Help me understand this '72 Cheyenne Big Block SPID

[special-K]

Yeah, it is an uncommon combo to find. From time to time we get people asking about this combination being offered. It seems most big blocks were in higher option trucks and most of those got automatic. I think that '72 I had was a special order. Back then (when comfort & convenience in trucks was just getting going) it wasn't uncommon to find truck owners who were skeptical about automatics, power steering & brakes, etc in trucks being a good idea. These were, up to that point, car features. A lot of truck owners were of the old school, didn't need all those newfangled gimmicks just want a strong truck.

I knew when I saw that truck on the OK lot, while my friend was buying a '66 Impala, I was going to put an M21 in it for an instant muscle truck. I was 18, didn't like 3 on the tree, and only wanted 4 on the floor. Didn't like automatics, thought an SS with one was lame. The Turbo 350 and 400 came along to change perceptions of automatics, in anything, and that was still bleeding in during this era. Powerglides were pretty good, but needed band adjustment that people didn't do, and they'd burn up. Plus going with 3 speeds and more firm shift just seemed stronger.

I also owned a '68 SWB 396/3spd. Two brothers into drag racing ordered identical trucks that way.