68 factory black 396 swb custom

[68bowtie]

so i have been looking for a 67 or 68 shortbed for a LONG time. i've been wanting something special to keep long term, and i'm super picky. well i finally found the one. it's a pretty funny story how i ended up buying it, so i thought i would share...

i have been religious with my searching (to the point i'm surprised my wife puts up with it). i can't count how many sellers i have asked to see the "factory options sticker in the glove box" and 9 times out of 10 the trucks for sale (at least in california) no longer have it. which has been a sticking point for me. well last week i was headed out of town for a 9-day hunting trip out of state that i'd been planning for 5 years with some good friends. the plan was to leave saturday morning at 3am. well the friday afternoon before, an ad popped up that looked interesting. 68 swb fleetside, primered, lowered, camaro rally wheels. looked like a decent truck so i called the guy. he called me back around 5pm that night while i was doing my final packing for my trip. i asked him to read me the SPID (which i was surprised it had). he read through it quickly, and a few things caught my attention like the color (black/white) and custom trim. when he read the engine size he just said "v-8". when he was finished reading i asked what size the engine was and he said "uh it's a v-8". so i left it at that.

i was showing my wife the pics of the truck and telling her i was seriously thinking about it. a factory black/white custom swb would definitely do it for me. then the guy texts me a pic of the SPID, and i see it immediately... 396!!! i couldn't believe it. i called the guy immediately and told him i would give him his asking price. so my wife and i spent the next 30 minutes trying to figure out how/when to get it home. it was located 5 hours away, and i was leaving in 9 hours for my trip. my wife said she would go pick it up after i left (which i wasn't entirely comfortable with), but she couldn't get to it for a couple days. i was nervous he wouldn't hold it that long since he had other people calling. then my wife says "let's load up the kids and get it now". needless to say my wife is VERY understanding! so i talked the guy into letting me see the truck at 11pm. threw the rest of my gear together, my 3 kids into the car, and headed north. bought it. drove it 100 miles back to my parents house part way between to store it while on my trip. put my wife and kids up in a hotel in sacramento, just in time for my friends to pick me up in sac on the way out of town. didn't sleep at all that night, but it was well worth it!

i'm so excited to have the truck, and so thankful to have such a supportive wife. i've always wanted a big block shortbed, but never thought i'd find one. i finally have my dream truck! here are a couple pics. still formulating my plans for the truck, but i have a 396 that will be part of it...