I have been messing with my motorcycles and haven't had a vintage truck in 5 years or so...So I want another old truck and looked for a 60's Chevy like in the past. Something that runs and moves, usual beat up old truck with dents and some rust.. Holy **** have prices gone up...seems like they tripled in just a few years..Yeah, I knew bikes are more money but these truck prices are scary... looking at for sale ads on this site..How can any person of normal means afford a hot rod?
I buy junk and weld other junk to that and keep welding until its halfway decent. Combination of being a blue collar guy and living in the rust belt
Early 60-63 chevy pickups are really getting popular and rare as hens teeth. Been looking for a good used driver door for a year now.
Simple, we bought them 20 years ago and hung on to them until now, when we have the time and cash to finish them. Prices are high for junk so you are correct. There are lots of unfinished projects from people my age, who have aged out or have health problems, or just lost interest, and can't finish them. You just need to keep looking for that deal a**** all the over priced junk out there. Good luck.
Looking at mid 60's to avoid the dog leg windshield and torsion bars... I'm 74 and my ticket for the last exit is punched so no need for a long term project...
I had the same problem with old bikes. Some of the stuff I’ve been looking at is going for more than I paid for my new street glide. And not in that great of shape.
I sold my 38 Ford P.U. 7 years ago and was able to buy it back, it was in worse shape but I had to pay more than I sold it for. , But I did get a nice fox tail with it. LOL
I used to mess with mid 50s Olds back in the 80s and they were cheap but would like another but can not afford one now so I will keep what I got.
You probably have to change your idea of what a hot rod is. The neat old stuff is out of reach, because everyone else figured out that it's neat old stuff.
I have been thinking and looking for a decent old pickup that I could use as a daily driver, I was told about a '48 - '50 Ford truck that sounded go so I went to check it out and to see what condition it was in. Turns out it is a 1950 w/t a good running flathead, it had one repaint years ago, it was faded and chalky, the whitewall tires appear to be fair and the truck has the usual dents and s****es, paint pealing,cracked gl*** but over all it would serve my purpose if it was reasonable. I was dumbfounded when the man said $19,500 FIRM. HRP
It's no secret why 4-doors have gained in popularity. All of the 2-doors have been scooped up and are being held on to or sold for LARGE money. 20 years ago nobody wanted a station wagon, but now long-roofs are cool and pricey. And who even thought about COE trucks back then. Now they're the rage.
Like Danny indicated, F-1 trucks, F-100 trucks and all of the Chevy trucks Early 60's to mid-70's are pricey now. Remember when Chevy (and Ford) long beds were cheap and short beds were the rage. Now, all of them are expensive.
Haven't any of you guys been watching the auction results? Old trucks, especially C10's are through the roof. I have seen restored examples go through at over 50K.
It's always been supply and demand. You have to pay to play. The early '70's VW bus I had back then was $3K new and over $70K now, but I don't want to play that game-and didn't even want to by '75!
Most anything online is stupid priced. Have to get back to old school shopping, find them in the wild and be ready with a trailer at a moments notice. Networking with other hotrodders, like we used to, will uncover the forgotten projects that are stashed away. I looked thru an old notebook for 20 years ago that had guys phone numbers and what they were working on. It all came from having sold or bought something from them. There's still a few live numbers and Guess What. They are still working in the same types of cars. Start looking at parts ads in your area and take the time to go meet people, see what they're working on, may uncover some vehicles that aren't for sale til you ask in person. The last vehicle I bought took 4 years of asking what he was gonna do with it and staying in touch.
Be patient. I bought my GMC as a roller for $300. Online prices are often 3k for the same thing. Just the last few days I have seen several great running cars and trucks in the $2500 range on FB marketplace. CL has really died around here.
You could see this trend coming, starting 10yrs ago. Like has been said, all of the 2dr. cars were scooped up, so you could see people start buying trucks of the same years.. Now that old trucks are "cool" and have gotten pricey, people have gone to rodding 4 door cars, and yes, station wagons are cool now. Look at the prices for '78 to '82 Malibus, which have full frames and the same dimensions as tri-five Chevys. Starting to climb up, too. It's a cycle that will repeat itself for every 10yr block of cars. There are still some good buys out there, just have cash and patience.
I think too many vintage truck owners have been watching Barrett-Jackson pickup prices and it's gone to their heads! Anyone after an umpteen window vintage VW bus?
When I decided to go with a older truck to eventually replace my '12 Ram, my son was saying "C10." Everybody and their cousin is doing C10s now, and yes, they are crazy money. Personally, I like to go down the less travelled path. 1960s Ford on the other hand, while still a bit pricey, are still within reach. About 40-50% of comparable condition Shiverlay. I bought a '65 F100 in August, and I paid more than I thought I'd have to. While it does have a bit of rust, it's not bad, and that was the primary criteria along with a clean ***le. But still, $4500 and nothing functioned. Not a dang thing. At double that money, there were a few out there that were running and driving. But I'd eventually pay about the same in after purchase work as what I'm into on this '65. Older Dodge pick-ups are fairly reasonable, but dang they ugly! If you GOT to have that Shiverlay, you gots to pay!
I bought my OT square body pickup 13 years ago. It was really nice and appeared to never have been driven on a dirt road. I gave $8k for it and my neighbor told me I had paid way too much. It was the only nice, solid one I could find and I wanted it. I put a base crate engine in it for $1500, lowered it and spruced it up a bit. Besides tires and oil, I've done nothing else to it and I'm really happy with it. I could not buy another one for what I have in it. That's the way it goes with old trucks. Even older ones are even more expensive because they are harder to find and more expensive to restore. Keep looking and find one that suits you and hold on to it.
Pickups are outrageous right now, no matter what year they are. Saw an 05 GMC on Marketplace last night, right at 200,000 miles and they want $20,000! I've been sorta wanting a 71-72 C10 like my old man had when I was growing up, even a rusted out beat up one is bringing $4-6,000 for just a roller. Same thing with dent side 68-72 Fords. And don't even think about a 53-56 Effie or Chevy.......rough ones are about as high as the later ones. Like was said, supply goes down, prices go up. Just saw an 84 F150 4X4 like I got rid of for $3500 about 10 years ago for sale for $8500. Should've kept mine, just didn't want to put the work into it back then....
Don’t worry,,,it’s coming ! There will be a great reset soon,,,,,just don’t get caught up in the ,,,buy high,,,,sell low ,,trap . The mathematics don’t add up . Or worse yet,,,,,the next Great War. How many guys here were alive when all the collection drives were going on during WW2 ? Rubber drives ,,,metal drives,,,,any needed commodities,,,,,we had to have them . Imagine how much old steel will be reprocessed then,,,,,because we can’t mine it fast enough to meet the need . Oh well,,,,,LoL,,,,at least we have millions of old cars and trucks laying around ! Just be patient,,,,,it all works out somehow . Tommy
I noticed this awhile ago up here 60’s - 80’s trucks have gone up 10 fold either complete or projects. 49-54 chevies used to be cheap , they are getting pricy . along with 50’s through 70’s 4 doors , wagons , etc etc. like @squirrel said , the cool stuff just got cooler and prices went up. No one has gone on vacation or really done anything in the last 2 years due to the virus , up here housing prices have gone completely crazy , my house has more then doubled in a year and a half !!!! So a lot of people are pulling equity out of there homes and doing work around the house or I guess in this case dropping dough on cars. I noticed it about a year ago and the trend is still there, that my local cl***ified has a bunch of big dollar cars for sale , when before that was never the case. Maybe some folks over stretched snd need cash? While others have a bunch they haven’t spent and it’s burning a hole in their pocket ? I really don’t know what to make of the recent ballon effect on almost everything
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