I made an okay trade this weekend too. For the little people out there...

My little trade seems kind of laughable now that I've just seen a HAMBer show off pics of his dark green Deuce that he traded straight across for a ChevyII. All the same, I had to share a story that's a little more humble.

I traded this 1972 Roper lawnmower that I paid $50 for. I hauled it out from under a collapsed shed last Fall, got her running and mowed my lawn with it all summer long. New belts, battery, oil, fuel line, etc. I probably have $150 in it all together.


This kid (I can say that since he just turned 18) traded me straight across for this 1956 Chevy pickup.




The 235 is seized, its missing the grille and bed, but other than that its complete! A big window too! The vent windows need replacing as does the p***enger side door gl***, but the windshield and big window are mint. The cab is rusty on the bottom, but we're used to that here in Maine. The frame is in great shape. I love the hillbilly helper springs someone welded onto the back. I asked the kid several times if he was sure he wanted to swap. He was so eager to get that lawn tractor and had no interest in the 56 at all except to get it off the lawn so his mom would stop yelling at him. Apparently his grandfather bought the truck to fix up, started tearing it apart and lost interest for 10 years before it came up for sale or trade. The kid mocked the front end up on the truck to show me that he had almost all the pieces. Somebody pinch me.

My lawn is too small to bother with a riding mower and this was too good of an opportunity to p*** up. Lord know I don't need another project at the moment, but sometimes the deal is just too good to be true. Although this winter will be spent working on my hot rod, I'm probably going to bring the cab indoors and start patching that bottom back together while I think about what to do with this old girl.

Got any ideas? Maybe a line on a grille? What should I do for a bed? Hauler? Stock? Stake bed? Got a spare tie rod laying around?

Also included with the truck were a couple of restoration catalogs by LMC. Is it my imagination or are parts for these WAY overpriced compared to other places? That might explain why the kid didn't want to bother with the truck. Can anyone suggest another source for patch panels and the like?

Regardless, I'm happy with my quaint little trade.

 

nice trade

 

nice trade!
wish i could trade my mower!

 

Congrats on a great find/trade! I'm not much into mowing the lawn.

-meljr

 

wow what a deal!!!

 

Don't know much about chevy trucks but seems like a good trade to me. now i just need to find a half decent lawn tractor for 50 bucks before next summer for my lawn.

 

Sweet deal, looks solid for around here.

 

Ya done good!!!

 

I have one. It's sitting in SE Ohio right now. Clunks when you turn right so just mow the lawn in left turns. (or fix the clunk).

$50

 

You definitely got the better end of the deal. Find an old W motor and a bed for it and throw down. As for patch panels, check out Golden State Parts, www.gspp.com. They specialize in Chevy and GMC stuff.

 

You just scored, congrats!

 

Hey, I've got an old push mower to trade you

 

I'll trade you a rear engine Murray mower and sweeten the deal with a weedeater.

 

My 76 Chevy step side P/U used the same bed as the early bed. There might be a difference in the fender bolt holes but that is easily fixed. Check any 60-70s step side beds.

The fenders look like 58 up with the quad H/Ls. If it is a later model, check the wheelbase before you buy a bed.

One of my favorite old trucks.

 

Score!!!!!!

 

an outstanding trade for a big window cab

 

It looks like 58-9 front fenders to me too, reguardless that was a heck of a trade.

 

Nice trade, but you should have gotten him to throw in a season of mowing your yard too.
Enjoy your new project, I look forward to following it.

 

Nice trade! You done GREAT, especially considering it's a big-window cab. Parts for those trucks are all over every swap meet, so go hunting and have fun with it!

 

Good trade! The next place I live, I don't want to need a lawn mower or a snow shovel!

 

Since its a big back window you done good,if it was a small window cab you would have been better off keeping the lawn tractor. Them old Ropers are damn good mowers as I have been using the rebadged sears versions for many years and wont use others untill I cant get parts for them.

 

Now thats a really good trade .I guess now you need to find a tractor grille for your new rod.Lol

 

Nice trade, but maybe the kid is looking in the future and planning on doing alot of yard work for $$$ to buy a different project. I would of traded also for the truck, but if the mower was working fine, you can make money if you are not lazy. (refering to the 18 yr old)

 

I don't know...that was a damn nice Roper (HA-HA!!)

 

Thanks for the tip about the late model stepside beds Tommy, I'll have to keep an eye out.
I couldn't resist the temptation to mock it up again after I got her off the trailer today. Okay, so its not all there. I need to find a few odds and ends, but I'm still pretty stoked about the deal.
The Roper was a nice old mower, but it was no old pickup truck.
But as you can see its the single headlights which I believe were only available like this from 55-57, before the Apache model featured the quad setup. Although the kid did say that his grandfather says the fenders are 57. I ***ume this makes a difference on the grille, but I'm still learning about the little idiosyncrasies about these awesome trucks and don't know for sure.

 

p.s. Someone cut through the steering column with some kind of saw just above the steering box. I don't know if this was done as a redneck move prior to installing some sort of column shift, but I was wondering if anyone knew if the steering column/box is the same from a 54 Chevy pickup.

That and the bent to hell tie rod and the frozen kingpin on the p***enger side wheel made maneuvering this on and off the trailer gracefully a teensy bit difficult. Not impossible, just laborious and time consuming.

 

The fenders appear to be 1955.......there are no little flats on either side of the grille opening.

 

Wow, the gl*** in the back alone is worth the price of the mower. You done real good!


Tim

 

congratulations, i think you made out like a champ! so what are you gonna do with it?

 

I can see it now. Young man being interviewed on 60 minutes about his landscaping empire that has made him the richest man in Maine. He laughs about his humble beginnings, trading a clapped out old Chevy Truck for his fist mower, the one that made him famous. He is now the largest bidder and collector of Chevy trucks at Barrett Jackson