Truck Hunt
Written by Clay Brakke in March of 2012

I was just looking for parts and mods for my truck. I went over to an area that looked like it had some interesting trucks in it. That is when I saw it, and in that moment, I couldn’t help but want to own it.

During the fall in 2011, I was looking through Luvern Hanson’s junkyard for anything that I could possibly want on my 1984 Chevy Scottsdale. I was looking for tires, rims, visors, bumpers, grilles, grille guards, rim inserts and anything else that would make my truck look more off-road like. I wasn’t only looking for parts and modifications but I was also looking for project vehicles that would be cheap fixer- uppers. I walked around to where he kept some vehicles for parts or some that would be cheap to fix. I found some Chevys, Fords, Dodges, Chryslers, Cadillacs, and some Buicks. I walked around for maybe half an hour finding mods I could use like rim inserts, visors, tires and a brake line. In one area there was a 70’s-80’s Chevy Silverado 1 ton diesel that I thought looked pretty cool, but I decided it would need a bit too much work in order to be road worthy.

I was walking back towards our little blue Chevy Cavalier and that’s when I saw it. I couldn’t believe it! Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a 91 Chevy Silverado ½ ton, 4X4, ext. cab, short box truck with a 5.7 motor and the desirable Z-71 towing package! It stuck out like a diamond in a dust pile although it had rust around the cab corners, a small dent in the driver’s door, a bent radiator, a missing grille, and a missing air pump, but I could get parts from Luvern as well. I’ve heard 1991 Chevy Silverados were very dependable trucks and they’re not bad on gas mileage. I asked how much he would need for it, a parts truck, and a spare grille and he said he’d take $500 for all of that. When he said that, I knew I had to have it.