Back in the ‘70s, as American consumers started buying up small, lightweight Japanese pickups, Chevy responded with this – the Chevrolet LUV. The name is an acronym that stands for Light Utility Vehicle, and true to form, the LUV offered relatively small exterior proportions and a low curb weight, all with a generous amount of space for the rear bed. Although it was essentially a rebadged Isuzu, the Chevrolet LUV was quite popular, with production lasting about a decade. Now, this custom 1978 model is up for auction at Bring A Trailer.
This particular Chevrolet LUV was apparently modified by “an aerospace engineer” in the late ‘80s, after which it was stored for several years before the current seller acquired it in 2018.
Outside, we find a white exterior with a custom soft top replacing the factory cab roof. There’s also a custom bumper fitted with a carbon-look front valence, plus four fender flares housing alloy wheels with a bronze finish. A set of Hankook Ventus RS4 tires wrap the wheels, and a textured coating in the bed handles whatever needs hauling. The seller also notes some corrosion in the passenger-side door jams and a dent in tailgate.
Inside the cabin of this custom Chevrolet LUV is a set of adjustable Recaro seats with harness passthroughs, as well as new door panels. A custom roll bar was installed, while the driver gets to grips with a wood shift knob and steering wheel, plus a set of Momo pedals. Behind the steering wheel is a speedometer that goes up to 85 mph, and a temperature gauge that “works intermittently.”
Interestingly, a boombox from the ‘80s is strapped down to the roll bar behind the seats, which doesn’t look terribly safe, but definitely ups the old-school appeal a few notches.
Under the hood is a replacement aluminum 215-cubic-inch V8 engine topped by a Holley four-barrel carburetor, custom cold air intake, and Offenhauser intake manifold. Spent gasses are routed through a custom exhaust, while a five-speed manual transmission handles the cog swaps.
This custom 1978 Chevrolet LUV shows 113,000 miles on the clock, and is located in Denver, Colorado. Now, it’s up for auction on Bring A Trailer, and as of this writing (08/28/2020), the current bid is set at $5,000 with six days left in the auction.
What would you pay for this custom Chevrolet LUV? Let us know in the comments, and subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Source: Bring A Trailer
Comments
I wonder where they found one that wasn’t just a pile of rust?
Back in the late 90s, my father-in-law found a LUV for sale near where I lived (he lived several hours away from my wife and I) and asked me to go look at it. I don’t remember what year it was, but it was pale yellow and only had something like 35,000 miles on the click at the time. I drove it and it seemed in decent condition but didn’t actually think my father-in-law would really buy it. When I called him and told him what I thought, he was in his car the next day on his way to where I lived. We went out to look at the truck again the next morning and he fell in love. Bought it on the spot. He ended up driving that truck until 80,000 miles or so, when he sold it to a neighbor kid. He says he still sees it around from time to time, but that it’s in pretty bad shape now. I tell him I’m surprised it’s not just a pile of rust-dust by now. He still says he misses that truck (he drives a Subaru Baja now).
Just curious what state this was in. Here in Michigan I never saw one that wasn’t rusty, and I can’t believe there are any on the road today.
It say right their in the article that it’s in Denver, Colorado!
Yeah thanks, but this thread wasn’t about that.
If you’re asking about my comment about my father-in-law’s former LUV, it was in Nebraska.
Here we salt the roads pretty heavily and they didn’t stand a chance.
Nice little ride, love the sound system! does it come with the attachable roof?