We recently created a visual guide to identifying 1947-1959 Chevy trucks, including some of the subtle changes and options for each model year. In this article, let's take a look at more recent 1960-1972 GM trucks. If you've ever seen one of these classic trucks and wondered what year it is, or you're curious if the restoration parts on your truck match its original specifications, read through our 1960-72 Chevy truck model years identification guide below. As with the previous entry in this series, the images in this article have been scanned from original documentation, and show sub-models based on the Chevy C/K series truck platform for each model year.
The photo above of a restored 1971 Chevy C10 Cheyenne and other model year identification reference photos in this article are courtesy of Mecum Auctions.
1960 Chevy Truck
This year marked a major change in Chevy truck history with this new body style. Front suspension is a newly designed torsion bar system. Rear suspension is a coil spring and trailing arm design. The low mounted grill consists of two horizontal bars connecting dual headlamps. CHEVROLET is embossed across lower bar. Center opening of grill has a three louver insert. Front of hood has oval openings on each side.
Park lamps fit in center of vertically louvered bezels and fit in these hood openings, Windshield is a wrap around design. Front windshield pillars slope forward. Vent windows are wider at top than bottom. The dashboard consists of two large arches on either side. Instrument cluster is housed in left arch. The right arch houses the glove compartment. Master cylinder is a dual cylinder. One side operates brakes. The other side controls a hydraulically operated clutch.
Small back window is standard with big back window optional. Front bumper vertical bolt holes are 3 1/4” apart. Custom cab trucks have aluminum trim strip from front fender to rear of bed on Fleetside models. Side emblem consists of CHEVROLET on top with the word APACHE and series designation below. Designations are now different. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1961 Chevy Truck
The 1961 Chevy truck was very similar to the 1960 truck. Lower bar of grill is now smooth. Plated grill insert is similar to 1960 but also has four vertical louvers and the letters CHEVROLET. Park lamps now have winged design bezels on either side of lens. Side emblems, consist of the word APACHE and the series designation only (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton). C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1962 Chevy Truck
Similar to previous years but with the following changes. New modern hood without oval openings as in previous years. Character line around body is now continued around sides and front of hood. Park lamp lens is mounted in similar location surrounded by aluminum bezel. Turn signals are now standard equipment.
Grill is similar except center oval has 9 rectangular openings made from 2 vertical and 2 horizontal bars. Lower bar again has CHEVROLET embossed. Single headlamps are now used surrounded by large ribbed bezels. Custom cab trucks trim extended from front fender to rear of bed on Fleetside models. A second strip of trim branched off of door trim and extended to rear of bed. Side emblems consist of a red Bow Tie and the series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) on top of a vertically ribbed background. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1963 Chevy Truck
Similar in appearance to earlier years but with new grill design. Front suspension now uses variable rate coil springs. Clutch uses mechanical linkage. Grill has CHEVROLET embossed in lower bar and single headlamps surrounded by smaller round bezels. Center of grill consists of 56 rectangular holes formed by 3 horizontal and 13 vertical bars. Front bumper vertical bolt holes are now 4 3/4” apart. First year for the 230 and 292 cubic inch engines. Side emblem is a vertical rectangle with series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) on upper portion and red Bow Tie below. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1964 Chevy Truck
This year marked another milestone in Chevy truck history, with a redesigned cab. Windshield is now a flatter design than before. Windshield pillar posts slope back. Vent windows are wider at bottom than at top. Redesigned grill consists of numerous vertical and horizontal cross hatches for a screened look. Upper grill bar has CHEVROLET embossed. Single headlamps are surrounded by rectangular bezels.
The dash is now full cab width and has a lip along entire top edge that forms a shelf to reduce glare. First year for self-adjusting brakes. Factory in dash air conditioning optional. Side emblems are a square with series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) embossed and Bow Tie on top. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1965 Chevy Truck
Similar to 1964 trucks. Side emblems are now rectangular shaped with Bow Tie in left portion and series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) in right portion. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1966 Chevy Truck
Similar to 1964 and 1965 trucks, 1966 marked the final year of this body style. First year for the optional 327 V8 engine and Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Side emblems are rectangular shaped with Bow Tie on top and series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) on bottom. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive.
1967 Chevy Truck
In 1967, Chevrolet introduced this new body style truck. Grill consists of two wide rectangular openings with surround trim and Bow Tie emblem in center. Hood has CHEVROLET letters across front. For GMC models, grill design is one vertical and one crossing horizontal bar between dual headlights. GMC letters are attached to center of grill.
Fenders and bedsides have no side marker lamps. Park lights are mounted in lower rectangular opening of grill. Small back window is standard equipment with big back window optional. Floor of Fleetside bed is now steel as standard equipment with wood floor optional. Stepside bed floor is still wood with steel skid strips. CST equipped trucks have lower bright trim installed at lower body line. Last year for the optional 283ci engine. Fender emblems consist of a Bow Tie on top with the truck series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) below. Hand operated parking brake.
New designation for models. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
1968 Chevy Truck
Very similar to 1967 truck. Small back window is discontinued, so all 1968 trucks will have big back windows. Side marker lamps are added to front fenders and rear bedsides. Some CST equipped trucks have upper side trim in addition to the lower side trim. CSTs also have bright trim surrounding front grill and headlamp area. Letters on GMCs are now moved from grill to front of hood.
First year for the optional 307 and 396 cubic inch engines. Fender emblems consist of a Bow Tie on top with the truck series designation (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) below. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
1969 Chevy Truck
Similar to previous years but with the following changes. New grill is one piece anodized aluminum design with center bar which extends to and surrounds headlamps. Plastic grill insert consists of tightly spaced horizontal and vertical members in a crosshatch pattern. CHEVROLET letters are embossed across center of grill with park lamps mounted at either end of the embossed letters. Bow Tie emblem mounted on front of hood.
Fender emblems now state the series number (10 - 1/2 ton, 20 - 3/4 ton, 30 - 1 ton) and model, such as CST/10. Engine displacement emblems were also mounted below fender emblems when equipped with optional engines. First year for 350 cubic inch engine. Deluxe equipped trucks had optional upper and lower trim along side of body. Custom equipped trucks had black banded lower trim. CST equipped trucks had woodgrain banded lower trim. First year for foot operated parking brake. First year for the Blazer. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
1970 Chevy Truck
Very similar to the 1969. Grill is similar to 1969, except the plastic grill insert now consists of twelve groups of four short horizontal fins arranged with six stacks of fins above the center bar and six stacks below. First year for the optional 402 cubic inch engine. First year all engines are equipped with emission controls. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
1971 Chevy Truck
Similar to previous years. Redesigned grill now consists of large anodized aluminum surrounding entire grill area with egg-crate rectangular pattern plastic insert. Bow Tie emblem is mounted in center of grill. GMC also has a slightly redesigned grill. First year for standard front wheel disc brakes.
Top of the line model trucks are now designated Cheyenne. Most deluxe and Cheyenne models painted in two tone paint scheme. Park lamps are now mounted in front bumper. Last year for the inside mirror bracket to be screwed of above windshield. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
1972 Chevy Truck
This was the last year of one of the most popular body styles in Chevy truck history. 1972 models are very difficult to distinguish from the prior year without checking serial numbers. One noticeable change is the inside rear view mirror is now glued to the windshield like modern day vehicles.
Some new interior changes were also added, like fabric changes and door panel designs. C models are 2 wheel drive, and K models are 4 wheel drive. Engine codes are E for V8 and S for 6 cylinder (CE - 2 wheel drive V8, KS - 4 wheel drive 6 cylinder etc.). This is followed by the model code (KE10906 - 4WD, V8, 1/2 ton Suburban w/panel doors).
More History & Project Examples
Over the years, we've had many classic pickups and SUVs stop by our Retail Showroom to grab a catalog or load up some parts. We often take photos of these customer truck builds to illustrate various periods in Chevy truck history. Check out our previous article, Truck Restoration: 5 Chevy & GMC Builds, for some food for thought as you work on your own project vehicle.
If you're interested in learning more about the history of other classic Chevy vehicles, take a look at some of our recent articles:
- 1967-2002 Camaro Generations & Production Numbers
- 1962-1979 Chevy Nova VIN Decoder
- 1958-80 Chevy Impala & Full Size Chevy VIN Decoder
Looking for Chevy Truck Parts?
The 1960-72 Chevy truck is a popular platform for restoration, but the key to any restoration project is finding the right replacement parts. Chevy trucks of this era have often accumulated decades of body damage, rust, missing parts, or worn-out engine and suspension components that need to be fixed. Classic Industries offers thousands of parts and accessories for Chevy and GMC trucks from 1947 all the way through 2008. Browse our inventory through our web store or click the button below for a free full-color parts catalog.
