"these 1961-64 trucks are at the bottom of the food chain,"

OUCH!!! J/K

As you said beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

 

Tiremine,
I will extend an appology. Your truck looks better than any vehicle I have EVER owned. (I notice you put in a modern drive-train and that you took advantage of the ease of dropping a solid axle.)

I learned to drive on a '51 F-1 with a solid axle and there is no easier suspension to work on. My first & favorite engines to work on were flatheads & Y-blocks. For many purposes the '61-'64's are great. One thing I like about these is that they still have inside "running boards", which is especially nice if the truck is above stock height.

BUT: For lots of high-speed long-distance highway driving, hauling, & towing the twin-I-beam suspensions and later engines are the "way to go".

('64 & earlier should work fine in a parade & occasional local driving.)

 

I stated in my answer to the OP that what I said was my opinion, and my opinion alone. It was mainly based on the asking price...totally outrageous for this model having a 6 banger with next to no equipment. I've bought and sold 100's of cars over the years, and have learned that much of what sells in live car auctions and on ebay is shilled to death. In the late 1970's I worked Saturdays for a local Classic Car dealer who had affliations with several of the big auction sellers. If one knew how some of these outfits operated, you'd never attend an auction or bid on ebay again.


That said, most of the price guides published today do not reflect real time prices, as some are based on what ppl are asking for their vehicles, not what they actually sold for. When based on auctions sales alone, take any price guide with a large grain of salt.

 

So, Bill, will you shill-bid for me when I list my '61 on eBay?

JUST KIDDING!!

A young aquaintance of mine may be typical of the eBay generation. He listed an item (over $2,000 value) and sent me an e-mail asking me to shill-bid for him. I politely refused and now hold his integrity somewhat lower than I had before this incident. I did let him know that he was out of my bounds.

My auction advice for On- & 0ff-line auctions:
o Do your homework. I have seen people pay considerably over list price.
o Set your personal limit. What is this item worth to you, right now.
o Absolutely do not let "auction fever" change that limit - let it go.

On a $10K vehicle there is a lot of room for trouble. You need a someone you pay to check it out in person, though I am not so sure that all appraisers are that trustworthy after reading about some on other FTE threads.

Some inspectors are good: In return for installing a water pump & a starter, the classiccarguy did an inspection & write-up on my '65 F-100. It took him over an hour and he found things I did not even know about. His write-up was available on-line to any potential bidder who would pay the $25 (?) fee. A good seller (there must be some) gets this independent inspection before listing his vehicle. (I guess you still have to watch out for fakes . . . I think I'll stick to face-to-face sales. That is how I sold my '65.)

 

Guys,
No apology needed and no offence taken. Just jerking your chain. We are all here because we love these old trucks and want to help others who own them.

 

It isn't just cars that are shilled, you name it, someone shilled it. Earlier today I received an email from a long time friend with a link to a well known firearms auction site. He said.."look at this!" The firearm in question brought over 11 grand, twice what it would normally be worth. One guy had about 10 bids on it. The usual collectors on this site who bid and buy this particular model backed off around 5 grand. So when I saw all the higher bids, I knew something smelled and it wasn't hay.

 

That is ashamed, but so so true!

 

This is starting to drift in the realm of philosophy, but something is "worth" whatever a willing buyer and a willing seller agree on.

The reality is, that truck (or really most other vintage iron) is "worth" about $500 even if restored to a letter-perfect chalk-mark concourse restoration. That's where ya gotta start at this valuation thing. This is why you could probably do much, much better for your $10.5k. Not to say that isn't a nice truck. That is for insurance purposes as just one example. Or, for another angle - let's say that in your state sales taxes are based on an arbitrary figure versus actual *ahem* cash price paid.