‘Gives me chills,’ says mechanic after finding Elvis’ 1948 Chevy truck – he used it to ‘escape public and buy furniture’ | 6503BIK | 2024-05-02 12:08:01
'Gives me chills,' says mechanic after finding Elvis' 1948 Chevy truck – he used it to 'escape public and buy furniture' | 6503BIK | 2024-05-02 12:08:01
AN incognito vehicle used to cart Elvis Presley around town without fans noticing has been unveiled after years away from public eyes.
The Chevy Panel Truck, complete with modifications for the music star, was unveiled in a YouTube video.
American car enthusiast, Ray Evernham (@AmeriCarna), was able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the innocuous van in a video posted in 2015.
At the time, the truck had not been seen in public since Elvis' death in 1977.
The 1948 Chevy Panel Truck sat in the storage room of the star's famous Graceland home.
Evernham was able to peak under the protective sheet that hid the truck.
"It gives me chills to be standing by something like this with this much history," the YouTuber said.
"You always wonder how many people drove right by this truck, or it drove right by them, and they had no idea Elvis was in it."
Rust had started to chip away at the van's body – the passenger side window was smashed.
The van also had several signs of Elvis's past life.
"We've always surmised that Elvis connected that panel truck with his beginnings," Jack Soden, President and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, said.
"Supposedly, it was the Crown Electric panel truck that he drove up to Sun Studio one day to go in and pay four dollars to make a recording of himself."
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Soden said he drove the car out of his Graceland home's back driveway to avoid public view.
"It's part of a great story," he added.
"Elvis would put on a cap and a jacket, and he would use the panel truck to come down his back driveway and, in essence, get away."
Presley would easily drive into town and go about everyday activities, including buying furniture.
Fans would be searching for the entertainer's luxury cars, Soden said.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> Elvis famously owned a hand-painted, custom pink Cadillac sedan.
However, the barebones truck was used as his daily driver.
The truck had no air conditioning, cloth seats, and a wide-open rear for stowing large objects.
The dashboard was etched with the radio stations that he liked to listen to near his Memphis home – KDM-1468 and KDR-7017.
"He had trouble adjusting the radio in this truck," the YouTuber added.
The station identification was scratched into the dash and then written in pen.
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