When Bob Sportal was in his 20s, he purchased a 1957 Chevrolet truck from a retiring farmer for just $75. Sportal drove that exact truck to his job at the Prinsburg grain elevator every day right up until he retired, but he recently decided to part ways with the old pickup and let someone else enjoy it.
Screenshot via KARE
Sportal wasn’t going to let just anyone have his beloved Chevrolet truck, though. For the past few years, Tom Leenstra, the grandson of the late John VanDerVeen that sold the truck to Sportal, has been pestering him to sell it. Sportal finally gave in back in July, agreeing to sell the pickup to Leenstra for the same price he paid for it – just $75.
“It’s served its purpose for me and it’s time for somebody else to get some enjoyment out of it,” Sportal told local NBC affiliate KARE 11.
While Bob could have probably made a decent amount of money on his 1957 Chevrolet truck, even with the duct-taped seats and rusted out body panels, but he didn’t care about profit – he just liked that it was going back to the same VanDerVeen family that he originally purchased it from.
“It’s what I paid for it, so that’s what I’m going to sell if for,” he told KARE 11. “It’s going in the family, so that’s the most important thing.”
Screenshot via KARE
As for Tom, he’s overjoyed to have his grandpa’s old work truck back with him. He used to ride in the pickup when he was a kid and was just nine years old when his grandpa sold it to Sportal. It’s not clear if he has any future plans for it – but it sure would be special to see him return it to the original specification it left the dealership in all those years ago.
“It’s like riding with my Grandpa again,” Tom said.
Hear what else Sportal and Leenstra had to say about this special 1957 Chevrolet truck in the video embedded below.
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Comments
That was cool, thank you
Good
How about keeping the truck, trading in the nag of a wife for a 20 year old, and living in peace the rest of your life. That way, she’ll have all the room she wants.
Is that a 20 year old car or a woman?
Refinish it as original and enjoy !
What a great story. Need more like these to take place of all the negative stories out there. Thank you for reporting this. God Bless.
Excellent, Still looking for my dad’s 57. I miss him and the time we had riding the ole 57. Boy, was that steering wheel huge:)
Finally a “feel good” story. We need more of this, these days!!