Hot Rods Living in Hot Rod Darkages

Thanks for the comments. I was thinking I could find descent 50's pickup that had the look, was reliable and was priced in the 30's. Probably my pickiness is one of the problems but I have been scouring the ads and find nothing to my liking. It's not a big deal. I think I have found an older late model that will fit the bill?

 

Rich has a formula and builds them well.

@krylon32 my AD came out of the Panhandle, just a forgotten field truck and needed to be built. BUT, the price was right at a few hundred dollars

 

Are you on FB? there is a huge AD site there where most sales activity is happening

 

I agree with you Gary, the price of a decent running older pickup is insane.

10 years ago I sold a 49 chevy pickup in decent shape for 1,500 bucks.

I was looking at pickups recently and trucks that looked similar are 15 to 18 grand, I just glad I have the old 65 Ford pickup sitting in the barn. HRP

 

I guess I sold my 67 a little cheap. But cash offer and I didn’t have to do anything but remove personal stuff.
I paid 2500 for my 49 around 1998.
No rot, 2 owner truck. Drove it home and to work for a few years. Only had to fix the generator to start daily driving.
I thought I overpaid then.
Commercial or larger trucks are high.
But, I love capitalism. Even the bad.

 

Not affiliated
Seems like a decent price in todays world.

 

Runs and drives.
Probably already sold

 

My Grandpa used to buy IH trucks, traded every two years. Back then, a truck was an affordable no-frills work vehicle. His last truck was a Chevy, and the first time he ever had a truck with an AM/FM radio. He would be mortified to see what trucks go for these days!

 

Runs, drives and title.


And probably will sell

 

12K is insane for that truck. This one is much nicer than it looks and cost me a few hundred.

 

Well, probably so.
No rust, runs and drives.
If a customer asked me what it’s worth. It means no floors to replace, no parts to locate.
Or buy a basket case and spend 10k to get it to the point this truck is.
It’s all about perspective

I’d drive your truck just like it is.
But if your paying a shop to build something perfect, the one I posted is cheaper in the long run.

 

somebody stripped the paint off mine hence the surface rust. Cleaned up with a scotchbrite and rust prep. Somebody had already split the manifold.

 

Sounds like fun.
Unfortunately, a younger me blasted mine. Should have let it be. I thought everything had to be “perfect” back then. I’ve since learned the error of my ways.

My $2500 gmc.
It’s blasted and ready for me to start the cab. I have a dime sized hole in the floor to fix.

 

Ugh. I'm about a year out from wanting to do the same thing. I really don't want to buy a new truck, but I need something reliable with towing capability.

I was hoping to get a mid-60's truck that's been retrofitted with either modern tech or driveline for daily driver use.

I guess I should start looking now and be willing to jump on a deal if I find one.

 

Ive found "fridge" fords tend to be worth very little, as well as some "wrongbeds" seems no one wants them.

 

There is a massive price difference between a solid buildable project and one that is roadworthy and proven reliable. In fact, the latter is pretty rare to find for sale. Most of what I personally see for sale are projects that need a lot of time invested, or finished "show" vehicles that have never/rarely been driven, so will likely have a lot of bugs to work out and also are not well suited to daily use. "Runs and drives" and "daily driver reliable" are worlds apart.

There's a perfect point, long after a vehicle has earned it's first scratch but before it's worn out, where it still looks nice but not too nice to haul a swap meet pile in back, where it has proven itself reliable but has a lot more miles left in it, where the work is done but it didn't take a second mortgage to complete. Those vehicles are rare, finding them for sale is even more rare, and I don't know anyone who has ever wanted to part with one, cheap.

 

That's a very fair price today. Great looking old Ford. Good find Anthony.

Joe

 

Not anymore

 

Ad is gone. I didn’t think it would last long.
Owner said it was drivable.
Had a 350. Stock axle.

 

Fridges ain’t cheap for a good one

 

I've pondered selling my'46. What price would today's market support?
clean cab - new floor and toe board
3" chop using two roofs
smoothie bed, tailgate, and running boards
custom grille
460 / C6 / 3.25 niner
Eaton springs - original beam axle
discs up front
set up to tow

 

I think the sticker shock comes from the fact that we get caught up in our 'preferred' cars (deuce, '40 Ford, Nash, whatever) and we don't pay attention to the rest of the hobby until something sparks our interest. Then, after years of 'my car is the greatest and anything else is just a car', we realize we've had our head in the sand in regards to the rest of rodder-dom. I think there's also a tendency to elevate our cars and abilities above others (maybe ego-driven?) and can't believe anyone could possibly value their '53 whatever as highly as we do our '30-something prized possession. Ego-pricing is one thing when selling but quite another when buying. JMHO, YMMV...

 

Got it covered.

 

I didn't either.
Found out about the flipper market couple years ago when I was looking for another early Merc Cyclone in fair condition. Found two private listings for a fair price. Never got replies to my contacts. Found both had been snatched up by dealers and sold for twice the asking price w/o turning a wrench

Joe

 

Only .02 I can give, is look for stuff that is not mainstream, search every day. I know a guy building Internationals and he still finds them cheap due to not being popular. Dodge in the 50s through 70s are cheap and plentiful. I bought my son a 69 longbed dodge for 1300 bucks with a 318 in it.

Studebakers are cheap still due to how ugly they are, Internationals and Dodge still look cool but not the rage.

There are still deals to be had, just not as prevalent anymore. The fad will die at some point but I think prices will remain higher for sure, partially due to inflation but partially due to the commercial aspect of things, the huge auctions televised etc.

Remember you can take out the drop axle and put stock leaf springs in one that has been lowered the correct way without the M2 or crown vic BS.

I bought and built this truck 15 years ago. Still on the road and serves me great. Drop axle from Sid, flipped rear, 318 v8 powered... Orig price of the truck was 500 bucks.

 

With what? You can’t just start a thread like this and then drop a three word statement like that and move on.

 

Studes aren't so cheap anymore... ;( .
Marcus...

 

Do tell ! (If it’s H.A.M.B. friendly of course)