This is the kind of homecoming story that’s bound to tug at the heartstrings: one man from Minnesota has agreed to sell his beloved 1957 Chevrolet pickup truck to the prior owner’s grandson, for the same amount he bought it for back in 1976.
In 1976, Bob Sportal was in the market for a pickup truck he could use to commute to work. He didn’t have too large of a budget so his choices weren’t numerous. He eventually settled for a then 19-year-old 1957 Chevrolet pickup truck that a farmer was selling. John VanDerVeen, the farmer, was retiring and he was looking to unload as much stuff as possible with this occasion.
For the next four decades, Sportal would drive the rattly, rusty truck to and from work every single day. Back in 2015, when he first made the news, he and the truck were already celebrities in their small town. He called the vehicle a “real man’s truck,” so manly that it didn’t even have a radio.
But it did its job and it did it well enough for Sportal to keep driving it and, more importantly, to fend offers to buy it from VanDerVeen’s family. Last week, he finally gave in and sold the Chevy back, as the video below shows.
Sportal is now retired himself and, naturally, he doesn’t really need the rolling pile of rusty steel. That’s what the truck has become: it’s dented in places, the brakes are no longer working as they should, some lights fell off and the metal in the bed is as thin as “gas station toilet paper.” To say that it’s seen better days would be much of an understatement.
Pressed by his wife for more space in the garage, Sportal finally agreed to sell the truck – and he sold it back to the grandson of the farmer who sold it to him. The grandson was nine when VanDerVeen sold it, and he’s been trying to get it back for nearly 12 years. Perhaps more significantly, Sportal asked only $75 for it, the exact amount he paid for it in 1976.
“It's served its purpose for me and it's time for somebody else to get some enjoyment out of it,” Sportal said after handing over the keys. “It's what I paid for it, so that's what I'm going to sell if for. It's going in the family, so that's the most important thing.”
The grandson, with tears in his eyes, says “it’s good. It’s like riding with my Grandpa again.” He plans to keep the Chevy as-is, for the time being.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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