1979 GMC K1500 Sierra

-350ci V8
-4 Speed Manual
-46k Miles
-Silver Over Red Interior

(Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1979 GMC K1500 Sierra on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors site, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many photographs of the truck due to third-party website limitations. To be sure you access all the more than 130 photographs, as well as a short start-up and walk-around video, please go to our main website: Garage Kept Motors.)

“A good truck can be the start of a long friendship.” – Period GMC Pickup Truck magazine ad headline

Hagerty characterized the attractive design of the 1979 GM pickups this way: “Whether Chevrolet or GMC, the General's third-generation, 'square-body' trucks were a dramatic departure from the company's previous efforts. The third-gen models featured squared-off front and rear fascia, subtle body contours honed by wind-tunnel testing, a more accommodating and ergonomic interior... a style decades ahead of its time.”

Offered here is a very well-maintained, GMC K1500 Sierra pickup in silver metallic over dark red. The truck has a conservative lift kit installed. Showing 46,634 miles on its odometer, the GMC has traveled fewer than 1,200 miles per-year on average since new. Its excellent overall condition shows how owner pride, attention to regular servicing, and careful refreshing can result in a virtually timeless vehicle.

The exterior silver metallic paint shows beautifully on every surface, with no indication of fading or other damage. The gloss is even and the application is smooth. A black Pendaliner® hard-plastic cargo-bed liner is in place and shows no wear marks. There is absolutely no sign of body damage anywhere; the truck's slightly custom front grille and tailgate are perfect. (To best assess the quality of the paint and trim finishes, be sure to view the close-up photographs of the car in the accompanying gallery.) Chrome front bumper (with overriders) and rear step-bumper are in excellent condition as is the truck's cargo bed. Other chrome items—door handles, grille and headlight trim, West Coast-style mirrors—are in excellent condition as well. Emblems and identification are limited to the small GMC grille badge, GMC cab-side emblems, and the embossed “GMC” on the tailgate. Lighting lenses and cabin glass—including the sliding rear window—are perfectly clear and undamaged. Stock steel wheels with chrome trim rings are mounted with outline-white-letter GoodYear® Wrangler outline-white-letter 31x10.50R15LT all-terrain tires. The front axle features locking hubs.

Inside, dark-red offers a pleasant contrast to the silver exterior. Vertically pleated fabric trimmed in vinyl covers the seat and shows no excessive wear. The black, brushed-metal-trimmed GMC-branded steering wheel frames the classic GM truck instrument cluster on the red dashboard. An upgraded Nokamichi® audio head unit is mounted in place of the factory radio while factory slide-levers control air conditioning, heating, and ventilation. The red dashboard is trimmed in brushed-metal with a “Sierra Classic” emblem facing the front passenger. A Hurst® shift lever for the 4-speed manual transmission is floor-mounted alongside the transfer-case selector lever. Dark-red cabin floor carpeting has been properly maintained and is free of rips or other damage.

Under the hood, the venerable 350-cubic-inch GM V8 (wearing a chrome open-sided, K&N®-embossed air cleaner and chrome valve-covers) has been maintained in a clean and well-ordered engine bay. All components are correctly mounted. In the same way, viewed from below, the truck's chassis is complete, original, and undamaged. The performance exhaust and lifted suspension are visual focal points. (Be sure to sample the engine note at the link to the short video.)

All build tags and VIN markings are present and unaltered.

While the more than 130 high-definition photographs and the short walk-around-and-startup video available on the GarageKeptMotors website showcase this '79 GMC K1500 in detail from every angle, including from below, we expect and encourage in-person inspections at our Grand Rapids, Michigan showroom. Please call to arrange an appointment in advance as our showroom is not open to the public. And feel free to get in touch anytime by phone or email if you have questions.

The Hagerty assertion that these third-generation GMC pickups had a style that was “decades ahead of their time” rings true. The appeal of a well-maintained example like this silver-over-red truck is as strong today as it was 40 years ago. Maybe stronger.