Hope all of you folks had a Merry Christmas. Just got back from East Texas and the annual familly get together.

Two days before Christmas the seller called me to see if I was still interested. And I was. Got the truck for $3,900. I think he really needed the Christmas money.

Someone on the board here mentioned that his ebay reserve was $3,500 so I asked him about that. He said his reserve was $4,000. I really don't think he had a clue about what he was doing.

Then again, maybe I'm the one without the clue.

Anyway, trucks in the drive way. I'm, of course, finding stuff I didn't see originally. There is a fair ammount of rust in the bed. I hadn't pulled the *heavy* mat back far enough to find it before. I opened the left quarter flap and now it whistles like crazy. The brakes aren't working worth a flip and they were ok the first time I drove it. (That's when I found the bottle of brake fluid under the seat.) With the seat/steering wheel combination I can't see the blinkers and most of the guages. (My daughter said I drove the entire way home with a blinker on.) So, looks like a new column and wheel are in order.

So, now the fun begins. I'll certainly be hanging around pestering you with questions about this and that.

Thanks for all of your help and advice and have a safe and happy new year.

Jenner

p.s. Now I have to get rid of my 1980 corvette. And for a Ford! My daddy is rollin' in his grave.

 

Great news from ya Jenner -- we was beginin' to think we had doled all that advice out for nothin', or worse, we had helped a seller raise the price of his truck.

This little stuff, except for the rust in the bed, is all fixable. How is the cab corners, bottom of the posts (under where the doors hinge, and the front cab mounts? Now that you can do it, I would remove the access panels to the front cab supports and wash out whats in there. Same story for the front cab posts, as well as the ends of the middle cab channel. I'd pull the gas tank sometime and clean the rear cab corners too.

One thing I guess I would like to say -- it irks me that people list on eBay and end auctions early, as it does FordboyPete as well. I am not really gettin' on you Jenner -- this guy has shown himself willing to break the rules anyhow, so who were you to know he wouldn't sell it to someone else early and you would be left holdin' the bag (pig in poke!) But, nonetheless, it just irks me. An auction is an auction, at least where I grew up. And it ain't over till all the bidders done shut up 'cept one!

Merry Christmas to you, and Happy New Year too.....

 

Good luck with your truck. Hope you are happy with it. I am not the one who originally brought it up, but the second time he listed it, his auction listing indicated the $3500 reserve in the description. Look closely it is in there. So, I guess he got a little bit of extra Christmas cash to spend, but the great thing about the American Free Enterprise System is that something is worth what a willing buyer is willing to spend. (But I agree...It irritates me to see someone end an auction and then rip someone off for extra money.)

 

Thanks David. I've actually only had a couple of hours to check out the truck once I got it home. I was leaving that day and just got back today.

There is a rust/rotted area about 1'x2' exactly in the center if the bed. Otherwise, I have found little rust. Underneath looks extremely good. That's what attraced me to the truck. It must have sat in a garage or covered area for years. Since it was re-conditioned, it is no where near restored, it looks like its seen some weather. There are some very small rock chips up front that are starting to rust through but all in all very minor.

As far as ebay goes I've had experiences there as well. I once had the high bid on a pair of t-tops for the vette only to have the them withdrawn when they were sold locally. That seller did not have a disclaimer either. If you look at the ebay pictures ot this truck, it had a for sale sign painted on the windshield. That would be enough for me. Caveat emptor!

Just to set the record straight. I originally found this truck through local classified ads. When contacted, the seller steered me to his ebay auction for pictures. I don't know squat about Ford trucks so I found you guys and asked your opinion just as I do on the corvette forum. His auction page was a convienient refference nothing more. I don't use ebay and would not buy a vehicle through their servece. Its just to risky. Its hard enough not to get taken when you buy the car in person.

Jenner

 

MCHinson, yeah I thought about that. My gut feel is that he really wanted the 4.5k for the truck but just couldn't hold out long enough to get it. Very bad time of the year to be selling. Last of January would have been much better. Bottom line, I think he would have withdrawn the vehicle before the reserve was met if he didn't think it would get the price he wanted.

I'm new to the world of old trucks and it remains to see whether I did ok or not. The point is, this truck body/frame is in the best condition of any I've seen in the last six months of searching and that means a lot to me.

Am I happy? Don't know yet. I certainly don't feel ripped off. Ask me again in six or seven months. Maybe by then I'll have something that stops, steers and keeps me cool in 107 degree Dallas temperatures (besides looking good).

Jenner

 

Jenner,

Congratulations, glad to see you were thr buyer afterall. Also good to know our combined consensus of opinions & takes turned out to be fairly accurate from the distance we made them at. It was a diverse and varied assesment for sure!

Ridiculous as this may sound, if Hyundai, Kia, & Geo can get $10K or so for their Low End Puddle Jumping rice runners then somehow, in my head anyhow, less than 40% of that, for a Slick that's turn-key enough to drive home doesn't seem out of line. Especially if it looks pretty good too.

Good luck with it and if you need help, suggestions, etc. ask. There are enough good sources and references here we usually come up with answers, or info to choose from.

Anyway good luck, good fun and happy times with your Slick 60s truck. Also happy Holidays..........
FBp

 

Way to go, Jenner! Congratulations! I don't think anyone here will tell you that's a bad deal, especially if they looked at the truck - in two words: GREAT START! $3,900 is a steal. FBp was right - to go from a non-running basket case to that ride would be in the area of $10,000 skins quick.

You're so far ahead of the curve, it's unreal; I've had my 66 since I was 14, and I only wish it looked like yours now (it used to!). To make that a comfortable daily driver in Texas is so doable, your limiting reagents are going to be you, your wallet, an understanding spouse and a place to work on it, because the parts are right there in the D/FW boneyards and new aftermarket. I'd rough guess and say for $1,500 from here, you can find that leak, refresh, and have brakes that stop on a dime and give you nine cents change and a sweet aftermarket a/c system (they're everywhere) that will have icicles hanging off your nose. Unless you have unforseen major drivetrain problems, that's all I saw in the auction to get you where you want to be. Now if you want to barrel down the 1/4 mile at 130 mph like I want to, that's another thing entirely..............

You're so close to where you want to be with the truck now, as long as you realize that unless you do your own frame off resto-mod, you will always have little things to tinker with like brakes, engine stuff, electrical, suspension...nothing that can't be fixed with a little time especially if you frequent here. I've said it before, it's like having 100 years of experience right in your shop.

Welcome to the brotherhood of Slick 60's - it's a good group!