Hey Guys,
I just got into the wonderful world of car restoration after I finally found a truck that I can buy. It is what I believe to be a 1959 F-100.

I'm hoping for some advice on

• what a reasonable purchase price would be for a truck in this condition
• the best approach on how to start (I've never restored a car before but I am very motivated to learn)
• the cost of materials ( I plan to do this by myself with the help of some friends), etc.....

I've uploaded some pics for you guys to see

Thanks!

 

Hi and welcome! Looks like it has solid bones. I can't give an answer as to what it's worth without knowing how well it runs drives, stops. The cost will depend on what you have in mind and your budget. Remember that old and new vehicles are a money pit.

 

The bed is off a Dodge pickup. It is sitting low in the rear of the bed, possibly from being rear ended and bending the frame. That could be why there's a Dodge bed that don't fit in a Ford truck.

Those models of trucks are known to rust. Look closely.

Unless there is much more good than seen, and the price is really right, I might would pass. But, that's just me. I'm getting old and don't want to take on the hard projects I used to.

 

I agree with yardbird. Unless you have fallen in love you might want to pass. It looks like someone has lowered it front and rear. That is OK if done properly but it needs to be verified. With the wrong bed on there the wheels don't line up in the center of the wheel wells. On the inside and under the hood their looks to be a lot of originality still there. Is there a gas cap on both sides of the cab? From what I can see in the pics, it also looks like the gap between the door and the cab is definitely bigger on the bottom than the top on the front edge of the door. To me, it would make me wonder about the cab mounts and cab supports. All this stuff can be fixed, not a showstopper but how involved do you want to get.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies.
@yardbird I see what you're saying about the bed. All the other ones I've seen online do not look like that.
Originally the owner asked for $8500 and then today he texted me saying that some guy came to him and offered him $7000.......makes me think he's going for less because there might be some other problems.

@spurredon there are 2 gas caps one on either side. I was actually wondering about that.
I do want to get pretty involved in the repairs. I have a friend who used to restore cars and he said he would help out.
Would you say that $7000 is a good price?

I attached some pics of the underside

 

I think 7 is way too high for the work that truck needs, but markets differ around the country. On the upside, the body looks pretty solid & the frame & undercarrige look to only have surface rust. In my limited experience with the classic car markets, everyone seems to ask double what they really want for these things/

 

That truck has been sitting a good while. The front axle has no fresh oil that would drip from the engine draft tube, the frame has weeds all the way down the drivers side, the exhaust is a mixture of patches.

The bed has just been put on, telling by the fresh wood, electrical wires laying across the exhaust pipes, ect. Question is what happened to the original bed? Why is the front of the truck leaning down one direction and the rear the other? There is something wrong there, and unless I could climb under it and measure myself, I would guess bowed from in the middle. I see pictures from the middle underneath have been left out. Is that on purpose.

Finding a good '57-'60 wide bed will be hard. Finding a narrow bed will also be hard, but easier. I'm sure someone probably makes an aftermarket kit.

Then there is the question of why the front fenders gap so wide at the bottom where they meet the door. I don't see rust, but that is a good indicator, as is the Maryland tag on the front.

I would also want to see under those floor mats for rust.

From what I can see, the underneath is clean for the year, and in decent shape, except the above question, is the frame bent.

That is a big, multi-year job if you are wanting to restore to cruise-in specs. Not as much if a drive around beater. Still a lot of work. I would especially hear the engine run.

Have someone that knows body and mechanical look at it with you. I mean really knows their stuff, hot Harry next door that owns an older pickup he bought.

Don't buy if online. I bought a '64 T-Bird that in the pictures looked great. It was only a fairly short distance from me, so I knew I had an out. When I got there, there was hardly a place that didn't have rust holes in it. Great photography to hide what they did. I gave them $100.00 to let me back out. Lesson learned.

That's about a $3500.00 truck to me, but I'm not up on recent prices. And, I'm not young anymore. If I wanted to restore anything, I have my '87 F150 I've had for 31 years, and I don't even want to mess with that.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

 

I'd be prepared to replace the front cab mounts. As stated the fender alignment is off. Only one rear shock with coil is probably the cause of lean to one side. Proceed with caution

 

I agree 7 is probably double, especially with the wrong box and the plywood bed. Looking at it as yardbird said, they just recently dragged it out for your approval. I believe for 7K you could buy something that you could drive. This could still be a starting point for you if you are in love but remember, love hurts! LOL

 

I like the big mirrors. I don't really care about the hitch. I noticed some of them have a larger fuel tank. I like that. Is there really gonna be much of a difference with rear ends on a ten speed transmission? What's the difference between the two Lariats?

 

Everything mentioned above means that this would be an exceptionally difficult project for a first attempt at restoration. I would suggest you might want to get something that's a better starting point.

Lou Manglass

 

Not sure where you are, but this looks like a $2000 or maybe $2500 truck to me. Lots of issues, Dodge bed, lowered, likely a very tired Y-block, At $7000, I would keep looking.

 

I’m new to this thread and I totally agree that this is a lot to take on and for 7k, dude is tripping.

I recently bought a 66 F100 SWB and I’m wishing I paid less- I paid 6700$. See image for reference. A fella on Salt Lake has another 67 SWB for 9k, and it has a 352 and 4, and it’s lowered. Just saying.

Look at me go, been on FTE a day and now I have opinions. lol.

 

All that to show off your truck! LOL! Nice looking truck. Welcome to FTE!