/late 80's when the trucks and mini truck took off. Then they started showing up at cruise nights and shows..
Of course this was here.. but I have most of the mag's from the 70's-200o's
and other than the dodge little red express.. not much if any coverage on them..

If these were classic's from day one,, we'd not be able to go get a truck on a farm or a barn in great numbers. as they all be accounted for, and not avail still in numbers and cheap..

I wasn't selling anything. It's a fact, whether you want to believe it or not. I lived it and that's how I know. But you don't have to believe me, just look at all the original owner trucks we have on here, local trucks cherished and cared for better than trucks 20 years newer. Yeah, trucks were trucks back then and then there was your Cheyenne Super big block shortbed with herringbone cloth seats, A/C, Cruise, AM/FM, Cruise, tilt wheel, lots of trim, two-tone paint, tonneau covers offered through GM, etc. Was a K/20 CST or Cheyenne bought for work? How about all the Custom Campers that basically only went on fun trips. There are still camper haulers out there with under 100k on them. These trucks started the trucks loaded with options thing back then. Are you kidding me? The square bodies offered nothing more other than power windows. There were exceptional trucks for sale in Hemmings Motor News in the '80s for good money. I shared the interest in these trucks with many guys since the '70s. In the '80s at the local drag strip I remember seeing a Medium Green & White Cheyenne Super (on the lot) with chromed steering column and other interior pieces that had a supercharger and nice wheels. I had seen it in one of the car magazines. Then there was the '71 issue of Car craft with a customized '71 Stepside on the cover. I mostly knew older guys with these trucks. Old Bobby King had a steel building with three Cheyenne Supers in pristine original condition stashed right along with three '57 Chevy cars, including a convertible... all sitting under blankets. I could go on and on. I don't blow smoke. I know since these trucks were a few years old I have had people telling me they had one, traded it in for a new one (out of routine), and wished they had kept the 67-72. I heard that for years and years. I've been hearing people since the '80s saying "These trucks are coming on", and me saying, "Shoot, they've been on. You're just figuring it out". Just because they weren't a hot item to some back then doesn't mean they weren't hot, it means they had their eyes closed. Mine have been open since day one

[toolboxchev]

Originally Posted by outfield

Here in Portland Oregon I see square bodies every day, 73-79, and 80 to 87's. The 67 to 72's not some much, but on sunny days they will come out...
Portland Craiglist has a bunch of square bodys, just a hand full of 67 to 72's.

I have a nice project truck for sale!

[drewbert41]

This is an example of what I normally see except the price is a little high though. https://terrehaute.craigslist.org/cto/6018192372.html

I see running and driving squarebodys listed for 800-900 all the time.

[drewbert41]

If you can do bodywork they are cheap.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/5982928057.html

[drewbert41]

Last one. Quad cab https://chambana.craigslist.org/cto/6018069077.html