When I was 16, I bought a 1965 Chevy C10 with a 292 straight 6 and a four speed on the floor. Super clean, but the front fenders had the traditional rust weight reduction behind the tires. I had a friend who knew a friend who could fix the holes, paint it (whole truck) for 500. I had to get the steel for the patches. Did a quick trip to the yard, and bought a hood to replace the one that had lower lip rust through, and the old one became the metal donor.
Thus started my love affair with Chevy trucks. Keep in mind, that first truck only had 34k miles on it. With the exception of the fenders, it was in perfect condition.... and it's the one that got away. Young and dumb me wanted a V8 so bad.. Silly to think about that now. The guy I sold it to, wrapped it around a telephone poll two months later.
Everyone has one that got away.. but mine was particularly painful. I may have been stupid, but even then I knew that was a major mistake. I followed that up with a 64 C10 that was pure junk, and a C&P Telephone Dodge van (stick shift on the floor.. in a van!).
In 1988, I was 23, and the new Chevy truck had just been introduced in the fall. I got the fever right away. I bought every magazine that said anything about the new Chevy's. Actually walked into a dealer, and grabbed all the promo material (wish I still had it). Let me tell you, the color options were crap. I really wanted a blue one, but the blue they offered was just terrible. In the promo material from the dealer, there was a picture of a burgundy 4X4 sitting on a hill, and even though I was no fan of red colors, there was no doubt this was the best color. It looked similar to this:
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So I dreamed the dream... and time passed. When your 20 something you are two things.. Young, and broke... and I was really broke. There was no way I could afford a new truck. In 1989, I was 24, working as a delivery truck driver, and I was finally making a buck. One particular day, I had finished early, and decided to have a bite sitting in the grocery store parking lot. Directly across the street, was a Chevy dealer.
I just starred at it... Then I said to myself.. Fk it.. let's buy a truck. I walked over there, flung open the doors like a WWF wrestler (it's still the 80's after all), and said I need a salesman! I must have looked like the trophy Bass, because there was a commotion of badly dressed old guys trying to get to me first. I can't remember the guys last name, but his first was Richard... and when I told Richard I wanted to buy a truck RIGHT NOW, he quickly shot me down.. They.. they were sold out. I made a face, said thanks, and started out the door.. Then I heard him say "But you can order one!". I never heard of such a thing (24 years old you know).. I was like... How does that work? He said, give me 200 bucks, I'll write down what you want, and in 3 to 4 months it'll be here!
PERFECT! I can order this thing, secure a loan... and it's gonna be GREAT! And wouldn't you know it... I had exactly 200 bucks in my pocket. Either it was divine providence, or the dude had x-ray vision.
Going through the options was really cool. The guy knew his stuff, and I have to say, he kept me from braking the bank. I knew there was 6 things I absolutely wanted: 4 head lights, stick shift, V8 350, 4X4, 3/4 ton, and the best radio they had. In the end, I had those things written up, and a rear slider window was thrown in for free. I had ordered my dream truck, and by March of 1989, I was going to have to pay for it... All 15,700.00 worth. Yes Sir, that's what a brand new Chevy GMT 400 4X4 was going for back then. At the time, that sounded like 1 trillion dollars to me.. But the salesman was assuring.. Kid, you got three months before it gets here. I got you with GMAC if you need it, but save every dime until it gets here. I managed to save 2k, and secure a loan at my bank when "Big Red" showed up on 4/18/1989....
to be continued;