My name is Gary Grist from Blue Springs, Missouri. Here is the Photobucket link to my truck pictures: <
http://s1204.photobucket.com/home/GARYGRIST>
This is my 1961 Apache C10 Cheverolet truck. I originally saw this truck for sale at a local gas station. The station owner said he was selling the truck for a widow. He thought that her husband was the original owner. The truck was in excellent condition and mostly original. Almost everything worked with the exception of the windshield washers. It had been painted a light jade stone, the original color being turquoise. The truck appeared to have been garaged and had about 95,000 miles, although dents in the truck bed indicated that it had been used for some heavy hauling. I couldn't afford the truck at that time. Several years later I saw the truck again. It was being sold by a local man who had purchased the truck for his teenage son. I don't think the son liked the truck much because he did not put much mileage on it. I did purchase the truck at that time ($2,500) and drove it for a short time and then put it in storage in hopes of keeping it safe and secure until I could afford to restore it. Time passed and six years later I took the truck out of storage and had it mechanically reconditioned so I could drive it.
I decided to keep it in its current condition as a kind of tribute to the widow's husband who obviously cared for the truck. It runs well enough to be a daily driver, but I only take it out on weekends in good weather.
The truck is a V8 (the original) with 3 on the tree. It still has the original owner's manual, jack tools and moon hubcaps. Diamond plate running boards have been installed along with a camper cover and a rubberized bed liner.
I drove a truck similar to this over 40 years ago when I was a young man operating a paper route just south of the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. Every time I get behind the wheel I am reminded of my youth and all the happy experiences I had operating my paper route. I am also reminded of how much I have changed. There is a lot less room between the steering wheel and my stomach than there was 40 years ago. Steering, braking and clutching also seem a lot harder now than they did when Lyndon Johnson was President.
Gary Grist <
[email protected]>
