So having the usual second thoughts on this 59 f100..... Is it worth $1100 from cali?
As far as I know it doesn't run at the moment.
It has
Broken windshield
390 fe engine
C6 tranny auto (3on tree replaced with a floor shifter auto)
Needs tailgate and cab swap (I have rust free cab and tailgate alreadyto replace it with)
The cab on it has rust around the gutters. Floor pans are good.
Solid doors. One has lower corner rust.
Bed has surface rust but not many dents.
Seems to have all parts for grill and lights. Hood emblems still there.

 

Not enough information. Do you have photos?

 

Yup ill try to get them in photobucket and up tonight.

 

Here it is.







and here is the extra cab I have


I was testing out color combos with the rattle can. this is the winner for the future. Blue and white




Why does my extra cab have a smaller back window then the one on the truck itself? The vins I believe both lead to a 69....?

 

The large rear window was an extra cost option. They do look nice, but personally, the greenhouse effect is not something I enjoy while sitting in my truck, I am happy to have the standard rear window. In addition, the flat glass is less costly to replace should the need arise.

 

Let me say, right up front, that I am this forums' Negative Nell, its' naysayer if you will. Now, I will proceed.

I think that as to value for a donor vehicle, you done good. But that is never the whole story. For about 5-6k or so, you could have a really nice, driving Fridge, needing very little. At least I wouldn't pay that money if it was in need of a bunch of stuff.

You will spend, in the long run, more than that, if you want a really clean truck. In fact, it will be a bunch more than that.If, however, you will just get the mechanicals in order, and be happy with a less-than-pristine driver, and are willing to spend lots of time scrounging for used parts, doing all the work yourself, you will be able to get it going for a lot less.

I am not of that mindset. Since I far prefer to spend my little free time with my family, or in my garden, and want to drive my truck now, not at some theoretical date out in the future, I feel it is money in the bank to spend up front as much as you can afford, even postponing the purchase for a year or two. Let someone else spend the money, and get all the headaches, or the majority of them, out of the way. Then, buy it after they loose interest, or decide to off their money pit. Our trucks are not highly sought after, and you will never recoup what you put into them when re-selling, so plan on driving it till death do you part.

I know this is a site for helping people get their trucks going, and helping others. And so, I have received lots of help, from lots of different members here.I also realize that many people like projects, no matter the cost or time involved, they enjoy the work and challenges. I work on my own truck, now, for economy's sake, not because I want to wrench on vehicles every spare moment.

My help I could offer is to recommend you save it for parts. It is easily worth what you paid for it if you part it out.Buy a nice finished truck, they are plentiful in the west.Us here in Cali are lucky to be literally surrounded by tons of these nearly rust-free old vehicles that the members in the Rust Belt would drool over. They crazily, and happily buy stuff I would junk in a heartbeat, thinking their gonna cut a fat hog fixing it up over time. They are delusional, many are off the site in a few months when the financial realities set in.

If you are full of pizz and vinegar, financially able, with plenty of free time, ignore my advice by all means. It's only my opinion, and opinions are like azzholes, everyone's got one....


There, you asked for it, LOL! It's worth every cent you paid for it.

 

I would add that Steve's opinion is the kind of thing that makes this forum great. Folks saying what they think in a non threatening way.

As far as your truck purchase, being from upstate NY, I would have jumped on that deal whether I needed it or not. You definately have your money's worth. Lots of stuff missing to make it a stock Fridge but maybe that is not what you want. I personally enjoy the project phase. My family has grown up and moved on. If I spend too much time in the house, there is trouble with the war dept.

 

Same here, Steve,

SuperDuty, each person should do what pleases them. What works for me, may not work for anyone else. I do not intend to offend, just express my view, so don't disappear on us. There are plenty here who will have your same vision.

Steve

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! It will be a bit before I can actualy start working on it cuz I'm building a 445 stroker for my 74 f250. But I plan on making it look kinda stock but with some newer upgrades. I just now looked at how the 390 is mounted and it seems to be by the from crossmember and then the tranny seems to be holding up the rear so looks like I need to make some motor mounts first. After that I'm going to throw a 4 speed man tranny behind the 390 and go to a floor shift. Going away from stock there. Want a hurst short shifter For gauges ill probably fit some auto meter ones in there too. Im debating about power steering and using a 74 steering column and all. The only thing I'm not sure about there is wiring. But ill figure it out later. I'm going to the junk yard tomorrow to get the original bench seat from a donor truck if its still there and try to pull other parts to stash away for when I'm ready to start working on it

 

Sounds like you're doing a "resto-mod" to the Fridge. I've long said that if the vehicle is mostly original and could be restored to nearly factory-original if not full factory original, then I'd hesitate to do much to deviate from that. But if you've got a basket case, with different engines and transmissions and interior components and stereos and whatever else, then it'd kind of be "open season" on how to proceed.

I'm not a fan of lowered to the point of 1/2" ground clearance or huge tires or anything else like that, but my opinion is based on what you begin with for the conversion. Original should stay original in my opinion--though, admittedly, with trucks, they're often modified for a job so they might have different beds, cargo hooks added, bigger mirrors, huge bumpers, CB or other two-way radios, extra lights, and on and on and on.

I have an 84 GMC Caballero besides my 59 F-500. I did very little to change it, but it was a kind of basket case when we started, and as I proceeded with the fixes I found that some things just had to be changed by necessity of economics and time if for no other reason. I was building a car that my high school age kids could use and which we could use to haul stuff as it was orignially intended; we were not building a show car. When all was said and done, about all that isn't "factory" is the stereo (came from an '88 Buick) and the faceplate around the stereo which is from the '86-87 GM A bodies and I aded some speakers to a "looks right" mount that's attached to a kind of crappy interior piece that is easily replaced with new/repro. Because we changed the interior from maroon to black, I needed a credible steering wheel and put in one from an S-15, but later I found the correct black steering wheel from an older Malibu, and I have it on hand if I ever decide to change back to "stock" at some point. You get the idea.

The overall thing is, you paid for it and you're working to get the fridge back on the road. HOW you do it is up to you.