VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Trucks and Vans 1972 Army truck?

A good friend recently bought (well, he stole it actually, great deal) a nice little '72 half ton, short bed stepside, 350 automatic, not many miles. It's mostly been sitting most of the past 20 years or so, but always road worthy . He's a VCCA member, but not on Chat here, so I told him I would post some photos and questions.

We're trying to figure out just what he's got! As you can see below, the truck is Army Green, although it has been repainted several years ago.

Something this "modern" I don't have any sources for deciphering the numbers, and this one has some odd features. He was trying to decide what color it is, and I was looking for a trim tag with paint codes etc, but did not find it. We did find a card permanently attached on the inside of the glove box door, that says it's Model # CE1C704, followed by a listing of "Option Numbers" the last one of which says:

19K1AA "U.S. ARMY MARKING"

and other strange (to me) things like

19B3AA "Consignee Caution F"

So, below I am positing the label from inside the Glove Box (first one) and the tag on the door jam, and a photo of the truck.

Can anybody tell us what we've got here? Many thanks!

Even if you dont decipher the codes your friend has a nice looking truck.
Tony

I had one of these back in the late '80's. It is a pickup originally purchased by the Army. I bought mine at a government (DRMO) sale. The last item is a data plate that was attached by screw on the outside of the glove box door. It had the Army registration number and other data used for maintenance, assignment, etc. The 350 engine originally had a four barrel Rochester and with the turbo 350 transmission made for a very quick pickup. These were commonly used by the military police. The Navy also purchased several pickups during this period. Typically during this time the U.S. Government (General Services Administration) had contracts with the major truck manufacturers for three year periods (based on bids). I sold mine several years ago so I don't have any more information about it.

Looks to be a really nice paint job...Must have had the bumpers powder coated (?)...Tires are a little to wide...And, so your friend is a fireman...?

Yes, it is a real decent little truck. But also remember the old wisdom: "Photos make a good car look bad, and a bad car look good." The paint has some issues, which is what started him looking for a paint code in the first place.

And yes - good eye - Doug is the Assistant Fire Chief of our town.

Can anyone clarify further with any specifics from the various numbers in the photos above?

Seems odd that the army would spring for a Stepside, when a Fleetside is more functional...

In those days Brewster, the U.S. Army did a whole lot that made you scratch your head. I saw so much waste during my tenure there (1968-1972). I was "fresh off the farm" and we made do with what we had there because we had to! In the Army if something didn't work, it was thrown away generally and little to no attempt was made to repair, it was my first exposure to the big world!

Really nice truck BTW!

The Navy did the same thing with throwing good, usable things away. What a waste!

Back in the 1970s the stepside was the basic truck , the fleetside was more expensive.

In 1972 I was in the U. S. Coast Guard. I had to drive the same truck you have. I can tell you that the funding for the Coast Guard was so tight that we fixed everything we could fix and then some. Made our own windshield wipers when the ones on the truck wore out! I do not know about today's Coast Guard as I retired with 40 years of service(4 regular and 36 reserve)but there was no wasting in the Coast Guard of anything!