What Are Square Body Trucks And When Did Car Brands Stop Making Them?

Pickup trucks have been a significant part of the automobile market pretty much since the moment Henry Ford rolled the first Model TT off the production line in 1917. Those first pickups were modified builds of the Model T, Ford's first production car, which the manufacturer's design team fit with a truck bed after learning some innovative farmers had been crudely doing the same for years. While pickups are still the vehicle of choice for farmers and workers, they're driven as much by city-dwellers and suburbanites alike these days.

This has led almost every major automaker to put its own spin on the pickup concept, including Chevrolet, who delivered its first pickup in 1918. Over the decades, Chevy trucks would come to embody toughness on the road, on the farm, and in any number of other work sites throughout the world. That toughness was arguably never more embodied than in the brand's so-called "square-body" builds that went into production in 1973.

If you're wondering how Chevy trucks from that period earned that square-body nickname, it's because they were, in fact, quite boxy in their body design. Chevy was hardly the only automaker featuring boxy builds in the 1970s, but the term "square body" is applied largely to Chevy and GMC trucks from the era. Whatever the case, the line proved popular, with Chevy keeping their square-body trucks in production for more than a decade.

Chevy's aptly-named square-body trucks were in production for 14 years, with the automaker and its sibling manufacturer, GMC, cranking out the muscular builds from 1973 to 1987. Hilariously, Chevy initially labeled these boxy trucks as the "Round-Line," as they were slightly less boxy than the trucks that came before. Nonetheless, the C and K model trucks in the Chevy and GMC lineup were noticeably boxier compared to some other trucks on the road, so the "square body" nickname was an easy fit.

Arguably, the square body name could have been applied to other pickup trucks from the '70s and '80s, such as the F-Series builds being manufactured by Ford at the time. Ford's F-Series generation of trucks was the primary competition for Chevy and GMC trucks of the day, so it should hardly come as a surprise that Ford may have played a role in the demise of the square-body truck.

As was the case with many vehicles in the late 1980s, Ford's F-Series builds were getting a little sleeker in their lines and beginning to overtake boxy Chevys like the C10 Silverado, which easily ranks among the best square body builds ever produced. The change in consumer tastes and ensuing sales swing was strong enough that Chevy changed things up in '87, debuting the GMT 400 platform that would phase out the entire square body lineup. By the early '90s, the square-bodied beasts were all but absent from showroom floors.  

Despite the fact that square body models ultimately disappeared from the market by the end of the 1980s, the vehicles have never been far from the hearts of those who adore the Chevy and GMC brands. In fact, the trucks are relatively sought after these days on the used truck market by those looking to undertake a restoration or customization project. 

That's in no small part because truck lovers still seem to dig the distinctive look of Chevy's and GMC's so-called square body pickups, with their burly stylings serving in stark counterpoint to some of the sleeker models produced in the '90s and early 2000s. Likewise, the C and K model trucks have historically erred on the side of being easily customizable. With so many of the square body builds hitting the roadways during their 14-year production period, it's not all that hard to find a reasonably priced used model on the market. Perhaps more importantly, the high production numbers mean that second-hand parts should also be relatively easy to come by.

On top of everything else, the square-body trucks are generally considered roomier and comfier than many pickups of the era since Chevy and GMC reportedly tailored the brawny builds to suit a driver's needs on the farm as well as riding about town. So, whether you're plotting a full-on restomod or just looking for a tough-as-nails pickup to tinker with in your home garage, a square-body Chevy or GMC may well check a lot of the requisite boxes in that equation.