I found my truck from 25 years ago!!

[Toro]

For all of you out there looking for something you once had, never say never.

Starting in 1991, my father and I restored a '71 Custom 10 Deluxe SWB w/air. I drove it until 1995 when it was sold, and have regretted it everyday since. Fast forward about 10 years to 2005 when I happened to find an old insurance card with the VIN. Every few months or so I would search the VIN with no results.., until last year. I found it listed for sale on a classic vehicle dealer's website.

To my shock and surprise it looked almost identical to the way we left it. At some point a bed liner, tonneau cover, tailgate band (w/wood trim that doesn't match the rest of the truck) and chrome air cleaner were added. Everything else was the same; the seat and steering wheel from a '93 Silverado were still there. So was the dash cluster we painted all black because the chrome trim had faded. The Pioneer cassette player I "needed" in 1992 was still there too. The small upper trim piece under the gas cap was still not quite right (higher than door trim) because we never were able to line it up correctly. Oh, and the '72 door panels my dad insisted on using (because he thought the '71 metal ones looked too plain) were still there too. But overall, it didn't look any older. How could a truck that I hadn't seen in 25 years look almost the same?

I called the dealership, and I'm still not sure they believed my story at first, but eventually had to I guess as I rambled from memory everything about the truck. Come to find out, when it was sold in 1995 it immediately went to auction where it was bought by a collector. It was held in that collection and stored inside a garage/warehouse for the next 20 or so years until the dealer acquired it.

In the end, the $29K asking price was out of my price range but it was a great thrill to find it, and know it still existed. The truck has since been sold. Here are a few pictures from the listing:

[FL71C10]

That is very cool! Sorry you couldn't buy it but at least you know it's going to another good home

[Stocker]

Very cool story and a beautiful truck! You & your dad did a great job restoring it, and it's a minor miracle that it's still in virtually the same condition.
Could only be better if you had been able to purchase it last year when you found it again.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

71 Deluxe doors look plain? What the

That's a beautiful truck, the side moldings still line up too.

[SCHRUMGMC]

That’s cool

I had a slight chance by finding my grandfathers 1971 gmc a while back


Still trying to get it

[Toro]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

71 Deluxe doors look plain? What the

That's a beautiful truck, the side moldings still line up too.

Lol, you would have to ask my dad. What's funny is that we somehow managed to get the '72 panels on using the shorter shaft door and window controls. My dad kept wondering why they didn't stick through the opening in the panels far enough.., little did we know the real reason.

Another fun fact most people miss. We used '70 fenders, so the 8/350 emblem was originally under the Custom 10 emblem. That left a holes in that location, so we moved the Deluxe emblem from it's normal spot to cover up the holes. Of course that meant we had to drill new holes under the front side marker lamps for the 8/350 emblem. With the wealth of knowledge that's out there now, it's hard to believe we were able to do what we did. But hey, at least you go down to the Chevy dealer and still buy parts!

[BIG ORANGE]

That's great, beautiful truck, good fr you....

[72 Super]

That is a cool story. Sorry that you couldn’t buy it back.