1980 Chevrolet LUV Truck - 4 wheel drive - No Reserve

1980 Chevrolet LUV N/A Description

Up for auction is my 1980 – 4wd Chevrolet Luv Truck. Please bear with me on the story of its history. I would write a novel, but I’ll try to be brief. I purchased a new 4wd LUV back in 1980. When it was about 10 years old, I gave it to my father who drove it on the highway for several years, but eventually just used it on his property to haul firewood for his personal use from the woods behind his house. Then one day, the front end begin to sag, and it was discovered that the frame too rusty to fix. If you know anything about these trucks, you know the mechanicals were bullet proof, but unfortunately the same could not be said about the bodies, which were prone to rusting. The truck that I purchased new had 163,000 miles when it was retired (more on this truck later).

These 4wd trucks are just so great if you are working in the woods (i.e., driving between trees). With their narrow width, they will go places where 95% of other trucks simply cannot. My father knew he could not replace the truck with something more new; all trucks are larger these days. So, with the mechanicals still good, my father set out looking for a donor truck for the frame/body. To our surprise, we found a 2wd LUV setting in a field only a couple of miles from his home. The body and frame was outstanding with little rust; it must have been taking off the road at an early stage before road salt got to it.

We got the truck to his home, and got it running with little effort, with no smoking from the engine. We never determined why the truck was basically abandoned. So with my father being a retired heavy equipment mechanic, it was no problem for him to switch the 4wd components to the 2wd drive donor truck. I think this occurred around 2002 or so. This is the truck that you see in the auction.

We have used this truck every year since, to haul 6 or 7 loads of firewood per year. Over the last 15 years or so, mileage has probably been less than 2 miles per year. We still have changed oil on a regular basis. It is showing about 83,000 miles on the odometer. The truck has the 2wd engine in it, which I believe was the same cubic inches as the 4wd engine. It still cranks good and the 4wd works faultlessly. As you can see from the photos, there are a lot of dings; which one could expect driving through the woods. The body appears to very sound, along with the frame. There are no holes in floor pan. While I was taking photos, I did see one area (on the right) in which my father beefed up the frame between the cab and the bed, and one of the photos shows this. The gas gauge and wipers do not work. The clutch pedal can be hard to press down; it has a hydraulic clutch I believe, so either the master or slave cylinder may need replacement. You can see a wooden bed liner was made for the truck. If I remember correctly, the metal bed was in good shape when the liner (partially oak!) was built and installed. I have not lifted the liner (too heavy!) to check it. The truck has been parked under a shelter for the last 20 years +.

Now, back to the original 1980 4wd truck…we still have it and I have attached photos! You can see from the photos, it has been setting in the woods. The winning bidder is welcome to take this truck or to remove parts. The doors and other parts still appear to be sound. There is no motor and no front suspension, so it will not roll. The rear axle is from the 2wd truck. I will not guarantee it, but we may be able to use lifting forks on a tractor to load on a trailer if you are interested in the entire truck. I have not found any titles to any of the trucks since my father passed.

My father passed in 2012, and these trucks have a lot of special meaning to me; but I need the space to park a tractor. You may be thinking…what happened to the original 4wd motor? I’m selling it in a separate auction currently on ebay. You might be interested to see what it looks like.