good morning everyone, thanks for all the replies, i finally got to go take a close look at the truck, she's getting pretty soft, ct does not require a tittle for older vehicles so bill of sale only, thats not a deal breaker but could be a pain, I'm going to look into that a little further. the frame is like new, flat bed pretty beat up. ill let the pics speak for the rest of the truck. the owner is asking 2500

 

problem is i wasn't looking for one because I'm currently working on my 65, but i could stash it away for the future cause i know ill say "remember that now I passed up for 2500?" then id be mad at myself. I've passed on a lot of deals over the years that i regret not pulling the trigger on, i just think this might be another one

 

She's pretty crusty. The Ford script flatbed on the F100 is unusual.

I'm assuming from all the accumulated stuff that the truck doesn't run and drive. If you have experience with rust repair, you already know the drill. If the drip rails and hood are sound, you are in better shape than some others.

It appears to be complete and deserves to be saved. Make your deal and drag it home so you can begin to collect the panels and replacement pieces needed for the resto.

Enjoy the journey.

 

She does run and drive, I know that journey all too well! I always tell people around here (CT) the first $500 dollars of a project should be a plane ticket out west to get something rust free. The drip rails are in good shape the cab came from out west when she got done 22 years ago!

 

It's the allure of the price, and it's about 2 miles away from me that has me on the fence. I guess I could buy it for my 9 year old son and tell him it's his

 

That is a good deal for $2500. It is an unmolested original truck. It has the script bed with the skid strips, the spare tire carrier, a rear bumper, the shield tail lights, the engine and engine bay look good. There is rust in the usual places but it is not too bad. The hood is good and as was said the drip rail is good. You even get a spare steering wheel and some bicycle parts!

I also like the color! If you don't buy it I am sure there are guys here are close enough that will buy it. It needs to be saved as it is sitting outside rusting away.

 

Lots of rust. I passed on trucks that looked like that but primarily because they weren't close and shipping a rusted truck didn't appeal to me. But since this one is close to you, it might be worth throwing an offer at. And like said above, you can always stash it while you collect the replacement parts. You can do the rust repair, right? Otherwise the cost to a body shop to accomplish that task will outweigh any savings on the initial buy.

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

Lots of great advice on this thread. These threads are always so difficult though, because there are so many factors that go into price that would take forever to outline in words. (that said, I'm notorious for "should I" threads, so, nice to meet you kettle, my name's pot).

A couple of things you should nail down before you become infatuated with any single truck
-what is your end goal? Sunday drive car? Show car? Work truck? Anything can be anything, but some take more work to get there
-what are your skills? Love body work and rust repair? Are you mechanically bent, or would you rather do an engine swap or driveline adjustments or refinish the interior? Often it's a combo, but you can find one that gets you closer than others
-what's your space like? Part storage, working room, clean/dirty all contribute to what you can do
-what's your budget. Because... Money.

Throw all that into the blender and you get an idea of what you ideally want, and what you can pay for. Then you look at the other side, and the seller has all his sweat equity in his truck, and asks what he wants for his barn find / hunk-a-junk.

Its a fun process! Enjoy the journey, and keep us posted! The more you update on what you find and why you like/don't like certain ones helps narrow down the search.

 

Hey WC,
A running driving truck for $2,500... Hmmmmm...And it's 2 miles from your house...
That's worth it. Fiberglass fenders are $250 each so it's really the cab & hood that's going
to be some work. You live some place cold .. what else are you going to do in the winter.
You'll blink your eyes & your son will be 15 with a learners permit looking for a nice beater
truck for his first ride.

Come on WC go for it - it's meant to be. You'll kick yourself if you don't.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

For the price it's not awful, but that's a lot of rust, and that's only what you can see. Once you get the paint stripped away, and get down to the metal, my money is you're going to find out it's a lot worse.

Still, a runner and driver for $2500...I can see why it's hard to pass up.

 

If owning a 56 flatbed is a life long dream, sure.
I would pass, maybe a few years ago I would have but I have a yard full of "good deals".
Think what that money would do to your camper special.
You cant have them all. I've tried. Unfortunately they are all in various states of decay. the reality is if I really want something nice, one day I'll have to have a somewhat painful bargain sale.

 

Bite the bullet and buy the damn truck.
I would show him the rust and offer $1500.
B ump it up to $1800 if needed but dont go
over 2K. Tell him the extra $500 wont buy
much of the needed patch panels. Myself if I
couldn't get him down to $1800 I would prolly
walk away. And I can do the body work. It's
close so that is worth something. And happy
Fathers Day to all you FTE dads out there.

 

Now that I see the obvious rust, I would drop the price considerably. $2-$3 thousand, max. My original estimate was for a more solid truck. Lots of rust repair there. If you hit that one with a pressure washer, there will be holes.