Customs Help... whats this shoebox worth

Backstory: A friend of mine was taking his girlfriend out to eat in Saint Louis. He was looking for a parking spot and turned down an alley where he spotted a 1950 shoebox ford. He sent me a picture and after some research I located the owner.
The owner, a man in his late 40s early 50s, tells me he has owned the car about 15 years. He drove it back and forth to work everyday up until about 5 years ago. Its at that time the car was parked and has sat ever since. About 2.5 years ago he got it running and was going to start driving it again and someone slashed all 4 tires on the car at which point he gave up and let it sit again.

The good:
•Wired for 12v
•Flathead 6 was rebuilt and has about 2k miles on it.
•Interior is 9/10
•He has the original fender skirts too
•He has original brochures/paperwork
•The car seems completely original and is overall in good shape.

The bad:
•It has some rust over the fender wells on the passenger quarter and the lower front fender behind the wheel. Not terrible but will need patch panels.
•underneath is crispy. It was hard to tell how bad because all 4 tires are flat, im just worried about the floor pan. At a minimum it needs sandblasted/wire wheeled and undercoated/painted.
•almost all the exterior chrome needs redone.

Im looking for a good family car to tool around in and take to some shows like the roundup. Would keep it stock, get it running and driving and may eventually chop it and paint it. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for looking.

 

You need to check out the floors. If they are rusty it would cut the price in half for me. That's a whole lot of cleaning and welding on a late model car like that.

Is it a coupe or sedan?

 

Sedan. I uploaded a picture of the whole car. Trying to do this from my phone and having a hell of a time lol.

 

Sorry, can't help with what it's worth....But really like that grille guard!

 

Looks pretty solid, and at least at one point was a nicely cared-for car. Custom interior looks good. The spotlights are a period custom touch.

Values are different all over the country. I'll pay more for a decent shoebox up here in Canada because they are hard to find in any decent shape. Down there they might be more plentiful, so I might think around $5k ± is a good price and others might think that's way high... or low.

6 cyl is not quite as desirable as the 8, but nothing wrong with a 6, they run great.
Sedans are not quite as desirable as coupes, but sedans look better chopped than coupes do.
Parts and patch panels are plentiful and fairly easy to get. A lot of stuff is interchangeable between 49-51 and between coupe, 2-door and 4-door sedans.

Floors are not a huge deal to replace, you can make them yourself or buy patch panels from EMS. You'll likely have to replace the rockers and lower cowls (behind the front wheels) on both sides. EMS has all the sheetmetal panels you might need and the quality is good. If the frame is solid and you only have a few patches to deal with, I'd say go for it.

Have a look at my build thread and you'll see ALL the places shoeboxes typically rust. That one is a helluva lot nicer than what I started with.

 

sure, most anything can be replaced, patched, etc but, a lot depends on how big of a project that one is willing to take on; how long willing to go without a ride that can be driven, skill level & budget size - my 2 cents it is best to keep looking

 

That car looks like something I'd get running "as-is" and drive it. If it has a little rust I wouldn't mess with it now. Just a tune-up and go. Around here I'd think it's worth $5K on a good day.

 

Maybe crispy is an over statement. I couldnt see the floor pan unfortunately. But could see remnants of some kind of under coating that is peeling off the frame and def surface rust on what parts i could see.

The spotlights were cool. I expected them to be a cheap chinese spotlight or aomething but they actually had ford script stamped in them. I guess they were a dealer/factory option? Im not super familiar with these cars

 

Thats what im looking for. Drive it as is then maybe a few years down the road dig into it

 

likely what has been done by previuos owners - during those "few years" did some stuff - but, as much rust cancer that is obvious now is hiding more that will only get worse - you can find original spot lights at swaps, etc

 

Keep in mind this is in the rust belt.
Looks better than most. Doing floor pans and a patch panel here and there is the norm.

 

If the floors aren't falling out and the frame is solid, I'd be tickled to buy that for $5K, but this is Wisconsin and location is everything. Floor pans and some fender/quarter patches are no big deal if it's just the skins of the floors, if the inner rockers and body mount/supports are junk that's a way bigger job but still might be worth it.

If you live around here and you want to be a hot rodder, you've got to be willing to put in some welder time. There's just no way around it. If this one is solid enough to make a driver without having to put in any patches right away, $5K is probably a bargain.

Never saw that clock trim on the dash before, that's neat.

 

Maybe five if the floors and trunk are good, that's if ya like a shoebox...

 

Well the grill guard is worth some bucks as well as the 6 button radio. The radio will fetch 350-500 here in California. Looks like a great car. the normal rust spots can be fixed easy. As far as the floor that's all easy too. I would only be worried about the frame as far as rust gos. I have done many shoeboxes and I would buy it for around 5k with the 6 cylinder. We all love deals of a life time so ask him and see what he says. Tires are going to be 500-800 depending on what kind you get. Then rust repair can add up, what about the registration is it current or does he owe back pay. Just be like a cop and write him up for everything you see and then make a deal. Good luck

 

the only thing for certain is that it would be worth more where I live than where you live. as for the floors, give them the screwdriver test. pull up the carpets and see if you can jab a screwdriver through the floor where it looks bad.

 

Im def not afraid to weld in some panels. I just dont want to right away. Everything i own is a project. Currently working on a 28 a roadster, 31 a coupe, and a 92 mustang. Thats why im hoping this thing is solid enough i can tool around in it for awhile before doing any major repairs.

I know nothing about the shoeboxes. I was hoping to just get a reference. Seems 5k is the consensus. Which i think i can get it much cheaper than that. According to the owner it shouldnt take much to get it driving. I imagine brakes, tires, and a tune up from what he has said.

 

New gas tank too.

 

New brake lines , hoses and fuel line would be a good idea also .

 

It looks pretty solid. You know about cars, that's for sure, or you wouldn't be building a coupe and a roadster. If you think it's a good deal then that's all you need to know.

Up in New England that might be a $3-4k as it sits. If it were running, driving, registered and titled at least twice. I've seen shoeboxes similar in that range.

It's not just sitting there because it needs tires and spark plugs, but you know that.

If I had 3 other projects going, and I wanted to tool around in an old car with my kids, I would buy something less desirable, maybe a little crunchy that is someone's daily, so you can spend time driving an old heap and more time working on your current projects. (you already have 3 awesome cars; a roadster, a coupe and a car that will beat just about any car here in a drag race).

On CL here there's almost always a car like I'm describing in the $3-5k range. They're just not a hamber's dream car.

These cars may suck to you, but I just checked local CL just to give an example, and they are all more or less buy and drive:


Illinois has a pretty good scene.

 

Talk the guy down and buy it. It's a ford and a two door. It will always be worth money down the road if you ever get in a bind and need cash. It's ford buy it. 4 door cars are not a good investment. Unless it's a late 20s or 30s.

 

Sounds like anything 5k and under will be a good deal considering the location and how much rust it has. BTW, nice avatar.

 

I'd give $5K for that all day long. Floors are definitely an issue with these, but then again the undercoating does tend to flake and peel so it's entirely plausible the floors are fine and it's just the undercoating. I wouldn't think someone would go to all the trouble to make it that nice inside and out and yet neglect the floors, but I could be wrong. The straight six is a good motor and actually makes more torque than the V8, but can be hard to find hop-up parts for. Having the six does, however, make it easier to swap in a 302 and C4 if you decide to go that route. Shoebox Central in Oklahoma City has almost any part you'd need for one of these (www.shoebox-central.com).

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. Calling the owner back today to set up a time to go back and look at it again. Going to take a jack and Jack stands so i can get a better look underneath. Hopefully I will be bringing this thing home.

 

Take pics! We love the hunt.

 

Talk him down as low as you can and make it yours. I got mine for a good price for the condition it was in - soft drivers floor, lower front fenders. Hadn't ran since the 70's. - I did the mechanicals required to get it back on the road, a quick floor patch and bag drove it for three years. She served me well and I even made money when I sent it on it's way (never shoulda).

 

Well, that's your opinion. It's all in the proportions of the chop.

 

Here's my shoebox bought it in Detroit replaced everything from the side trim down I mean everything took 3 years and tons of wheeling and dealing be prepared if you get it shoeboxes hide alot of rust

 

I generally don't like chopped cars, but I think that a chop on anything other than a bone stock restoration is mandatory on a shoebox two door sedan. The rear side windows with the faux vent windows throw the proportions all out of whack and make them look like a 4 door sedan with the handles shaved. I've never seen a chopped shoebox with that retained those vent windows. The car above is a perfect example; the chop and the rear side windows are perfect. Shoebox coupes? I like 'em stock height and sectioned. I saw one about 60 years ago and have been infatuated ever since.

"LKFFLK", was the chop done on your car before you did the rust repair? As you can probably tell, I love the looks of your car (and the burnout in your avatar, too!).

 

Hi Tubman after I did all the rust repair was done I tore into the top I cut 6.5 inches out of the back and 5 out of the a pillars I did a lot of research on here I knew it was going to be a challenge being that it was my first chop on a full size car I will post some pictures this is what I started with

 

5 sounds pretty good. 6 cyl would turn me off. count on floors and braces