1972 Chevrolet C10

1972 Chevrolet C10 Short Bed — Custom Street Truck with 350 V8 and Show-Quality Finish

Why This Car Is Special

The 1967–1972 Chevrolet C10 generation is widely regarded as the most desirable body style Chevy ever put on a light-duty truck. Collectors and custom builders have been chasing this body style for decades, and for good reason. The lines are clean and angular without being aggressive, the cab is wide enough to be comfortable, and the short bed proportions on a two-wheel-drive truck like this one give it a low, purposeful stance that longer configurations simply cannot match. Chevy sold enormous numbers of C10s during this generation, but the combination of age, years of daily use, and the popularity of the custom truck scene means that solid, well-built examples like this one have become genuinely difficult to find.

The 1972 model year was the last of that beloved first-generation design. Chevy made a few detail changes from the 1971 trucks — most notably the amber front parking light lenses, which help identify a true 1972 at a glance. The following year brought an entirely new body style, which means this 1972 Chevrolet C10 holds the distinction of being the final expression of one of the most iconic truck designs in American automotive history.

This particular truck has been built as a custom street truck — not a trailer queen, not a rough weekend driver, but a thoughtfully assembled vehicle that drives as well as it presents. The VIN decodes this as a C10 short bed, two-wheel-drive, built at the Flint, Michigan assembly plant. The short bed configuration on the 1972 C10 was always the sportier choice, and the lowered stance on this truck reinforces that character without going so low that it becomes impractical.

Features List

- 350 cubic inch V8, rated at 300 horsepower
- 462 double hump angle plug cylinder heads
- Chrome air cleaner
- Finned aluminum valve covers
- Dual exhaust
- Automatic transmission
- Power steering
- Power front disc brakes
- Vintage air conditioning
- Auxiliary gauge cluster
- Bucket seats with center console
- Wood-grain dash trim
- Aftermarket stereo with door-mounted speakers
- Factory short bed configuration
- Lowered stance
- 20-inch chrome US Mag wheels
- Chrome front and rear bumpers
- Wood-grain tailgate panel
- Spray-in bed liner
- Tinted glass
- Black exterior
- Black vinyl interior


Mechanical

The engine in this 1972 Chevrolet C10 is a 350 cubic inch small block Chevy rated at 300 horsepower. What sets this engine apart from a standard 350 is what is sitting on top of it — a set of 462 double-hump cylinder heads. Enthusiasts know these heads well. The double-hump, or fuelie, castings were originally developed for high-performance Corvette and Camaro applications in the 1960s and carried over into the early 1970s. The casting number 462 identifies these as the angle-plug variant, which positions the spark plugs at an angle that improves access and can benefit combustion efficiency. These heads flow better than the standard truck castings that would have come on a base 350 of this era, and finding them on a C10 tells you something about how seriously this truck was built.

The engine bay presentation matches the performance hardware. Finned aluminum valve covers and a chrome air cleaner give the engine compartment a clean, period-correct custom look that complements the original Chevy orange block and red plug wires visible in the photos. The dual exhaust runs the length of the truck and exits at the rear, providing both the sound and the flow improvement you expect from a properly set up 350.

Backing the engine is an automatic transmission, which is the right choice for a truck built to be driven regularly. Power steering and power front disc brakes have been fitted, meaning this 1972 C10 stops and steers like a vehicle you can actually use in modern traffic without second-guessing yourself at every intersection. Vintage air conditioning rounds out the mechanical