Minnesotan who paid $75 for 1957 Chevy truck 44 years ago sells it to prior owner’s grandson for $75

This Minnesota man bought a 1957 Chevy truck for $75 44 years ago – and now he’s selling it back to the original owner’s grandson.

At any point in history, $75 is a bargain.

So Bob Sportal decided to stretch the savings out over the decades and sold it back for the exact same price.

What a nice way to give back – literally.

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The $75 Chevy truck that never goes out of style

Sportal was in his 20s when he first laid eyes on the truck, which was already becoming a vintage item by that point.

Over the next few decades, he would drive it to work everyday.

But when it came time to retire, the Prinsburg resident wanted to make sure his truck went to a loving home.

And who better than the grandson of its original owner?

The original owner was a retiring farmer, so it was only fitting that Sportal would part ways with it upon his own retirement.

Not that this truck would retiring any time soon.

That’s not to say it isn’t showing signs of it’s age.

A local reporter covering the story summarized: “His ’57 is now 63.

“It’s remaining steel? As thin as gas station toilet paper.

“It’s exhaust and rattles? A clattering symphony reverberating through Prinsburg.”

There’s no chance of drowning out that noise with some radio tunes either – the truck has never had a radio.

Not that Sportal minded over the four decades: “It’s a real man’s truck. You don’t get soft driving this one.”

You could say that for a lot of things out there – like this bike which is supposedly the hardest to ride in the world, and it’s easy to see why.

Returning the truck back to its original family

It turns out that Sportal’s wife, Kathy was getting a little fed up with the truck.

She said: “It’s getting more and more worn out.

“The brakes aren’t working.

“The grandkids want a ride and [I think] what if the door pops open?”

After weekly pleas for the truck to be given away, Sportal finally relented – and sold it back to Tom Leenstra.

Leenstra is the grandson of John VanDerVeen, the truck’s original owner.

Reflecting on getting the family vehicle back, Leenstra said: “It’s like riding with my Grandpa again.”

Once the Chevy truck was loaded onto Leenstra’s trailer, Sportal had zero regrets about selling it back.

He said: “It’s what I paid for it, so that’s what I’m going to sell it for.

“It’s going in the family, so that’s the most important thing.”

It’s always nice when a family car stays close to its roots.

This Shelby GT350 had been with one family for 39 years before the dad sold it, although his sons later tracked it down.