Chevy LUV
If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time--in which case, my most profound apologies--you'd think the Chevy LUV would be a natural for Car Lust. Consider the following:
- Notwithstanding its Isuzu origins, it's a 1970s Chevrolet, and I'm on the record as loving Chevrolets from that decade (Examples 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and more no doubt to follow)
- I like my trucks unpretentious; trucks don't come any less pretentious than the LUV
- I liked Nathan's Ford Courier, which was essentially the Ford flavor of the same minitruck formula
- Most telling, I have a fatal weakness for helpless little bedraggled cars; and the LUV is nothing if not helpless and bedraggled.
The LUV is the exception to all of those rules. I should like the LUV, and I'm powerless to tell you why I don't. My only guess--and admittedly I'm being incredibly inconsistent here--is that the LUV wasn't good. For one thing, compact pickups of the time only barely qualified as transportation. The early 1970s compact pickups lasted forever but were hampered by their incredibly tiny size and complete lack of grunt. Most of them made do with much, much less than 100 horsepower--the LUV only got up to 80 horsepower late in its production run--and four-wheel-drive was not as typical then as it is for today's compact pickups.
Tiny, criminally uncomfortable, and weak, these pickups at least had the distinction of durability thanks to their ability to survive virtually any abuse or depredation. The Toyota Hi-Lux pickup built a reputation (and Top Gear's respect) with its ability to endure. Given that it was simply a rebadged Isuzu--Ur-P'ups, if you will--you would think the LUV would share the bulletproof reputation of its Japanese-badged sibling. And mechanically, I think the LUV was probably fine. What wasn't so fine was its protection from corrosion--wait, what protection? Rust viewed the LUV's body panels with the same all-consuming, slobbery hunger with which Wile E. Coyote lusts after the Road Runner. Making matters worse, seemingly nobody valued their LUV enough to keep it in anything close to pristine condition.
Nowadays, when you see LUVs on the road, assuming they can limp to the road, they are always filthy, missing body parts, and in a thorough and advanced state of disintegration. Since I have only ever seen LUVs in a completely decimated condition, I can only assume that this is a state most LUVs reached within moments of leaving the dealer lot. In my brain, LUVs have been linked inextricably with rot, decay, and malign neglect.
There may be another reason I hold the LUV up to such derision. You see, I had a friend of a friend in college who went by the appellation "Hoag." Hoag was the stereotypical hard-partyer who either had at least two illicit substances floating through his bloodstream at any one time, or had done so for a long enough period of time that he was out of his head even when stone sober. At any rate, he was often belligerent, muddled, hapless, and completely incomprehensible. He, of course, drove a thoroughly shabby LUV, filthy, falling apart, and with a dirty rag substituting as a gas cap. Given his seeming state of near-constant inebriation, I'm actually surprised the LUV wasn't in worse shape.
On one particularly memorable day, Hoag managed to back the LUV into his next-door-neighbor's house. He emerged groggily to survey the damage--happily, none to the house--and then slowly lurched away. I can still envision Hoag and his LUV, with him bleary-eyed and grinning vacantly in one of the worst trucks ever made. What makes me the happiest is how perfectly those two deserved each other.
Despite all of this baggage, I could probably come to actually ... um ... love, the LUV. It's a cute little thing; if exposed to LUVs that have been cherished instead of trashed I'm sure I'd find it pretty compelling.
I was actually stunned to find pictures of LUVs as nice as these; perhaps my conversion is already beginning. All are from Flickr; the top is from Katie and Joe, the second is from Ray of Unshine (which, incidentally, is a great user name), the third is from Jeba-ebediah, and the fourth is from christine*rn. I've included two videos here--one is a vintage advertisement, the other a pretty amateurish but very on-point parody of a Luv being given away on The Price is Right. I would totally drive the LUV with "34 MPG HWY" painted boldly on the side door.
A few comments from my Car Lust co-bloggers:
David Drucker: Do you suppose that a single, solitary Chevy LUV has survived to this point?
Big Chris: A guy up the street from my parents in Sioux Falls, SD, still drives a Chevy LUV. He's a mailman, and has been driving it since at least the mid-1980's (I used to date his daughter, so I remember it well). I think his was the 4-wheel drive version. There was a diesel version starting in 1981 (2WD) that got over 40MPG on the highway, and the motors (C223) ran half a million miles before needing to be touched! The downside is if two men my size want to ride in the truck, one is ending up on the hood or the in the bed! One guy dropped a 454 and a Ford 9-inch out back into his LUV, making it a go-cart/rocket from hell!
--Chris H.
Mochi Mochi on August 13, 2008 at 04:03 PM
Amazing coincidence. A truck luving friend of mine sent me a note last week saying she had just spotted the cutest little ol' truck in the world... a mint version parked a block from her house.. the diesel Isuzu Pup. She loved the name too. I'm trying to imagine what the acceleration must be like.
here's an ad with Joe Isuzu and "the Pup".
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=oDK8BYS2d9s
I can see how "Hoag" would put a damper on the "Luv". But the "Pup" is looking pretty fine.
jfruser on August 13, 2008 at 06:39 PM
The Chevy LUV.
I drove one in the summer of 1988 while working for a sprinkler maintenance company. This particular LUV had been modified with a plywood multi-bin tool box in the bed containing all manner of sprinkler parts & tools. It was unaffectionately called "The 'Dilla," (as in Armadillo).
It was a brush-painted blue & black. The Dilla had managed, despite residing in road salt-free Florida, to have rusted out the floorboards nearest the front wheel wells. When I write "rusted out" I mean I could see pavement and water splashed up on the occupants when driving in Florida's torrential downpours.
With all that waterlogged plywood in the bed rising above the level of the roof, performance was abysmal. I refused to drive it faster than 35MPH out of fear it would catastrophically fail.
Truly, I have no love lost for the LUV.
TurboDave on August 13, 2008 at 07:10 PM
I'd swear the fourth picture is a Datsun PU, not a LUV??
Brian on August 14, 2008 at 02:52 AM
My Dad had a LUV. Before and after that he had a 1979 F-150 and a 1970 Chevy truck with an I6. So eventually the Chevy needed oil faster than fuel, and the Ford needed a new starter every week, but the LUV was a piece of junk. The small aluminum 4-banger just was not designed for the environment. During winter, the heater didn't work worth a shit, and that's a major problem. I remember this truck, but if it's my money I'd get a 1972 Toyota Hilux.
http://anchorage.craigslist.org/car/763830067.html
David Colborne on August 14, 2008 at 08:29 AM
A friend of mine had a LUV, and he swore by the thing. He and his family spent so much money on the darned thing keeping it running, it was almost funny. As a challenge, I told him that, if he could keep that thing running for 200,000 miles, I'd keep my Dodge Shadow going for that long, come hell or high water.
He came 8,000 miles short, and the Shadow was sold at 112,000 miles.
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on August 14, 2008 at 12:10 PM
It didn't occur to me before, but is there any chance that the LUV stands for "Light Utility Vehicle"?
Nah, couldn't be.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on August 14, 2008 at 12:43 PM
So, I'm getting the sense here that when it comes to the LUV, we're not exactly feelin' the love, right?
Anthony Cagle on August 14, 2008 at 01:29 PM
I was wondering what LUV stood for. That was about what I had come up with, too.
I've never been a pickup truck kinda guy. For whatever reason, they just never appealed to me. Nowadays as a homeowner I sometimes wish I had one, but not nearly enough to warrant actually buying one. I like the way this one looks, though. Simple. Utilitarian. I bet that if they'd actually made it well it would've sold a million.
evan creach on August 26, 2008 at 08:39 PM
luv stands fo L ight U tilaty V ehicle
kelly on September 19, 2008 at 12:09 PM
I am seriously considering buying one.....great condition, low milage and damn it might even make my boobs look big.
GEORGE LENHARDT on September 25, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Help! I just bought a 1976 Luv and need a hook for parts. This is a rust free Ca. truck. I luv it.. George
David on October 09, 2008 at 09:32 PM
I had a LUV, a 75 model that i used for daily driving and amature desert racing. BEST DAMN VEHICLE I HAVE EVER OWNED!! 330,000 miles out of it with nothing more than new clutches and an occaisional ball joint due to bashing rocks or catching too much air. If you still could buy new ones I would take 10 of them! Best small truck EVER made, in my opinion.
peter on November 10, 2008 at 09:35 PM
hi, is this car the same as a 1968-72 toyota RN16 hilux?
what type of motor do you have in these cars?
Jason Carpp on December 01, 2008 at 07:07 AM
I've always loved the LUV. This is my favourite body styling for the truck. The Toyota truck was nice (my stepdad owned one), but the LUV is the best looking of the two.
D2 on December 16, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Chevy LUV's Rock! I've got a AZ rust free '79 4X4 for sale. Check PHX Craigs list.
on December 17, 2008 at 10:31 AM
luvtruck.com
Bob L on January 13, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Just bought one today -- guess we'll see how it turns out. Has some major frame and body rust/holes -- I plan on doing some serious welding this summer to bring it back to a nice condition...I just hope these are in a collectible market now. Seems to me like they were hated back then, and sort of just a "to have" thing now.
love the luv on January 16, 2009 at 01:30 PM
i hav a chevy luv and it is rusted out and everything and even the hood wont stay down but the four wheel drive wrks great gets great gas mileage and i freakin love it!!
Dan on January 24, 2009 at 02:35 PM
TurboDave is right--the fourth truck is a Datsun 5-series. Based on the lack of rear side-marker lights, I'd say it's a 1966 or a 1967 model, or one not sold in the U.S.
mixbrix on February 22, 2009 at 07:22 PM
I owned a 79 Chevy LUV that I bought brand new. I used it several years in a bricklaying business and never had a problem with it. The payment was less per month, than the gas for the 75 full size Chevy pick-up I owned before the LUV. I guess you could say I loved my LUV.
http://i42.tinypic.com/2zqeha9.jpg
mixbrix on February 22, 2009 at 07:24 PM
I owned a 79 Chevy LUV that I bought brand new. I used it several years in a bricklaying business and never had a problem with it. The payment was less per month, than the gas for the 75 full size Chevy pick-up I owned before the LUV. I guess you could say I loved my LUV.
http://i42.tinypic.com/2zqeha9.jpg
OzLuvTrucker on March 31, 2009 at 09:03 PM
luvtruck.com
Dr Frankenstein on April 02, 2009 at 06:49 AM
I got a 79 LUV.......... want to race me and see how slow my poor little LUV is?
Eric on April 06, 2009 at 03:53 PM
I have a 79 Mikado that I am looking to sell. I started to redo it but don't have the time. New clutch, brakes, drums have been turned, flywheel turned, new shocks, original 4 cylinder engine, 4 wheel drive, stills needs work. If interested, I am willing to trade for a jeep or sell outright. I have pictures that I can provide. Lets deal.
Troy McComas on July 05, 2009 at 09:58 AM
I have two LUV trucks one is a 74 stepside tubbed with a small block Chevy 350, very fast and street legal. The other is a 79 stepside all origional yellow with 93,000 miles, picke it up from an old couple for $500.00 put a fuel pump and it runs great, not the fastest but great on fuel. I too hope they become collectors.