Hi Guys,

You may not remember, years ago i was here already asking for advice on buying a rodded 56 (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...56-seeked.html)
You guys were really helpful and kept me from doing a mistake.
I kept on looking (4 years, almost 5) and now here i am again, i think this time it looks very promising. I asked the seller to take pictures of all the rust problem areas (that i know about).
It is completely stock, even has the stock front suspension, except it has a chevy 350 and a 700R4 transmission that supposedly runs, minus gas and a battery. he said his son did the engine swap, he is a mechanic.
Would you be so kind and evaluate the truck and tell me if it is any good?
































































Thank you
Max

 

Looks like a pretty solid looking truck to me..

 

Looks really solid , shame about the butched dash but not a deal breaker .Pretty much all stock except for engine trans which you can keep or not .

 

I agree, it does look very good and is in better shape than most. Tom

 

Couple of basics :
Does it have a title?
What other parts are included? Seat? Radiator? Trim?
Why was the swap unfinished?

 

Hi guys, thanks a lot for your input! It is really valuable to me.

Yes, i thought that too. Fortunately they still have the original dash, dirty but looks unharmed?
Yes, he has a clean title on hand, there´s a bench installed in the truck, it does not look like there is an original bench. I would replace that probably anyway.
What do you mean by radiator? It looks like there is one connected to the engine behind the grille, but i may be mistaken? or do you mean the AC radiator ?
It has the Custom Cab trim, but none of the hood emblems or the F100 side hood ornaments.
He said he wanted to restore it with his son, but then they moved and his son went to the airforce. He had it for the last 16 years .

Without telling you how much it costs, what would you consider a fair/good price for it?
Thank you
Max

 

I missed the splendor that is the crushed velour bench likely from an eighties k-car. You're correct, there is a radiator lurking behind the grille.

The truck, as fine as the bones appear, is still an abandoned project. Abandoned projects are nearly always sold at a steep discount regardless of the seller's claims. It isn't running and driving. To me, it is a $4000 to 5000 truck with another 5k in the budget to finish. That puts you into it for about the right total amount. Smarter folks may disagree.

 

Location, location, location........ price is all about condition and location.
Im sure if it gets blasted there will be holes in the cab corners, inner door bottoms, even a few pin holes in the roof. There is no such thing as a rust free 56 anymore. Even so, it’s a really good start, much better than most.
Now here in Ohio I’d say that’s a $6500 truck and maybe more.
Is the truck local to you? Will you have to pay to have it shipped?

 

Haha yes you are right, it is an absolutely precious piece of bench-ness. Good info on the abandoned projects.


Yes, I´m sure as well that it will have its spots. I´m going to stock up on patch panels just in case.
The truck is on the border California/Arizona, and before it was in Utah.
The seller wants $8250 obo. I will see if i can reason with him a bit, based on your estimations.

I will have to get it shipped to Los Angeles, there a cargo company will send it on a ship on its way to Germany where i want to restore it.
I´m not sure yet how i will do it,
Option 1 is i have 2 friends living in LA that i could send to pick the truck up in a Uhaul and bring it to LA where the cargo company will pick it up and put it on the ship, in the meantime i could order some replacement parts to my friends house so the parts can ship together with the truck. they are 260 miles away from the seller. however they dont really have space, and i would have to rent a parking space, plus the uhaul plus gas.
Option 2 would be to have the cargo company pick it up directly from the seller and have my friend bring the replacements to the shipping company separately.

i´m a bit undecisive at the moment. What would be better? With option 1 i can have my friend look at it in peace and tell me what i need.

 

Back in the 70s I was stationed in Germany. One of my buddies brought his 55 F-100 over with him. It lasted about a year before it was hit and totaled. He bought it back from the insurance company and started fixing it back up with the help of J.C. Whitney. Unfortunately, he was transferred before it was complete and they wouldn’t ship a damaged vehicle. Bottom line last I was it it was in a military junk yard waiting to be sold as scrap.

I relay this story only to emphasize getting the parts required all at once. A connex full of truck and parts would be the best way to go. If I was attempting this endeavor I believe I’d want to have my eyes on the truck, or at least someone that knew these trucks very well. I’m sure there are members in the LA area that could help.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Since you are overseas getting someone with experience on these trucks to look at it before hand will save you $ and time . I would first make a firm decision on your plans for the truck . If the chevy drive train is ok with you I would still be prepared to rebuild both . There is very little done other than engine trans mounts and I would put very little value on the engine - trans so I my mind that is one of your biggest decisions . I would ask the seller how much he would take without the engine and trans as you may want to keep it Ford , this will give you a pretty good idea of what he values the engine-trans at giving you a pretty good idea of how good it is . I am sure that there are members here that would be happy to have a look at it for you .

 

Hi NitroFreak,

that truck looks promising, but as mentioned before, You’ll surely find some surprises. But it looks more solid than most of the other trucks offered in the www as a restoration base.
When I bought my truck in the U.S., I sent a guy to
a) check the truck for me (there were some points the seller didn’t mention)
b) help me to make a list which spare parts I’d need (so I could order them in the U.S. and ship them to Germany together with the truck - parts for these trucks are difficult to get here)

I paid 250 $ for that check but it was more than worth that money. Maybe you can go that way too or does your friend have the knowledge to check the truck?
If I were You, I’d try to get rid of the engine right in the U.S. and buy a Ford motor at Tim McMasters in California or somewhere else and get it shipped with the truck.
If I can help You with some contacts, just let me know. Where in Germany do you come from?

 

Thanks for the tips, guys!
Yes i do agree that i want to get all the spares right from the get-go, which is why i wanted the truck at my friend´s doorstep first, so that we can check it out over facetime "in person".
He is not familiar with the trucks, he is just a good friend that moved there a year ago.
It is definitely a good idea to have someone go over it, i would have just gone through the midfifty or LMC truck catalogue and select everything that i think might be necessary.
I don´t own one, but i have checked out 4 of them in person so far and have read quite a bit about them and have gone through countless restoration threads/blogs.

Does anybody know somebody in the 90018 ZIP region or close?

There is a selection of the 1956 parts growing in germany, some vendors do start to take it up in their catalogue, the most important replacements like rubber seals, rebuild kits and the most important patch panels.
However while I´m already at it, i would definitely get all of it in the US.

Another question, the front windshield looks uncracked, however it is a bit cloudy it seems. Does it make sense to replace that also or can the original one be polished back up to be clear again?

@rico56 I´m based in Munich and Frankfurt, however i want to make the restoration in Waldaschaff (near frankfurt) as my father has a barn where there´s space to do it all. Where in Rheinland are you at?

 

Cloudy windshield is the plastic between the panes and cant be polished .

 

I’m in the ‘Westerwald - Western Forest’ not far from Siegen