Hey, That's My Car!

Jailhouse Jimmy

1960 GMC 1000 Pickup

Owner: Arthur Throckmorton
Las Vegas, Nevada

I’m 45 years old and have been selling GMC trucks for 14 years. After just finishing a restoration of my ’65 Buick Special Station Wagon, I was looking for parts online when I came across a ’60 GMC 1000 Fenderside long-bed pickup. I’ve always wanted a GMC truck built the year I was born. I have looked, and they are far and few between.

I contacted the seller and offered $800. My requirements were that the truck starts, drives down the road and stops. I would take care of the rest. Once everything was agreed to I traveled to Neptune, New Jersey, to pick up my truck with the goal of driving it back cross-country. Needless to say, my toolbox was my checked luggage for the flight there. In spite of driving in November with no heat, I beat the odds everyone laid against me and made it home in one piece.

Although I still had big bills from the restoration on the station wagon, my employer at the time suggested I restore it quickly and use it for promotional purposes. I agreed thinking it would be a straightforward restoration, which in fact it wasn’t.

After two years into it, I ended up getting the truck into the shop at Nevada State Prison in Indian Springs. This was my third vehicle restoration with guys behind bars. Six months later my classic truck was reborn, just in time to take it on the 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour. Since then I’ve taken it to truck shows in Southern California, and it has officially become a coast-to-coast truck. This old GMC will keep on truckin’ for another 50 years!

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