Exciting News!! Blast From The Past!!!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

OK, here is a tale to share! Back in 1967 my paternal grandfather bought a 1968 Chevrolet C10 Stepside Longbed which he used until his death in 1974. The vehicle remained in my family, and my father took it over and had a frame-off restoration done on it. He drove the truck for years (as did I) and about 15 years ago he sold the truck due to financial desperation. This took a terrible toll on me because I was the sole heir to this family truck that even my great grandfather had driven once or twice (yes, my grandfather's father was still alive back then and drove it too!).

So for the better part of two decades I wondered how I could ever locate the truck again, perhaps using an old registration of my father's to find the VIN and present owner. This was in the hopes that I could somehow reclaim the truck to its rightful place in my family by buying it back from the man he sold it to. My father died last year without ever remembering who he sold the truck to, so hope was looking thin for this dream.

Well, just yesterday I went to see my aunt (father's sister) and she presented me with a mysterious small box with my father's name on it that she found in her house somewhere. As I opened the box I immediately recognized the items within as 1968 Chevrolet parts and papers that my father once had for this truck. There were several tail lenses and NOS OEM gaskets for them in there that he had ordered. There were order forms from the company that he had ordered the lenses from. There was even the ORIGINAL owner's manual inside and warranty book with grandfather's name still in it! I was very stunned to see this, but the biggest and best find was yet to come. I found a handwritten note in my father's handwriting giving the name, address, and telephone number of the man he sold the truck to! My aunt had tried 15 years ago (right after the truck sale) to deliver this very forgotten box of parts and papers to the new owner (hence the note from my father with the information) but they were not interested, so she put the box aside and forgot about it.

I immediately called the buyer's number and asked for the buyer by name to the lady who answered. I then found that the buyer had died 4 years ago and this was his widow (a very nice lady). I told her who I was and explained the situation to her about wanting to buy the truck back, so I proved I was real and not a prank caller. It turned out that she had sold the truck to her neighbor who had garaged the truck about 3 years ago. She called this neighbor and explained everything to him, then gave him my number.

Well, he told her he would think about it, so he called me just today, and guess what? He is selling me back the truck!!!! I have been on this seemingly hopeless quest for almost 16 years and now it is coming to an end!! This new owner told that he has turned down numerous people who wanted to buy the truck, but he recently retired and is working twice as hard as before, so he now has no time for the truck and will gladly sell it back to the original family.

What LUCK!! It is as if my father reached out from the grave and helped me get his treasured truck back (that he intended for me to have) with that note that he wrote himself. To make this tale a little stranger, I was at our family estate yesterday and when I looked in an old closet I found a NOS in the box air filter that was bought for this very same truck over 40 years ago by my grandfather. I took this as a sign that the new owner who was contacted would say YES to selling it back to me. It turned out to be true! Now I must come up with the $2000 to buy the truck from him! Just wanted to share this incredible story!