By James Raia
Amir Daneshvar is accustomed to selling unique, high-end, modern-day cars — Audi to Porsche, BMW to Mercedes-Benz. But a 62-year-old pickup truck is rare for his Sacramento, California, used car business. It’s more unusual considering its appearance. It’s an homage-on-wheels to the San Francisco Giants.
The 1958 Chevrolet Apache Fleetside was made for one of the team’s “super fans.” The year of the truck is the year the Giants relocated from New York to San Francisco. It has a 350 crate motor and a 700R4 transmission.
Apache was Chevrolet’s terminology for the light-duty trucks of the so-called Task Force line. It was introduced as a replacement for the Advance Design line. The Apache was sold in the Fleetside configuration starting with 1958 and it’s become an industry favorite for customization.
The truck’s exterior paint is dominated by the team’s primary colors, orange and black. The team logos on the truck are original 1958 Giants originals.
“We just call it a nice daily driver,” says Daneshvar, who has owned Zen Auto Sales since June of 2006. “It’s a vehicle somebody took the time to dedicate to the appreciation of his love of the team.”
“I guess with any of these vehicles you can pick it apart with a fine comb. But for the most part, anybody who likes to have a token of a sports team, this is a really nice example of it. We are pleased and honored to have it.”
Not all details of the truck are known. It’s had a few owners and is on consignment by its current owner, Julio Peix. He owns Lefty’s, a new taproom and grill across the street from Zen Auto.
Peix bought the vehicle years ago and had plans to use it in opening day parades for youth baseball teams or perhaps make an arrangement with the Giants to use the vehicle for marketing or promotional events. Owning two food businesses in Sacramento took precedent.
“It’s not overdone like some trucks can be,” says Daneshvar. “It’s tastefully done. It’s just a nice example for someone.”
“I think when people buy these vehicles, they understand that they are not the comfort features of vehicles you buy in today’s cars. But this one does have air conditioning, power steering, and disc brakes on it.”
Daneshvar is happy to discuss more details of the truck as well as the histories of his other vehicles. The 1958 Chevy, resplendent in orange and black, doesn’t have a for sale sign posted on it, but the Zen Auto Sales owner estimated it is worth at about $22,000.
For additional information, visit or contact Zen Auto Sales: 5613 Elvas Ave, Sacramento, CA 95819. Tel. (916) 743-1165. Website: https://www.zenauto.biz
James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, California, publishes a free weekly automotive podcast and electronic newsletter. Sign-ups are available on his website, www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@jamesraia.com.
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