HOUSTON — It's a huge event happening in Houston. Classic cars, and trucks worth millions of dollars are up for auction and that includes a special truck that was re-designed as a tribute to the Houston Oilers.
KHOU 11 anchor Dave Froehlich spoke with the owner before it headed to auction.
Casey Hinson wasn't alive during the late 70s-early 80s heyday of Bum Phillips and the 'Luv Ya Blue' Houston Oilers, but his restored 1980 Chevrolet K10 4x4 nicknamed "The Roughneck" has captured the spirit of the team and the era.
“It was a custom job done by a local dealership back in the day,” Hinson said. “This truck, in particular, was won in a raffle in the Astrodome in March of 1980."
More than 40 years later, in December 2020, Hinson came upon the truck during downtime as the pandemic was going on.
“We were looking in Craig's List and Facebook Marketplace and we found it in Waco. It was sitting there just rusting away,” Hinson said. “A guy had started the project, but he didn't have the time to finish it."
The project became Hinson's. He said it was a year and a half of work that was rewarding, but sometimes overwhelming.
“I had to do a lot of research and digging. A little bit of forensic analysis on the seats. They were pretty torn up,” he said. “I could tell what the colors were the pattern, so I took that to the folks who helped me with the seat design, so we got it done right."
The final product will now go to the highest bidder.
Hinson won't say how much he expects the truck to bring in, but he does say it was a little tough putting it on the auction block in the first place.
“I love this truck. I think what did it for me was I just made it way too nice and I wanted something to drive, and I don't want to drive it. It's just too nice,” Hinson said. “Hopefully, a huge Oilers fan out there is going to find the time to take it to some tailgates and show it off around town."
There's no doubt this truck is special, but it's not completely unique. Hinson said there are more out there if someone's up for a restoration challenge.
“In fact, I did find one other truck,” Hinson said. “I searched far and wide and there is one other truck that is the same model and replica as this one. So, I do know there's more out there, they're probably rusting away out there."