Hey guys, I'm considering trading my '58 F100 to this guy who has a '53 Ford Customline. The car is extremely clean and seems like it would be a great move on my part, I would just like to get a second (or 3rd, or 364th) opinion, since I don't know much about these cars. These cars don't seem to have a ton of value, which is fine by me, I just like oddball stuff that you don't see too often. The deal with this one: - Super clean - (guy sent me a 10 minute video of a walk around showing all door jams and stuff, no rust that I could see at all) - 350 Chevy tri-power motor w/ 4 speed - not ideal, but I'm no purist - '78 Camaro subframe - again, fine by me - Built about 8 years ago - not necessarily my style, but I think replacing some billet will help it a lot Here's the video too: Any guesses as to value? Seems like $10k is about tops for these in primo condition. Guessing somebody on here knows the car; it's in Mass. Thanks!
Nice paint job, nice interior, parts of the grill is '52 and has been modified, I hope it has power steering with that tiny steering wheel or it will be a bear to turn in parking lots, etc. Value - trading even? Well I traded a '78 Corvette for mine '52 with 34,000 miles on it, and I think I got the better side of the deal - big time! The seller had $11,500 on the car - I had $12,000 on mine (only worth maybe $8000?) - of coarse I doubt the '52 is worth $9000 maybe since it's a more door - which is what I was looking for! Anyway the '52-'54 Fords are getting more popular and with the front clip done should make it a real fun car to drive. You'll have more room to haul family and friends, plus with the newer engine adding AC, PS, etc will be easier. If it was mine - dump the red lines for WWW tires - drop the rear 2" - change out the front grill - lose the silly steering wheel - then drive the hell out of it!! My 2 cents!!
Yeah, steering wheel will be the first thing to go. I don't mind the tires or stance, but I haven't seen it in person yet. Looks like there is PS on the driver's side of the motor, which is great. Still has manual brakes, but I'm sure that's fine since it's a relatively small car.
Hello, no ideer to the value, but the value is defined by the quality of the work! Especialy the paint, the way the sub frame sits, and the specs of the engine. I've no objections about the to the overall parts use, but a Y-block would have been awesome. And you are right about all the billet, and all the small doo-daa, changing that would make this a very beautiful mild custom!! And the look is what defines the true value of a custom. Some people think less of it for being custom, some thinks the World of it, because its a custom.
I just went and watched the video, and except for the "frenched" headlight bezels and the flipper caps, i think its more in the hot rod catagory, and I like it alot! It seems very straight and good painted. Needs some minor work on the upholstery, but all in all, good looking. Do you have pictures of your swap item?
I'd jump right on that trade if that's the type of vehicle I was looking for. Solid car. Great look. Engine sounds decent.
I'd say this is a $9K-$10K car as it sits, $12K with some minor details swapped around. Needs a chromed grille bar, a different steering wheel, some engine detailing, maybe '56 Olds tail light lenses. I love redline tires to death but they just don't fit this car well, although they'll be easy to sell to recoup some money towards WWW's, or if you're going for more of a hot rod look, stock steel wheels with dog dish caps and blackwall tires could work too with the right stance. I think the tripower small block/4 speed setup is awesome, that'd be a huge bonus to me. The places to check on this car are the inner rockers and the body mounts that connect the inners to the floor, it's the first place to go and often ignored or covered up even when there's a nice paint job on it. My '52 is very similar to your '53 and when I got it the paint looked pretty good and had a ton of work done to the car but the inner rockers and body mounts were wasted, took a good bit of work to fix them without ruining the paint. Check that out before you make the deal. That, and make sure the frame clip job was done nice.
Unless the bondo is extremely thick even one of those weak refrigerator magnets that Rock Auto sends you WILL stick to bondo. If you've got a spot where you know bondo exists try it and see for yourself.
Needs a chrome grill bar, a set of polished Torque Thrusts and blackwall tires, and drive the heck out of it!
on the surface, looks like a good deal. but, what is under the paint and under the car is what counts - damage, and/or rust. as in all deals, buyer (trader) beware.
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