1978 Chevrolet C20 Scottsdale review from North America

The distributor rotor was the most recent issue.

This truck has had three motors over the years. The current is back to the same basic stock motor 5.7 350 with upgraded carburetor and camshafts. One configuration snapped the crankshaft after one of the crankshaft bearings seized. Another blew its guts out all over the road for an unknown reason.

My father bought this back in 1979 when I was 4 years old, used with 12,000 miles on it. Since then he had had it running down the road constantly, over the mountains and back, transporting diesel engines he would rebuild for his customers. I remember many trips in this truck, back and forth to his property he owned.

This truck is a beast! It handles very well for a tank. It will haul just about anything you hook up to it. I remember my dad owned a bulldozer that was as big, if not a little bigger, than the truck, and that he never had a problem getting around with the dozer in tow. Except when my brother wanted to borrow it, and accelerated too quick and it snapped the chains holding the dozer in place, and it ended up hitting the rear bumper of the truck, twisting it. The dozer died horribly that day, but the truck was fine except the bumper and a dent in the side of the truck from where the bumper bent up into the side of the bed.

Still, you should see this truck today. After 30 years on the road, this truck is still in pretty good shape! There is a little rust starting to form around two of the wheel wells, and a few small dents. The bed of the truck is in the worst condition, but it still mostly just scratches and missing paint from being used as a work truck.

My dad took this truck around the western half of the U.S. with an old Bell camper and towing a Suzuki Samurai over a 2 month period, and never had any problems on that trip.

Now I own it and am planning to fix it back up, because I have many memories in this truck. I love it. I just wish my dad was still around to be able to enjoy what I will be doing to his truck!