Buying My First Hot Rod
Over the last couple years I’ve been checking off items on my bucket lists of dreams (I’m not dying, I just want to do my bucket list now instead of later). Two of the items on my list are to own a vintage hot rod and another is to learn basic auto mechanics. Buying a 1959 Chevy Apache Truck satisfies both of these in that it is a truck I can easily work on to learn auto mechanics, and it is considered among the hot rod vehicles. Best of all, I get something utilitarian I can haul things with when I need to!
Shopping for a Hot Rod
I spent the better part of three weeks searching CraigsList daily for hot rods under $4,000. I think I must have driven my friends crazy as I’d watch movies and multi-task searching for the newest listings. During this time I was at a party and I met a very cool guy named Steve who had just moved to Denver. Late in the party I learned that Steve works at a hot rod shop in Denver as a machinist and has a passion for building hot rods. I spent the last hour of the party pestering him with questions about hot rods. I think he was excited to find someone new to hot rodding that he could mentor. That week I went to look at two hot rod trucks. The first was located in Colorado Springs. I rode with my friend Wren down there and looked at it, but that particular truck was not running and and I thought it was a bit over priced for my budget (over $5k asking price). A couple days later I went with Steve to see a 1946 hot rod truck south of Denver. However I didn’t easily fit in that truck. Both he and the guy selling the truck recommended I look for a 1950s or later truck which are known to have larger cabs.
On a thursday evening about a week later I saw a craigslist posting for a 1959 Chevy Truck. I love the front end of these trucks and this one was running and listed for $2,200. I called Steve and we made the trip up north of Denver to see it. After a test drive and some negotiating I bought the truck and drove it home. Steve told me it was a good starter truck for me to learn auto mechanics on because it was before computer or vacuum systems, the engine is a Chevy small block (parts are cheap and easy to find), and there is a lot of engine space under the hood.
