Posted on 01/04/2015 4:53:02 PM PST by upbeat5
Normally when you buy a pickup you worry about things like depreciation, operating costs, and how long the truck is going to last. Not this guy — he more than got his moneys worth with this one.
Back in 1976 when Bob Sportel was 24 he bought a used, rusting 1957 half-ton Chevy pickup for $75 because he needed a way to get to work. He just retired from his job after 38 years — driving the same truck.
According to KARE-TV in Minnesota, Sportel originally tried to buy the truck for $50. His only “extravagance” as he puts it is four oil changes a year. We’d say he changes them with the seasons but Minnesota only has two: winter and mud.
Sportel has applied several layers of duct tape to the truck’s upholstery. Bondo holds the front lights in place and rust holes provide portholes to the truck’s underside. He guesstimates the truck has more than 300,000 miles on it because the odometer hasn’t worked since he bought it. And, in spite of his wife’s pleas, he has no plans to replace it
Maybe the best line of the news report? “Soundtrack provided by Chevrolet.” Sportel has no plans to sell the truck. Then again, who would buy it at this point?
Nissan stepped up and fixed an Altima advertised on craigslist. Maybe Chevrolet could do the same thing for Sportel’s truck? We’ll reach out to Chevrolet to see.
Pics at link.
300,000 miles is not that much. I put more than that on my 71 Chev 1/2 ton, with 250 straight six that ran like a top still when I sold it.
My buddy put over 600,000 on a Chev van with 250 straight six. He went through 4 or 5 single barrel carburetors; but engine, trans, rear end etc were never touched other than tune ups.
Thanks — that pretty well confirms it.
Interesting. I've owned loads of GM cars and trucks over the last forty years and this is the first I've heard of the problem. Never had it any of mine.
That body style was used by Chevrolet and GMC from 1967 to 1972.
The 239 OHV Y block would have been the big V8 in the F100 and F250 in ‘55. A 272 arrived in 56.
The 55 had a slightly curved windshield and the 56 was almost the same body style with a wrap around windshield. Some even had a wrap around rear glass and are quite desirable today.
Back them the big back windows were hard to sell because the interior got so hot.
There’s something about those old trucks that they just aren’t something one really wants to part with. I had a ‘67 custom built Ford 350 long bed crew I kept for 20 years. Finally sold it when I went blind with cataracts in 2001 thinking I’d never drive again, but the VA fixed me up, and I bought an old ‘89 1/2 ton I’m still driving today.
Love those old trucks. Don’t cost much to work on yourself.
Yepper, original Alison auto.
I probably would buy it, if I hadn't recently purchased a '56 Ford F-100. Those mid- to late-1950s pickups are very popular with restorers and hot-rodders alike. You can buy reproduction parts sufficient to bring any truck back to pristine condition. There are even entire chassis assemblies made for these trucks, with modern suspension parts front and rear.
I'd put money on this truck still rolling along after every Chevy Volt built thus far has been hauled away to the recycler.
Electric windows are a liability on a chevy. The guides, motors and/or switches go in ten years.
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I bought, new, a 1997 Z-28, First thing that failed was the electric windows motor.(Right after the warranty ran out - 36,000 miles.)
Most of the miles were towing either a horse trailer or a flat bed with a tractor.
Okay, so 239 or 272 depending on whether the truck is a ‘55 or ‘56.
I think the Ford trucks from those years look fantastic. The stylists totally nailed it. The Chevys look good too but the Fords are even better.
My mom had a washer dryer set that lasted 30 years. My dad died, she got some $$$, junked them and bought the most expensive things she could find. The washer stopped working within 2 years, barely used. Bunch of Chinese junk nowadays.
Around here, the telephone company rebrands SBIS Yahoo! DSL service as U-Verse just to jack up rates, AFAIK. Never mind the fact that the town is still served by analogue phone service, and that DSL rates only top out at ~3000 kbps as a result...
My best friend’s Daddy had a 49 Ford pickup. It had a floor mounted shift and the knob had come off years before. It had a flat head V-8 and ran fine.
For some reason he traded it for a 1950 Ford sedan, also with a flathead. This was around 1964. Maybe a month after the trade, the drive shaft broke on the sedan. They just pulled it up into their pasture and left it. I saw the guy with the pickup driving it around town for several years after.
I used to carry some baling wire in my VW van(s) in case I had to wire something together to keep it from falling off the car. It came in handy on more than one occasion.
Good for you. We have a 1996 Suburban with 200,000 on it, but it has seen its last day. Best long haul vehicle. The third row seat is the only thing which is still in near perfect condition. So, we are going to sell it and see if we can buy a third row seat for the Yukon. I prefer GM products. I have owned one Honda, one VW bus, and one Ford truck, but I always go back to GM.
Did you keep a coat hanger in the glove box to jiggle the sticky carburetor intake to get the old air-cooled flat four to start, lol? Everybody I knew in college with an old VW had one.
We bought a 1956 Chevy truck for 50 bucks. We actually bought the battery and the truck came along with it. It really needed a paint job but we didn’t have enough money for Earl Scheib. So, I went to the hardware store and bought some stencils and black paint and I stenciled “Sanford and Son Salvage” on both doors. It was a hoot. The biggest laughs we got were when we drove next to black guys.
A car is a depreciating asset. If he uses this just for transportation going to and from his job, why spend good money on a newer vehicle. Look at all the money's he's saved over the years that other people have pissed down a rathole. And it being in Minnesota, the salt on the road in the winter would destroy a new vehicle with rust in no time. This guy's not a miser. He's smart.
I just drove my 98 Camry from New Hampshire to Florida and back. My 1948 Harley FL is an everyday rider. Maintain and keep your vehicles. It will make your retirement fund grow faster.
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