1998 GMC 1500 – Chad C.

A Trip Back To My Youth!

I worked at a local GMC dealership in college, and I always wanted a Sierra regular cab longbed! I have had a picture of the one I wanted in my toolbox since then, Emerald Green with tan interior. I am in my mid 40s and my father is an avid car collector. I was hemming and hawing about it, and my father said, “Son, you only get one dance. You want it, get it!” Some of the best advice my hero ever gave me! Unfortunately, my father has MS and I can’t get him in the truck. He still smiles when I drive it over!

I found this one owner in Manassas, Virginia. Steve (who I worked with at the GMC dealership) came with me for an 8-hour trip to Virginia for an inspection. The GMC still has all the original sheet metal it left the factory with! The truck still has the “Property of General Motors” sticker in the back window as they did when the trucks were delivered to the dealers! The Sierra is an SLE with the deletion of the Insta-Trac Push Button 4WD (yes it still has the manual lever) and the rare GM Underhood Tool Storage Bin! The truck came with the original build sheet, owner’s manuals, and floor mats. The “writing surface” on the center console was still intact!

The Sierra was everything Scott had told me it was, so it passed our inspection. I bought it, and Steve and I made the 8-hour journey back to Ohio. The trip to and from Virginia gave us some of the best memories. Once I got home, I installed the dealer license plate, hitch cover, pen and pad (on the writing surface) just like I did back in the day! Not sure why I had these in my toolbox, but I did! My buddy gave me a magnet he had from the GMC dealership that we used to slap on the side to make parts deliveries from time to time.

When I drive it, I feel like I’m 19 years old again, with long hair, listening to Waylon, dreaming that someday I would own one! I can now give my kids the same memories I have with my father when he gave me rides in his GTO when I was a kid! My eldest son now has an interest and is looking for a classic truck for himself!

Steve threw a private car show for my father this past summer and there were over 50 cars! We called it the “Vachonigano” by combining the last names. I included a few pictures from that. Steve and my father, my father’s GTO, Steve’s 1981 GMC Sierra, Steve’s father’s 1985 Silverado, and the cake my mother had made for the extravaganza. Yes, we are car/truck dweebs…. LOL

The Sierra looks great next to the 1986 SS my father bought new in 1986![lmc_story_gallery]