[Mr Chevorlet]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY BY THE SEA

This story has already been told on here, but it is worth re-telling to give others hope...
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 17 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 father's father'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 trace 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 had sold it to. My father died about two years ago without ever remembering who he sold the truck to, so hope was looking thin for this dream of reclaiming it. Well, after my father died 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. 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 18 years ago (right after the truck sale) to mail this very forgotten box of parts and papers to the new owner (hence the note from my father with the mailing information) but he was not interested when she called him, so she put the box aside and forgot about it. I immediately called the buyer's number that was listed on this paper and asked for the buyer by name to the lady who answered. I then found out from her 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 5 years ago. After I spoke with her she called this neighbor and explained everything to him, then gave him my number. He told her he would think about selling me back the truck, so he called me later and agreed to sell me back the truck!!!! I had been on this seemingly hopeless quest for almost 20 years and it finally came to an end!! This previous owner told that over the years 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 was glad to sell it back to the original family. What LUCK!! It was 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 all those years ago. When Dad wrote that note back in the day he had NO idea that he was inavertently giving me the future key to reclaiming the truck that he so foolishly sold. In fact he had no idea that it would ever be reclaimed by me even though I promised him before he died that I would do everything within my power to reclaim the truck. He was glad to hear me say this, but I wish he could have lived to see this dream come true. This was one of the happiest days of my life when I reclaimed my family heirloom that will NEVER be sold again.

Great story and am glad you got it back, Mine was a simple story. Dad bought his in 1967 and drove it until 2004 never owned any other truck,and when he passed my mother gave it to me because she said that was his wishes. He knew i always wanted it. but in the meantime i had bought a 67 in 1981 and drove it a few years then sold that one because the one i always wanted was my dads.