Looking back: 1983 Chevrolet C/K Pickup trucks. Comparison to F150 included.

[91 s-10baja]

The second energy crisis in 1979 devastated General Motors and its Chevy division truck sales. Chevy and its competition struggled to make their trucks more economical. The Chevy half-ton C-10 had received a major overhaul leading up to 1983....
1983 Chevrolet C/K Pickup Promo

In 1983, the 4.4-liter V8 was gone, leaving the 5.0-liter version as the only optional gas V8. The standard engine was again Chevy’s 3.8-liter V6 with 110 horsepower, though California cars, once again, got a Buick V6 with similar specifications. Continuing on the options list was the 5.7-liter V8 Diesel with 105 hp. The sister Malibu sedan and wagon were discontinued after the 1983 model year...
1983 Chevrolet El Camino Promo

The 1983 Blazer and Suburban featured the same new engine as 82, the first new engine introduction the model had seen since 1976. A 6.2-liter (379-ci) Diesel V8.
1983 Chevrolet Blazer & Suburban Promo

[69project]

I liked the 75-79 versions of this body style the best. Hard to believe though they stuck with the roughly the same body style from 73-87. No wonder they lost the sales lead to Ford and Ford never looked back. Anyone know what was the last year Chevy led the sales race in trucks?

[smith7629]

Thanks for posting. I didn't realize how much effort GM put into modernizing their trucks for this year.

[V8GMT360 Guy]

And if you squint a little, you can see some of the borrowed design cues from this that made their way into the K2XX Silverado

[smith7629]

Amazing how many engine and transmission options there were back then. I'm also impressed with the fuel economy ratings up to 31mpg. Along with the other innovations and attention to detail attributes, it's no wonder Chevrolet trucks have such a strong heritage and following.

[smith7629]

I liked the 75-79 versions of this body style the best. Hard to believe though they stuck with the roughly the same body style from 73-87. No wonder they lost the sales lead to Ford and Ford never looked back. Anyone know what was the last year Chevy led the sales race in trucks?

I don't know. Some people will say you can't combine GMC and Chevrolet when compared to Ford sales. I see their point, but I would like to point out there are many like me who would consider a GMC (and have bought one) though they like Chevrolet better than the Ford. In these cases, one might say the proper comparison is GM to Ford sales.

[richmond2000]

in Winnipeg MB Canada you might see a PRE TRITON Ford 1 or 2 times a month but a pre 88 GM truck daily and I can show you almost a dozen of them including mine

I own an 85 sierra 25 and 86 sierra 15
a friand has a 86 Silverado 15
@ work there is a mid 80 5/4 Army truck (suspect it is a fake) 84 K blazer
up the street there is a guy with a pre 80 Short box and post 80 Long box and the list goes on
I say GMC and Chevy should be combined as "A" they are basically the same truck "B" often sold @ the same dealer "C" Ford counts the svt Raptor and King Ranch which are both different in style and design to a "normal" F150 "D" both come down the same assembly lines

[KingElvis]

Thanks a million, Baja. My dad had an 83 K-10 305 "high altitude" w/o ESC, 3.73 axles and HD front suspension with three leaves instead of two. I love the stepside of that era and I think I realized it's because the front axle is so much longer than the rear axle on this era. The rear stepsides seem to match the narrower rear axle better.

[PositiveAboutGM]

I liked the 75-79 versions of this body style the best. Hard to believe though they stuck with the roughly the same body style from 73-87. No wonder they lost the sales lead to Ford and Ford never looked back. Anyone know what was the last year Chevy led the sales race in trucks?

Furthermore, when the '88 trucks came out, the older generation crew cabs continued to be sold, along with the Suburban and full-size Blazer, until 1991.

[PositiveAboutGM]

Gosh, that was fun! Now I want a brand new 1983 diesel long bed, please.

(Pining for the days of efficient diesel engines that didn't have a bunch of emissions stuff on them choking them back. )

Actually, I know I'll get laughed at saying this, but the 1992 and 93 6.5L turbo diesel with the mechanical injection pump was my personal favorite. Fair power, really good fuel economy and reliable, in particular with moderate loads.

In addition, the 4.3L diesel V6 in the front-wheel drive cars seemed to have been reliable, as well. I wouldn't mind an Olds Ciera wagon in good shape with the 4.3L diesel in it.

[osbornk]

In addition, the 4.3L diesel V6 in the front-wheel drive cars seemed to have been reliable, as well. I wouldn't mind an Olds Ciera wagon in good shape with the 4.3L diesel in it.

I had a 4.3 diesel in a 83 Chevrolet Celebrity company car. It was a reliable and well performing engine that never gave me any trouble (the next owner that wore the car out didn't have any engine problems either). However, the rest of the car was crap. Almost everything else on the car broke or went bad and most were due to poor quality control or poor enginering.

[PositiveAboutGM]

I had a 4.3 diesel in a 83 Chevrolet Celebrity company car. It was a reliable and well performing engine that never gave me any trouble (the next owner that wore the car out didn't have any engine problems either). However, the rest of the car was crap. Almost everything else on the car broke or went bad and most were due to poor quality control or poor enginering.

What kind of real-world fuel mileage did you get in the Celebrity and do you know when they discontinued the 4.3L diesel ?

Thinking this might make an interesting pet project....

[jkrende]

I liked the 75-79 versions of this body style the best. Hard to believe though they stuck with the roughly the same body style from 73-87. No wonder they lost the sales lead to Ford and Ford never looked back. Anyone know what was the last year Chevy led the sales race in trucks?

Except Ford never *really* did... Back in 1987 my mother bought a GMC Suburban. It had Chevy bowtie and "Silverado" badges on the passenger side but a GMC badge on the hood ornament and said Sierra Classic inside on the dash and on the passenger side and the tailgate. So, was it Really a GMC or a Chevy? The dealership fixed the mixed badging, but we laughed about it and had fun with it for the month while the dealership waited for the replacement badges to come in. GMC and Chevrolet rolled off the same assembly line in that particular case and the distinction between the two models was merely what badges got slapped on the finished product.

However, if you look at sales numbers GMC and Chevy are reported differently - including in 1987 when we got this truck. Let's get real here, if both trucks are on the same frame with the same drivetrain and the same parts and the badges (and today the sheet metal) is the only difference, is Ford *really* outselling GM, or are they just outselling individual GM products when you don't consider the dealership they come out of?

I remember fondly my first truck, a 1983 K5 Blazer that I got with about a bajillion miles on it and nursed along for a couple of years. That truck was a tank for all it's rough-around-the-edges lack of refinement. It was a great truck, period.

[Stéphane Dumas]

I liked the 75-79 versions of this body style the best. Hard to believe though they stuck with the roughly the same body style from 73-87. No wonder they lost the sales lead to Ford and Ford never looked back. Anyone know what was the last year Chevy led the sales race in trucks?

In Canada, the C/K pick-up still lead the sales in 1984 with the Plymouth Reliant http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/1985/...reliant-shine/

In the Great White North, Chevrolet dominated against Ford in 1990 and 1994 http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/1991/...lier-dominate/
http://bestsellingcarsblog.com/1995/...pickup-on-top/

[69project]

As much as I would like to combine the Chevy and GMC (I owned a GMC Sierra for 10 years and a Yukon XL, both great vehicles) that isn't how they are counted even by GM. Just look at the monthly sales report and they break out the GMC's so...In the US when was the last time Chevy won the sales race for the year? Was it the 1976-72 body style? Ford claims in their ads its been almost 40 years the F series has led. As they say in the math world there are liars, damn liars, and then there are statisticians. Surely there was a year that Chevy alone won the race in the US.

BTW, I owned a 76 Chevy short bed 4x4 for about three years. I miss that truck except for driving on concrete freeways then it would bounce you around like a pinball in the cab. That solid front axle was a little rough when it came to ride quality, but you sure looked cool driving it.