The Rarest Squarebody Variants

Lets dive into some of the rare squarebody trucks, starting with least rare to most rare.

6.2L Detroit Diesel

The 6.2L V8 Detroit Diesel was offered in Squarebody trucks from 1982 until 1991. Many have been swapped with a gas motor or a different diesel motor, although not an unpopular option, very few are left on the road today.

Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV)

In 1984 Chevrolet was tasked with creating the CUCV for the United States military. GM produced several different models of the CUCV over their three year span from 1984 to 1987; over 70,000 were produced.

All CUCVs are powered by the 6.2L Detroit Diesel, and like other military equipment, feature a 24-volt system. The CUCV had three major variants: the SUV, the pickup, and the ambulance body-on-chassis. The M1008 was the pickup, the M1009 was the SUV (Blazer converted to 3/4 ton capacity), and the M1010 was the ambulance. The Blazer had 10 bolt axles in front and rear but the rear also featured an Eaton Automatic Differential Lock. The pickup had Dana 60s in the front with the Corporate 14 bolt in the rear with Detroit Lockers; the M1028 and M1031 variants typically had Trac-Lok limited slip in the rear. The M1028A2/A3 variants that were fitted with DRW (duallies) had the Dana 70HD in the rear.

Looking in the photos below you may notice a square hole in the passenger side of the grill, this is a mandatory NATO slave receptacle for jump starts of any other NATO vehicle.

There were 4-door variants of the pickup and the SUV, but very, very few remain.

SOME OF THESE PHOTOS MAY FEATURE MODIFIED VEHICLES. PHOTOS OF THESE TRUCKS ARE LIMITED.

M1008 (pickup)

M1009 (SUV/Blazer)

M1010 (Ambulance/Cab on Chassis)

M1028 (Shelter carrier version of the M1008 (pickup))

M1028A1 (Version of the M1008 (pickup) featuring a PTO)

M1028A2 (DRW Version of the M1028A1 featuring a PTO)

M1028A3 (Version of the M1028A2 with an NP208)

M1028FF (Firefighting version of the M1008)

M1031 (Cab on chassis)

Big 10/Heavy Half

To clear this up, Chevrolets were called "Big 10" and GMCs were called "Heavy Half". These trucks featured 12-inch brakes, a higher GVWR, and many featured 5 lug 14 bolts and were offered from 1976 to 1980. They were basically 1/2 tons with 3/4 ton parts to bypass emissions regulations.

Big 10

Heavy Half

Bonanza

The Bonanza trim was offered from 1975 to 1986, the Bonanza trim was typically offered for limited durations and was used as an economy trim, giving you a lot of the Silverado features without the Silverado price. The Bonanza trim sold best in California and the southwest; in Brazil, there are Bonanza trim Blazers.

Sport Coupe (Z77)

These were offered from 1976 to 1979, they featured stripes, rally wheels, upgraded interior, and sport badging. These are one of the absolute rarest squarebody trims.

Indy Hauler

This is the rarest trim, only offered in 1973 to celebrate GMC's sponsorship of the Indy 500; some dealers remade them in 1974, 1975, and so on, but the only true Indy Haulers were in 1973.

3+3 Shortbed

Very, very few squarebodies were made in crew cab/short bed configuration. Most were dealer specials.

NP440

The rarest of all squarebodies is any squarebody equipped with the NP440. The NP440 was a 4-speed manual transmission, but its 4th gear was overdrive. The NP440 was originally the Chrysler A833 but was reworked for GM by New Process. It was offered alongside the SM465, but manuals were falling out of favor for buyers, and the overdrive gear was not as much of a selling point as GM intended. It was first offered in 1981 to 1991, although they became even more rare after 1987.