My rapid transition from The Singlest Man In America to a husband and father and homeowner means I must do something I rarely had to when I was single and snatching every sub-$3000 manual transmission rustbucket off Craigslist: make sacrifices. And offered at the altar of the family-man gods this past month were two of my favorite vehicles: My 1989 Chevy K1500 and my Jeep J10. I feel weird about it.
It’s amazing how the human mind can adapt to vastly new situations. In the span of 2.5 years, I went from being perpetually single and owning a bunch of rusty junkers in a rental shack in Troy, Michigan, to getting married to a great woman, having a hilariously cute child, and now moving into a 100-year-old house. Talk about a total 180!
Such a 180 required a significant adaptation in my mindset — one that, I’ll admit, remains a work in progress. You see, for pretty much my whole life up until about a year ago or so, I acted impulsively. If I saw a car I liked, I bought it; in fact, I created the mantra “Buy First, Think Later” because that was actually my philosophy for well over a decade. The result is that I’ve owned some really stellar automobiles, from my 1965 Plymouth Valiant winter beater to my 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee “Holy Grail” to my 1958 Willys FC-170 to 1948 Willys CJ-2A to my Lexus LX470 to my Chevy Tracker and on and on.
Two of my favorite vehicles I’ve ever owned have been trucks, namely these two:
The most recent purchase was my 1989 Chevy K1500, a manual transmission, 350 V8-powered extended cab 4×4 without a spec of rust and only 130,000 miles on the odometer. It helped my wife and me move across town, and overall was just a phenomenal machine. Sure, it had a cracked windshield, a broken odometer, no headliner, an engine that bucked under heavy loads, and rough paint, but it was still an absolutely phenomenal pickup truck, especially for the $4,900 I paid for it.
But now it’s gone.
Also gone is my 1985 Jeep J10, a vehicle I owned since I started as a car journalist back in 2015. That’s over a decade! This is my most interesting car, and definitely my dream truck. But I’ve had to come to grips with reality:
First, even though I have the truck tagged in Michigan, something about the truck not being registered in CA makes me feel… weird. I live here, so technically my car should be registered here. And though I haven’t tried getting my J10 through smog, there’s no point. The catalytic converter has been rattling for years, and more importantly, someone pulled the original carburetor and all the emissions equipment off the engine years ago.
I have no interest in choking my engine up with the original emissions equipment, and I have no time to do an engine swap.
Just as important is the rust situation. The J10 is from North Carolina and spent most of its life on the farm. So, though it doesn’t have much rust, it does have holes where dirt collected, and that was in the door jambs and on the back of the cab (where dirt was trapped between that cab and the rear bed-cap). The floors, too, have holes. You can see some of the rust in the video I shot way back in 2015:
Suffice it to say: The rust hasn’t gotten better since that video was shot, and in truth, though Southern California is a great place if you want to prevent your vehicle from rusting, if your vehicle is already rusty, the heat only catalyzes the rusting process.
In the past, I would have just kept both trucks, or the very least, one of them. But now there’s opportunity cost that’s impossible to ignore. That Chevy truck sold for $7250; how can I have that money tied up in that truck that I rarely use, when maybe I could use that money to fix my house’s plumbing or invest in my son’s future? The J10 is a vehicle I love, and I do enjoy driving around in it, but when am I going to find time to fix the rust? Am I really going to swap in an engine to get it through smog? Where is that time going to come from? I already have two personal Jeep projects, my manual Jeep ZJ and my original Jeep XJ — two vehicles that are more important to me than the J10. To take on the J10 as a restoration project on top of those is just unrealistic.
The reality is that, in the context of my new life as a sole breadwinner-father-homeowner, expenses require me to be more thoughtful about tying up money in my cars. “Buy First, Think Later” doesn’t work anymore. And what’s more, time is now at a premium, which is to say: I have none.
To me, what made sense was to part ways with the J10 since I just don’t have time to fix it. I still wanted a Jeep truck, though, as I love them. So I parted ways with the Chevy as well and purchased my 1992 Jeep Comanche, which — with a new $350 catalytic converter and another $300 in exhaust work — got through smog without issue.
And so, my beloved J10 is now gone (Well, technically it’s not sold yet; it’s in Michigan awaiting a buyer). The Chevy is sold, and I have now successfully replaced two trucks with one. I’ll miss the Chevy, because it was deeply competent. And of course, I’ll miss the unmatched handsome looks of that J10.
Though I’m sad about it, I welcome my new responsibilities. Plus, I think my fleet — a Comanche, a YJ, an i3, two boxy Jeep SUV projects, and my brother’s Mustang — is still more than enough to keep the car-geek in me satisfied. And for that I am immensely grateful, even if it was tough to say goodbye to these two fantastic pickups.
Top graphic image: David Tracy
Most people cannot maintain nor store a fleet of vehicles. I suspect this is more about lack of space than anything else.
The costs (registration and insurance) can be(come) daunting, as well . . .
I have reached a similar point with something other than cars. My guitar collection has grown to improbable size given that I used to do just fine with one old Ibanez. I just don’t have time to play or maintain then all, so I am thinking a few things may have to go. Perhaps consolidate things — I have 3 “inexpensive” Ibanez RGs….perhaps a single “nice” one would be better? Also, most of the time, I play through a modeler. I could sell a couple of amps and cabinets at a profit.
Ultimately, as I mature (in theory if not in practice) I am starting to recognise that it is better to have the right thing than everything. Kudos on your maturation David.
Now THAT is cool
My wife just traded her Mustang GT for a Mazda CX-30 because “it was time”. Yes, it’s hard to let them go, but your life, today, does NOT require three different pickups. You made the right decision, especially at adulting.
The price you got for that Chevy makes me wish I’d asked more for mine.
That IS a really nice-looking Comanche! I’d miss the K1500 but not the other one. Anyway, best wishes to you and your family (not their real names) in 2026.
An inside daily print journalism story… I started off as a crime beat reporter while waiting for a photographer position to open. The person who replaced me on the beat after the photography position opened up one day went through the reports at the police station and wrote up the blotter and included an incident involving John NMI Doe. NMI was police shorthand for “no middle initial.” I laughed my ass off.
Totally fair and understandable. I know there’s a pressure to keep as many cool cars and projects in the stable as possible (especially considering your profession) but for the first time ever I think you have… a reasonable number of cars???
Parting with the J10 is a tough one but that Comanche is rad as hell and brings your Jeep truck life into a new era.
I feel your pain, David. I had an ’88 GMC that was red but otherwise the doppelganger of your K1500. It was a sad day when it went away. But the joy of my life is really my wife who has tolerated the perpetual project ’66 MGB now transported to its fifth home. Cherish the fact that you exist in an environment that accepts your vehicular predilections (although I suspect she had a pretty good idea up front what she was getting into)! Helpful hint – buy her a Porsche, that helps a lot…
Congrats!!
Wait, 6 cars? Have I missed a bunch of articles? Did you manage to sell the Nash? Didn’t you have a million XJ still?
Maybe the OG Jeep in the woods in Michigan has returned to the earth from whence it came.
I have been a member of the Six Cars Club for a few years now and, while I do enjoy all of them, I’d rather have fewer cars.
For as busy as David is, it could be worse. Regular Morning Dump readers will know the load-bearing importance of Germany’s Manager Magazin (which in my head will now forever be “Mr. Manager Magazine”, thanks Arrested Development. But I digress…) as a source of stories about the European auto industry, and if translation software was as clunky as it was 10 or even 5 years ago, it would probably fall on David to read through it in the original German and translate anything worth quoting.
BTW, the Chevy bucking under load is almost certainly a weak fuel pump. That ended up being the problem with mine. Not a fun job, you either have to drop the tank, or hoist up the bed (which is what I did).
Things can be replaced lost time cannot. Good job on making the right choice here! I still say you can thin your herd a bit but you’re at least in a manageable spot.
I mean I couldn’t even imagine the David of a few years ago getting to this point at all. Pretty noble of him to understand he’s in a different phase of his life and doing something about it.
I went through similar in my late 20’s and now at 32 it feels weird to have no projects and no fun/sports car (I only have one car) but I am in a different phase of life for now and honestly, life is a bit easier without the hassle/anxiety of keeping up with a bunch of cars.
FWIW, the Comanche looks so much better without the Dueling Banjos topper.
No worries David – you’ll swing back around the other way when we’re reading about the 20th anniversary of Autopian on our neural implanted phones with augmented reality corneal implants. When the kids have moved away, David shall play again. Just imagine the rusted out Gladiators future you can pick up!
I can see a series of stories where David tracks down and buys back these same two trucks.
Unfortunately, unless the buyers are influencers or something, this is pretty difficult to do.
I was curious about the fate of the van I sold in 2019, and due to silly things like “privacy laws” I couldn’t get information about the current owner(s) from state DMVs.
Funny enough, after some calling around states in proximity order to me (more or less), Texas’ DOT did confirm it was registered in that state, but that was all they could tell me.
I think it’s pretty possible for DT if the people he sold them to decide to sell them back to him at some point in the future. Not him having to find a random owner.
When my kid(s) are out of the house, I’ll be about 56, depending.
I promise you this: I’m not sure where the world will be at that point, but I will go scorched earth on wrenching. The project cars will be epic.
Yay!
Wait is that you announcing Delmar’s getting a sib? Or hypothetical.
I’ve never had the space nor budget to accumulate cars as many as you have, but what’s helped me move on is having some matchbox size ones of my past cars, plenty of J10 and 1500 hot wheels or matchbox on Ebay, like the Hot Wheels Baja Blazers Orange ‘73 Jeep J10 and a Taco Bell 1980 K1500 sweet! Also it’ll be that much sooner that Del Mar(NHRN) will be able to play with them.
I was in your position a few years back. I sold my in the family sense new GMC Sonoma. I loved that truck.
But it needed work (brakes, exhuast, general maintenance), had rust on pretty much on every panel, and I just didn’t have time to work on it with a young kid, house, and work. And so, I made the hard decision to let it go.
I sold all my cars but my truck.
But now, my kid is getting older and starting to take an interest in cars (and golf, and fishing. . .I am a lucky dad).
Once spring comes around, I am going to start rebuilding building my fleet. Going to get a project we can work on together. Some of my favorite times with my dad was working in the garage together (even if I never held the light in the right spot)
Just needed a reset. . .and to clear some space.
I winced when I saw your ad for the Chevy on Marketplace. Like your other i3, I wish I could have bought it.
Man, that would have been an excellent two car solution. Oh well!
Your best truck is the Comanche, David.
I read the story of its origin. Where it came from, how buying it helped out someone, the knowledge to the previous owner that it would have a good next owner.
The Chevy and the J10 had their moment. They did their jobs, had their time, and now will hopefully go onto new adventures.
The Comanche is a homage to your past Jeep days, yet is helping build your tomorrow – both your new family’s home and WWII Jeep project.
Motor on into the future with the sweet sound of the AMC inline six keeping you company.
The more one uses a Comanche, the more one realizes it is the perfect smallish truck. It will never be a tow monster but man are the tough. They are super easy to drive in congested tight areas and modern enough with good fuel injection to just run the same way every day.
I have a Comanche, I wouldn’t trade it for any other truck. Though I would totally love to have a Forward Control someday.
Thank you! I do think all things considered, finding this Comanche was a blessing. I wanted something with some of the J10’s cool factor, some of the K1500’s comforts (fuel injection, an interior that’s not insanely loud); the fact that it’s smaller is a plus for LA. I don’t look forward to installing air conditioning, but if that’s the only major work I have to do to it, I’m happy. I’ll find a junked XJ and swap it all out in the distant future; until then, it’s winters and nights and loin-girding.
I’ve pretty much liked all the vehicles that I’ve owned through the years and it was always hard to let them go. Sometimes you need to look at the reality of it all especially the ones that spent years in the rust belt and you know they will continually deteriorate.
You mentioned 2 jeep projects but neither was the WWII Jeep, what’s up with that. Your story of entering adulthood had me thinking I don’t think I have ever read what age you are. I guess we all get to that point sooner or later, at 63 I still have time.
I do don’t I?
Your K1500 and J10 are chilling with my Toyota T100 in the Valhalla of Cool Trucks Sacrificed to Fatherhood, David.
As a good friend of mine says (and lives by), “You don’t build an Empire of Junk by selling things.” Yes. he’s perpetually single.
You keep writing about your lovely wife and adorable son and you’re going to have to rename this site The Awwtopian.
Don’t forget about the cats!
Had to be tough David, but kudos to you doing it! So you’re moving out of that house you’re assembling the WW2 Jeep or is that the new place?