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looking to buy a 5 window chevy pickup

2K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  WriterDennis 
#1 ·
my wife's uncle is thinking about selling me his i don't know what year it is exactly but it has set in a field for 30+ years its 100% there all original as far as i know never wrecked rusty but not rust holes except the floor from what i can see i want to make a street rod out of it but don't know what a fair price for something like that is any help on what i should pay would be a big help

also this will be my first rod build and i am looking forward to it i have built tuner cars i have a 400+ hp first gen Mitsubishi eclipse now but trying to sell it and go american v8
 
#2 ·
Pretty hard to say what it's worth. In your area it may be more or less than here, it's pretty hard without getting a real good look at it.

But it is a great first hot rod project, that is what mine was 40 years ago.

Brian
 
#3 ·
a rusty, non-running truck that has been sitting in a field for 30 years is not worth a whole lot.
it will take a lot of work to make it into a presentable truckrod.
that said and since it's family, offer $300 to $500 for it and see where it gets you.
you can buy a running pos truck for $2k to $3k
check out the 67-72chevytrucks.com forum, they have a very active 47-59 chevy truck sub forum
 
#4 ·
Ogre, it depends on where this truck was sitting. And what exactly is a "field". I have seen some DAMN nice cars sitting in fields in sunny California!

That's the problem with the question, without seeing the truck it could be $2 or $2000.

Brian
 
#5 · (Edited)
i live in kentucky so snow rain heat humidity all the bad stuff lol and a field is a cattle field yea i know its going to take allot to get it nice but ant that the fun part anyway ill need to update the front and rear suspension and brakes to handle the motor i wanna run lots of body work iv never chopped a truck/car before so if i do that im thinking ill out source that part but im going to do every thing myself make it truly mine do a air ride tech struts and a 383 with 400-500 hp he has said 1000 dollars? it is a 5 window dont that make it worth a lil more ant they kinda rare?
 
#6 ·
They really aren't "rare" they made a zillion of them and most I think were five windows. That don't mean it isn't neat, and can bring good money finished nice. But as a field car, it shouldn't bring too much money. As for chopping it, I hadn't done one before when I chopped mine at 16 years old and it came out ok. :D Click on the video to see me at 18 right before I painted it.

Brian

 
#7 ·
pay for what you'll use

Like others have said, it is very tough to determine a fair price without seeing it. What you need to remember is to pay a fair price for what you will be using, but not pay for a lot of "gennie" stuff that you won't use and may end up throwing in a dumpster. For instance, if you know that you are going to use different wheels and a different front suspension, the fact that they are all there is of little consequence. Go ahead and take the entire truck of course, but you'll probably not be able to get anything out of the wheels and original front suspension (except maybe scrap metal prices). However, trim, door handles, and a lot of that type stuff gets expensive in a hurry if you have to replace it.

If the body is straight, it is amazing what some media blasting can do to clean up sheet metal. If this is indeed a five window GM truck, it is probably one of the Advanced Design trucks, which means that patch panels are available. So, starting with something is better than nothing.

Even if just the frame is usable, they are certainly more desirable than the aftermarket chassis that are available. The original frames have some graceful lines, while the "repro" frames are purely straight with angular cuts in them.

Just food for thought.

Dennis W. Parks
Author of automotive how-to books
 
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