(NewsNation) — In 1983, Texas dad Earl Guynes had to sell his dream car, a Chevrolet Camaro, to pay for diapers to support his new family.
It was a sacrifice his son, Jared Guynes, never forgot. Four decades later later, Jared was able to repay his dad, Earl Guynes, by giving him a restored version of that Chevy Camaro for his birthday.
Jared told NewsNation on Thursday that his dad never meant for him to feel guilty about having to trade in the car — but he did anyway.
“Somewhere deep down I’m like, ‘Man, if I had not shown up, this car would still be here,'” Jared said on “Morning in America.” “So wouldn’t it be cool if the kid that he got rid of the car for ended up being the one to give it back to him?”
The car meant a lot to Earl as he got it when he just finished high school — “at that really fun time that a lot of young men have where they’re just kind of out exploring and getting into trouble.”
“That was this Camaro for him, [being] out with his friends and having a great time,” Jared said.
After a lengthy search he managed to find a car of the same model for sale, but buying it was just the first step.
While his dad is a car expert, to make the gift a surprise, Jared Guynes had to find mechanics and technicians who knew how to restore the vehicle. All the while, he had to keep the Camaro a secret.
“I really did keep it a secret for more than two years, even from my own family, my mom, my sister — no one knew,” Jared Guynes said. “Giving my dad the keys, and him realizing that it wasn’t a magic trick and it was really his car was one of the greatest moments of my life.”
