1979 Chevrolet Bonanza 4x4 rare dealer optioned Buckaroo

You are viewing a possibly one of a kind "dealer optioned" pickup- the Buckaroo

It is a 1979 Chevy "BONANZA" 4x4, half ton, it has the following factory options--------- tilt wheel,clock,carpet,a headliner and rare 3.42 gears. This sold "NEW' in Oregon in 1979 and has been in Eastern Oregon its whole Life!!

The story behind the treasure--- A few years ago a friend mentioned he had found a parking lot full of older pickups, he showed some pictures to me and I replied "scrap prices are up!" and quite honestly "I had enough problems of my own". Well a few months went by, he then called and said "come see my prize" I drove over to have a look at it, and said "Hey that's a cool hood ornament" it also sported a "cool shift knob and a spoke wheel" and asked "What do you wanted for it?" The pickup was amazingly straight, "NO RUST" with relatively nice original upholstery "for its age" it was a 100% complete with the odometer showing 68000 miles. I asked whats up with the miles? Its too clean for 168000 miles? We looked it over and thought "68000 original?" "except for possibly one of the worst repaints I have ever seen!!" I asked "whats up with it" why was it parked? He replied "the cam was flat" it had been traded, sold, swapped, lost in a poker game and finally left to die!!

Well, we dickered back in forth, and30 minutes later"I was an owner!" We drug it over to my field of dreams and parked it. Months past, Summer and Fall came and went, "Winter was on now", so we drug it into my shop and opened the engine up and found a flat cam, bent push rod, and pulled rocker stud! Pffft!! No wonder it didn't run!?

It was a weekend so I pulled the pan and there was a wonderful looking engine! The bearing caps were pulled and showed absolutely no wear!!! Except the rear main a couple small cam pieces had made it through, but only marked the bearing. It had a "79" date code "clearly the original bearing set!"Mondayrolled around, a phone call to the machine shop and she was on her way!! Ps." I slid a 300hp cam in while it was down" yep!! All bearings, all gaskets, hoses, fuel pump, and some paint cleaned it up under the hood! "And it ran great!!!"

Now for the rest of it!!

All this time no one had looked in the glove box! I started dumping out shells, peanuts, fuses, screws,and then there it was, a tag, a tag that looked really out of place! I Jumped out, ran as fast as I could go "to get some cleaner" There it was!!! DEALER "Buckaroo" PROMOTION But what is this ? Thinking "I could now winter out in Arizona" a few phone calls and back down to Earth! I learned Dealers were allowed Promotional gimmicks to help boost sales, and "BONANZA" trucks were typically the ones they used. Ultra rare and hard to find, However "not the gold mine we had hoped for." Gosh now what to do?

We decided to sand the "ugly" paint off, then we started finding colors out of place " the hood was the same color as the top! It was the same as the lower body!" Then!! "sticker chunks, Silver, Red, Orange!" DUH! This matches the mystery tag in the glove box!!!! Well we sprayed her up!! The colors were off "slightly" from the original with a couple minor flaws, the stripes laid back as they were found and she looks good!!

The pickup was driven a little and parked in with the others, the odometer now shows about 75000 miles We pulled it out this year bled the brakes and put new rubber on it. It,s made a couple 200 mile trips and seems to still be a very good pickup!!! I hate to let her go but life changes, there are 8 more odd model pickups we will be selling, so bid them up high and please most importantly " don't hide them away as I did" Enjoy them instead!!!

Sorry, but due to age of this beautiful pickup it being sold AS/IS, no warranties or guarantees expressed or implied.

Thank You and happy bidding!!!

I do require a $1000 non-refundable deposit within 24 hours.

Truck is also for sale locally and I reserve the right to end auction early.

Please feel free to contact me at (541) 523-7000 if you have any questions. I can help with shipping if needed