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When four of your vehicles make it to four different Classic American car of the year finals, we think it’s safe to say that you know what you’re talking about…
Words: Andy Craig, Photography:
In 1959, pick up trucks were flying off the production lines at a terrific rate. As America was still in its post-war boom, it needed tough, capable vehicles which could withstand the vehicular abuse that comes with the construction and farming industries, for example. Probably more than 99 percent of the trucks bought at that time had one thing in common; they were going to have to work, and work hard. But just a tiny number of these pick ups had a very different fate in store...
The Apache name first came about in 1958 and was used to describe Chevrolet’s light-duty trucks which weighed less than 9000 pounds. The series identification numbers were shortened to two digits, so what was once a 3200 series was now called a 32. The new body style for Chevy’s workhorse had been introduced in ’57 and it was proving very popular. The design looked good, there was a tasteful amount of chromework, the mechanical bits were near-bulletproof and as an optional extra, buyers could even specify a ‘flat-top Cadillac’ wrap-around rear window. Engine options started with the Thriftmaster straight six, a more powerful Jobmaster straight six, or the now legendary small-block Chevy – the 283cu.in.
Trademaster V8. Chevrolet had even dropped the old dull and basic colours and introduced a new range of shades with names like Yukon Yellow, Glade Green, Cadet Grey, Omaha Orange, Tartan Turquoise Bombay Ivory and more. Indeed, the whole pick-up experience was more like buying a sedan. Body styles, motors, transmissions, bed sizes, trim options….all could be tailored to make just the truck you wanted. Despite this array of options, probably more than 99 percent of the trucks bought at that time had one thing in common; they were going to have to work, and hard. But not this one.
This ’59 Apache truck was ordered new in May of that year by Mr Steve Decschner of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada who paid $3569 for the load-lugger. Mr Decschner was a carpenter of some repute and had a collection of five or six cars at the time. He used the pretty truck as an occasional Sunday driver until sadly he succumbed to illness and passed away in 1964. As a tribute to their late father, Mr Decschner’s sons, Doug and David promised to keep the truck in the same condition it was when they lost their dad, and as a result it was kept on ‘blocks’ (meaning that it was jacked up with blocks supporting the frame and therefore keeping the weight off the springs, tyres, wheels and bearings) in a dry and secure barn for forty long years. Each year the truck was routinely started and driven a very short distance to ensure that all was well.
This loving care was faithfully carried out by the Decschner brothers until 2000 when the car was offered for sale by Christies of New York. As a near-perfect time-warp vehicle, the bidding was fierce and it was probably raised more than a few eyebrows at the time that such a special piece of American pick up history was actually going to…Scotland!
But go to Scotland it did, and straight into private storage until the end of 2006 when Steve Taylor saw that the person who had acquired the truck was a good friend of his. A ’phone call followed and the trucks owner described it in great detail to an incredulous Steve. The two men struck a deal, sight unseen, based upon the owners glowing description and Steve privately wondered why someone would want to sell such a special truck. One week later the truck arrived on the back of a covered trailer and any concerns Steve had were well and truly put to bed. Says Steve, ‘it was like a time capsule. Totally stunning and original with an incredible list of options – shade lite glass, heavy duty radiator core, spare tyre carrier, heavy duty springs, limited slip diff’, heavy duty clutch, deluxe chrome package, cigar lighter (which has still never been used!), radio, dual horns, windshield visor, GM undercoating, farm bumpers, and the rare brocade seat covers.’
It didn’t take long before Steve had crawled all over the Chevy and made some amazing discoveries. ‘The wooden bed boards were original and lots of the trucks fittings still had the gold zinc wash on them! Also there were chalk marks in the cab and it was just amazing to see all this detail which had been pretty much untouched since the day the truck was new. What’s more, this was the real thing and not a blank-chequebook restoration.’
What Steve had acquired was a ’59 Chevrolet Apache 32 pick up truck in Tartan Turquoise with a Bombay Ivory roof and Comanche Gold interior. The odometer was showing a jaw-dropping 700 warranted miles from new. It had the 235 cu.in. Thriftmaster straight six motor and four-speed, floor-mounted manual transmission. He put an advertisement in the Red Deer Advocate (the original owner’s local newspaper), asking if any readers could recall the truck. The following week he was contacted by the Decschner family – still living in Red Deer – who told him all about Steve Decschner’s cars and trucks and which were his favourites. They also told him about how his pick up had been so carefully looked after by Doug and David for so many years before it was finally sold on.
Now that Steve was totally convinced of the trucks provenance he had something of a problem; ‘I had to guard its condition carefully. It was important not to rack up too many miles and carefully pick the shows that I wanted to attend. Like everyone else I like to jump in and go for a ride, but with this truck there was no way that was going to happen.’ So with the truck safely tucked away, Steve’s gorgeous ’62 Chevrolet Corvette was pressed into going-out-for-a-ride service! It was at the first of Steve’s carefully selected shows that he was approached by a gentleman who very much wanted to own the truck. So much so that Steve jokes; ‘he became a bit of a stalker and wanted the truck really badly. I didn’t think he was ever going to leave me alone unless I agreed to sell it to him.’ More about the mysterious ‘stalker’ later.
It was at the Stars and Stripes show at Tatton Park that Classic American had the privilege of seeing Steve’s truck up close. It was duly judged to be the heat winner and became the fourth Steve Taylor-owned vehicle to be invited onto the Classic American stand at the NEC’s International Classic Car Show. That’s a proud record and one that will take some serious dedication to beat. At the NEC I was one of the judges who had to crawl over all the cars there and pick a winner.
And many of you will know that as stunning as some restored vehicles are, there’s nothing quite like originality and the condition of Steve’s truck was astonishing; tiny areas of overspray where the two body colours meet, tiny little imperfections here and there (both of which point to the truck’s originality because don’t forget, these were commercial vehicles and not finished to the standard of Cadillacs or Lincolns), not to mention that the truck’s original Dominion Royal Master tyres were still fitted! If I see another Fifties vehicle in such stunning, original condition and with so few miles under its belt then I’ll be able to count myself a lucky man. If you ever see the truck at a show it will be well worth your time to have a good look at it.
Unfortunately for Steve, the judges ultimately couldn’t see past Steve Edwards’ Corvette ZL-1 when it came to the main Car of the Year prize, however when the trophies were handed out, Classic American presented Steve (Taylor) with an Honourary Car of the Year award in recognition of his consistently fine eye for vehicles. A fine eye that will doubtlessly now be looking elsewhere. Remember the ‘stalker’ who wanted the truck as soon as he’d seen it?
Well, eventually he got his way and recently acquired it from Steve, which got us all wondering what he’ll come up with next. Although he won’t tell us what’s in the pipeline, we certainly can’t wait to find out what it is!
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