Whats my 78 shortbed worth?

[purecountry]

Trying to get an estimate on what the old truck is worth in this economy. Not selling anytime soon, unless a ridiculous offer came along. Paid $2000 orginally, it now has 112,000, with 3,000 miles on the rod and main bearings, hv oil pump, and 2.5" exhaust with flowmasters. Next plans call for a t18/205 combo, with a 10:1 compression, dove headed .60 over 460 powering it. Possibly one tons and 44" boggers down the road. Let me know whatcha guys think. Thanks Lcpl Duncan

 

[tomtoc]

where are you located? when did you pay $2,000 for it?

 

[purecountry]

05? and in east tenn. had 93,000 when i bought it

 

[LEB Ben]

As is...I say it's about a $2500 truck...nothing too fancy, but it surely isn't garbage. Especially here in the southeast...where you can find trucks in about the same condition just about anywhere...now if that were a rustbelt truck...I'd say you'd max out at arounf $4k. If you do all the mods you're planning, you could probably get somewhere between $4-5k for it max. I've found that paint and body work usually allows you to command a higher price than drivetrain and suspension though. Obviously those play a factor...but the people willing to shell out big money for these trucks are far more interested in asthetics. You may also wanna be careful with going .060 over on the 460...reaching the cylinder wall's limits...although I've heard of folks going .080 over...but that's usually not with a stock block.

 

[purecountry]

Its a d1ve 429 block that I had sonic checked, and its good to at least .80, and possibly .120 if i felt the need. Which I never will, as I feel thats to far. Body and paint are on the list, its just a slow ass process when I'm not home to do anything. I wanna paint it dark mettalic blue, and have all the small rust holes dealt with. I had a deacon from my church quote me $3000 for everything, bodywork sheetmetal, not bondo, paint and rhino line the bed. Thats right after the engine, and before the big axles and tires.

 

[LEB Ben]

Then I have to ask the question...why sell it? There's a point in time where upgrades start losing you money if you're just gonna sell it. Say you do get $2500 for your truck as is...that's just cash in your pocket right now. Now figure you build your truck...you'll have probably 3k in the engine for a mild build, you're staring another 1000 in the face for a t18/205 combo, and another 3k in body and paint work. I figure those are reasonable prices, but you've just sunk another 7k in your truck. Then you're talking axles and tires...a front D60 will run you 1000, a rear...probably 250-500...and 44's will be another 2k. So now you're up to roughly 10k into a truck that you'll probably get 5k for. I dunno about you, but losing 5k in a sale isn't something I look to do...now it's a completely different story if you plan on either selling your truck as is OR building it for your use. And it's another story if you already have the parts you want to upgrade to...or know where screaming deals are at.


Then you mentioned that the deacon said he'd do paint and body for 3k...now that's great if he's just giving you a screaming deal and helping you out and just charging you cost of materials...Given I didn't see a whole lotta rust on your truck, so replacement panels should run you less than 1000, then that leaves you with a 2k paint job...here again I dunno what the circumstances are, but I know what 2k paint jobs look like...and you can get those at Maaco...and well we all know what Maaco paint jobs look like. And as a buyer, cheap body work and cheap paint definitely detract from the value of a truck in my book. But here again I dunno the circumstances of what work, how much work, etc. needs to be done.


Just something to think about.

 

[bucks77ford]

I can't disagree with what Ben said. Just remember, you almost NEVER get out of a truck what you put into it. Figure maybe half. So if you put $5K into it, than you'll most likely still get $2500. HOWEVER, gear toward the rustbelt market, you most likely get more. But, right now, not many people are going to buy unseen, so if you live far outside the rustbelt, it will be harder to sell to those people.

 

[polarbear]

Hemmings reviewed a '77 F150 that was going through a collector auction. Frame off restoration, all correct. They were amazed at the high-quality restoration- made even more unusual on that type of truck. they estimated the restoration cost easily tripled the high bid ($14500) the truck brought. Truck did not sell (didn't hit reserve). Lesson- it's OK to throw money around like that if you plan on keeping it.

Recouping it is another issue entirely. At that point, you need to do what friend Jack did, and throw $75,000 at a '56 high-option Bel-Air convertible (or something else equally in demand). He got it all back, and a reasonable profit, even in this economy (car brought low six-figures).

 

[LEB Ben]

I always wondered why classic trucks never did well in auctions...seems to me classic cars typically get at least what was put into them if not a nice profit. I mean, if you'll look at Red or Buck's truck...both of which have at least $25k thrown into them...but we'd be extremely lucky to get $10k if they were ever sold. I love Red, and selling her has never crossed my mind, but if there was a demand for dentsides and I could pul $40-50k for her...I'd be awfully tempted. So what is? A truck is truck? Asthetics aren't there? Not sexy enough? Not a big enough market of truck buyers?

 

[DNFXDLI]

Hemmings reviewed a '77 F150 that was going through a collector auction. Frame off restoration, all correct. They were amazed at the high-quality restoration- made even more unusual on that type of truck. they estimated the restoration cost easily tripled the high bid ($14500) the truck brought. Truck did not sell (didn't hit reserve). Lesson- it's OK to throw money around like that if you plan on keeping it.

Recouping it is another issue entirely. At that point, you need to do what friend Jack did, and throw $75,000 at a '56 high-option Bel-Air convertible (or something else equally in demand). He got it all back, and a reasonable profit, even in this economy (car brought low six-figures).

That was the attitude I had when I bought the 79 I have....I have no intention of getting rid of it, I know I paid a premium for it but I also have minimal work to do on it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I always wondered why classic trucks never did well in auctions...seems to me classic cars typically get at least what was put into them if not a nice profit. I mean, if you'll look at Red or Buck's truck...both of which have at least $25k thrown into them...but we'd be extremely lucky to get $10k if they were ever sold. I love Red, and selling her has never crossed my mind, but if there was a demand for dentsides and I could pul $40-50k for her...I'd be awfully tempted. So what is? A truck is truck? Asthetics aren't there? Not sexy enough? Not a big enough market of truck buyers?

I think a few trucks would do well but they are what would be considered as Muscle trucks. Like the 68 Dodge D100 with a factory 440 or Hemi, Lightnings maybe most are run hard. The money is on Muscle cars and not trucks which is sad cause a lot came with big blocks.

 

[bucks77ford]

I don't know what it is about our trucks or any other classic truck not being worth much at all. I haven't even thought of trying to sell my truck when it's done and don't plan on it and for the reason I've stuck what I have into it.

AFA what that shortbed is worth. It's kinda hard to tell. Really depends on the target market. Just at first glance and by pics only, I'd say somewhere around $1500 to $2500 as is right now. And if another $5K was put into it, you'd probably be lucky to get $5K or $6K out of it.