Hello all. Sorry that the pics precede the story. I'm having trouble integrating pics and text.


I'm a fish out of water here, having restored brand X trucks/cars for years. (I have, however, owned 11 Fords, including a 1990 F100!)


The truck pictured above belongs to a friend of mine that is unfamiliar to forum life, so I registered here and am posting for him. His dad died two years ago and left this 1956 F350 to the family. Now it's time to part with her.


Wyoming life has apparently been kind to her. I was impressed with the pictures so I got involved on my friend's behalf. The truck has about 49,000 miles and has been repainted once. She still runs and drives, used occasionally by family members. There's a wobble in the steering.


So the question is, what's she worth? We would appreciate any help in determining a value. Thanks, Bob

 

Honestly, the pictures here tell very little about this truck's value. What I do see is an inexpensive paint job that may be covering up some problems. In your third photo, I can see bubbles (most likely painted over rust) on the cowl. I also see by the running boards that it was originally a pickup and now has an aftermarket flatbed. It also appears to have widowmakers wheels. Under the hood, the missing fan shroud and the multicolored air cleaner would lead one to wonder what work has been done under the hood of a truck with 'only' 49,000 miles on it.
I'm not trying to put this truck down, but I assume that you came here looking for honest opinions, if I were a buyer looking at this truck, these are the first things that I would notice.

I don't know what kind of figure you or the family have in mind, but I will give you a couple of ideas. 1956 is a very desirable year for F100 trucks, for larger pickups not so much and for flatbeds even less. To give you an example, we have a member who recently did a complete frame off restoration of a 1956 F250 pickup. He did a beautiful job, when he listed this truck on ebay, he could not even muster a $10K bid.
You also have to consider your market, Wyoming is a rather small market, and transportation cost to a friendlier market (east coast, west coast) will further reduce the value.
I'm in TN, so the transportation cost for me would pretty much eat up a majority of the trucks value, hopefully a few of our members in your area can give you a fair idea, but to be fair, more information would be needed for anyone to give you an honest idea of a value.

Oh, and Welcome to FTE!

 

Harleymsn, you're on the money on all of your comments. This obviously has been a work truck for years, but it's a well-kept one. I had already told the owner that the market would be small and that Wyoming folks were few and far between. I'm a restorer, so I know what you're saying about the paint. It is my understanding that there was no rust-through, but I have not seen (and will not see) the truck (distance).

Your comment on the air cleaner was interesting. I wonder what was going on there. Bruce (the owner) remembers the truck from the early days but doesn't remember it ever not having the dump bed (which still works, BTW).

Not being a car guy, my friend is not going to be doing too much assessing. He's also not trying to make a killing on the thing. The truck has just lived in a non-salt environment for 60 years, had a paint job once and has had basic maintenance. If someone is looking for such a beast, this is one of 'em -- obviously a driver at this point in its life.


Thanks, -Bob

 

A working dump bed will add a few dollars to the final price.

 

Good point, abe. I bet fixing one of those can get into some $$s.

 

Ray's '56 F350 came stock with non-WM wheels, and looking closely as I can at these, I'm not sure these are. A better, close-up picture would confirm. That makes a big difference in value, too.

 

Thanks, Ross. I've asked Bruce to see if he can get a close-up taken.

 

Also, note the difference between the front and rear wheel types. Obviously modified at one or more times.
Edit: Fronts wheels look to be six lug which would be correct. I can not tell about the off set.

 

Thanks, Ray. Couldn't prove it by me. That's why I'm here, listening to the experts!


-Bob

 

I can't help at all with value, but you have some extremely knowledgeable people commenting here.
I think it's a sharp looking truck. Notice the running boards. With them that long, would that mean that it had a regular bed on at one time?
The larger trucks don't go for near as much, but I think they are cool.

 

Thanks for weighing in, Harrier. Harleymsn picked up on the long running boards too. It's interesting that Bruce didn't know about the addition of the dump bed. I'll have to ask him if his dad bought the truck new or used, and when.


The large truck value is the same for the brand X truck I'm working on. At the risk of me being thrown off the forum, see the next post for a "Day 1" pic and a little progress:

 

 

Holy smokes that is a beautiful chassis.

 

Thanks, Harrier. You learn to do all this stuff and then your body gives up ! (Actually, I'm hangin' in there pretty well. Just the normal aches & pains...)