Of course it will need a total brake job and tires, along with an engine rebuild, wiring harness, on and on. Frankly in the current condition 6300.00 is quite a lot for a bigger jailbar truck in non running condition. I'm just a sucker for that original paint. To be useable it will need another 5 grand with the cost of engine rebuilds these days.

 

Plus shipping.

I asked him about the '51 in some of the pics; he sold that to someone in the Czech Republic and it's on the way there now.

 

About six years ago I sold a 53 f350 9' pickup to a guy in British Columbia for 4600.00. He drove it home and a couple years later it was on 'bring a trailer' for 12 grand just the same as when I sold it except for an exhaust stack through a hole cut in the running board. It showed up on FTE a few months later at it's new home in New Zealand. Some guys are just better at marketing than others.....

 

1946 Ford Other Pickups One | eBay

 

Now the seller can travel North to source another 6 trucks. He must have some good tricks to get Ca titles for these things....

 

Way more than it's worth. For 6600 it should be running, not froze up.

 

But when something sells on ebay with 26 bids and no reserve, doesn't that determine what it's actually worth? I really don't know, I'm just wondering

 

Somewhat, but there are always bidding wars that discount that. I saw a set of 47 Truck running boards get 27 bids and bring $450 so I put a better set up for a $295 buy it now and didn't get any takers. I would have thought the second bidder on the $450 set would have been all over mine. Not.

 

It might be a lot, but think of somebody who might restore this truck, how many hours and searching for parts are going to be saved? How many on here are looking for tonner 'gates, and have been, for a while, and even willing to take a rusted gate and rebuild it. Think of the savings in time and material that is saved with that near perfect bed floor. Not everyone has the skills GB and WB have in fabrication. I mean, the grille bars are perfect, how much is a perfect original, grille going for now? It's the high end, yes, but as an easy restoration, this truck has it. Hell, this truck would be perfect to polish up, replace the engine, and go.
eBay is a bad gauge for retail values, we all know this, for vehicles in general. But really, an item is worth what people are willing to pay. Auctions work in seller favors, emotions run high, bids are placed.

 

They always say to buy the best one you can afford. The body on that one was nice and would have avoided many hours and $$. Mechanicals are comparatively easy vs bodywork for most people I think (me included).

And, GB, you've always been ahead of the curve; patina is in and this truck has all that but isn't a rust bucket either. The perfect storm as it were...

 

I agree with you both 100% But my train of thought (being the cheap bastad I am) is that it's not really a popular model like a 1/2 ton, not something you can get out on the highway with, basically a small town go to coffee and parade vehicle and to me it's just (ultimately) a lot of money for something that's main lot in life is to take up good garage space. If a jailbar tonner to fix up was what you had your heart set on, then yeah, a way better deal than starting with a more experienced one with parts missing.

 

I have spent some time with friends in both SW Montana and SE Oregon. While visiting the Oregon friend I needed a part at napa and he said "jump in my truck, it's just down the road".... 45 minutes later at 80 mph we were there. The distances traveled on straight roads in the Great West are mind boggling to me. What I have learned through my Montana trips is that most Montana guys drive as new a truck as they can possibly afford, as the weather and distances dictate that. Here on Orcas Island one could daily drive a well maintained stock model A with no problems. We have one straightaway about 3/4 mile long and another about a half mile long. Both of them have a 40 mph speed limit, the rest of the hilly, twisty roads are 35, punctuated by the occasional 20. Not sure how many miles of paved roads, but the island is about 75 sq miles IIRC. I'm totally with you that it would not be any fun driving a tonner for an hour at top speed in a straight line. My '59 f350 with the small cummins does 80 quite handily, if not quietly, and it loves the mainland so if I wanna go old trucking 'over town', then it's the '59 for sure, but I don't go there too often because it's scary and they have traffic lights. (I think my high school English teacher would call that last one a 'run on sentence')........

 

Yeah, being just minutes from the great open expanses of Wyoming and Montana, and with a lot of truck traffic, you better have something that can cruise 70 or you will cause a wreck and probably be in it.
I've actually been running the speed limit in Montana and had 3 bull racks nose to tail run past me like a freight train. Easy going 85-90. A lot of my friends live 75 miles from the closest parts or hardware store. I bought my 59 at an auction on 50 miles of gravel south of Broadus. That's why there is still stuff out there. Most of the people in this country just have no idea places that remote even exist

 

I ride motorcycles out there and agree, it's easy to make good speed on the roads big and small. However, I was coming down I-15 from Canada and coming off the mountain into Helena and got pulled over by MHP. He got me for 90 in a 75 - which cost $40 + $2 paying it online; that would be ~$300+ fine in Florida.

I took my helmet off immediately so he can see I'm a harmless old feller and it was a pretty friendly conversation. He asked me if I had a gun and I said "no", then he went on "because it's all right if you do, I just want to know". I didn't, but I really thought he was going to let me go with a warning to slow down, but that was not to be. I guess the old ******* from Florida gotta pay a road tax from time to time Lol.

I've been on some of the backroads in places where the towns are 50 miles apart and you have to pretty much do 80+ or you'll get run over. My FJR keeps up just fine, but a 40s Ford with stock running gear wouldn't be all that good anywhere but on the ranch.

 

The title on my 59 was transferred to the rancher in 1979 and that was the year of plates it had. It was apparently never driven to town.