It's been almost 2 and a half years since my wife Lisa and I decided to buy the old 57 Chevy truck. Her Grandpa Buck had one when she was a little girl and she has fond memories of riding around with her hair flying in the wind, her Grandpa at the wheel with faithful Border Collie "Jinx" riding shotgun. She dreamed of having a truck like that someday.
Driving home from work one evening I spotted an old Chevy truck for sale on the side of the road. Stopping to investigate I found it was a bucket of bolts with more rust in the bucket than bolts! I walked back to the road a bit dissapointed, when a car pulled up from the highway stopping beside me. The driver, a middle aged bearded man with a pony tail, rolled down his window asking abruptly, "You looking for a truck like this?"
Not really knowing if I was or not, I half nodded then mumbled, "Well... kind of...?" Without missing a beat, he said, "I've got one a hellova lot better than that rusty piece of XI&@!" "Come on follow me!" Without giving a chance to respond, he turned his car around and drove away motioning me to follow. Reluctant but curious I jumped in my truck and followed.
About three miles down the road he pulled into a gravel driveway leading to a metal pole building. I wondered if there might be a treasure hiding in there. He pushed opened the doors to the barn and there she was, sitting in all her faded glory- a 1957 Chevy stepside shortbed truck! Sporting teal green paint, fuzzy dice from the mirror and rusty slotted mag wheels. I thought she was beautiful and tried not to show my enthusiasim until I heard the price and talked with my wife, but I'm sure it showed!
The rest is history... I took some digital pictures home to show Lisa and she loved it! My buddy Kevin went back with me to bring her home the next day. I think the seller had a little tear in his eyes as we loaded her on the trailer. He told me he hardly slept last night thinking about getting rid of his baby and he asked if I was really going to fix her up right. I nodded and promised. He asked if I could keep her the same color, but I told him that was the wife's department. I did promise to take him for a ride in it someday when she was back in full glory. This made him smile!
Driving home from work one evening I spotted an old Chevy truck for sale on the side of the road. Stopping to investigate I found it was a bucket of bolts with more rust in the bucket than bolts! I walked back to the road a bit dissapointed, when a car pulled up from the highway stopping beside me. The driver, a middle aged bearded man with a pony tail, rolled down his window asking abruptly, "You looking for a truck like this?"
Not really knowing if I was or not, I half nodded then mumbled, "Well... kind of...?" Without missing a beat, he said, "I've got one a hellova lot better than that rusty piece of XI&@!" "Come on follow me!" Without giving a chance to respond, he turned his car around and drove away motioning me to follow. Reluctant but curious I jumped in my truck and followed.
About three miles down the road he pulled into a gravel driveway leading to a metal pole building. I wondered if there might be a treasure hiding in there. He pushed opened the doors to the barn and there she was, sitting in all her faded glory- a 1957 Chevy stepside shortbed truck! Sporting teal green paint, fuzzy dice from the mirror and rusty slotted mag wheels. I thought she was beautiful and tried not to show my enthusiasim until I heard the price and talked with my wife, but I'm sure it showed!
The rest is history... I took some digital pictures home to show Lisa and she loved it! My buddy Kevin went back with me to bring her home the next day. I think the seller had a little tear in his eyes as we loaded her on the trailer. He told me he hardly slept last night thinking about getting rid of his baby and he asked if I was really going to fix her up right. I nodded and promised. He asked if I could keep her the same color, but I told him that was the wife's department. I did promise to take him for a ride in it someday when she was back in full glory. This made him smile!
We trailored her home that night and the smile on my wifes face was priceless. I could tell the memories of her childhood were flooding back, it was if she could see Grandpa and his sidekick "Jinx" sitting with her in the front seat.
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