I think I need a tetanus shot just from looking at this truck, if you can call it that.
If you’re a fan of the way pickup truck cabs look but don’t want the pesky bed hanging off the back, then boy do I have the truck for you. This 1998 Chevy 1500 extended cab is currently for sale on Facebook Marketplace and it not only lacks a bed but its wheelbase has been shortened so that its rear axle sits under the rear seat of the cab. It’s essentially a short wheelbase Chevy 1500 and it looks like an express ticket to an extended stay in a hospital bed.
What the sellers of this truck did was remove the bed, cut the ladder frame off at the cab, and move the rear axle forward by several feet. It sort of looks like a really tall Chevy hatchback now. My favorite part of this listing is the description, which reads: “Frame broke so this what you get,” as if this was the only option. At least the motor and transmission are said to be running well.
While it’s hard to tell how well this modification was done, all the sharp metal edges and corners, along with a ton of rust, is making me want to get a tetanus shot just looking at it. If it does run and drive as well as the seller claims, it’s still going to be dangerous, for a couple of reasons.
For starters, that chassis isn’t designed for a wheelbase that short, so its handling characteristics aren’t going to be great. Plus, with a big V8, rear-wheel drive, and a short wheelbase, it could get rather snappy. Additionally, because the original truck was designed with a bed on the back, the rear bulkhead is not designed to be rear ended directly. So if you are rear ended in this Chevy 1500 shorty, you’re going to have a bad day.
Thankfully, this truck—if you can call it that—is cheap. The seller is asking $2,000 for it and you can almost certainly talk them down from there. It’s literally half of a truck. This isn’t the strangest vehicle I’ve ever seen on Marketplace but I can’t imagine why anyone buys this, aside from it being a laugh. If you do, though, just make sure you’re up to date on all your shots and you have a hefty life insurance policy.
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