What would you do

[hamllik]

I just picked up a 1956 3600 today and I wanted your guys input. It has I believe a 235/ 4spd combo. I dont believe it is original and I was told it uses oil and would kill a set of plugs. I bought this truck to flip it. I have a good 350/th350 cobo I can stick in it. Do you think it would sell better with the 6 or the v8. I like the old sixes but I would like to focus on getting the dents out and laying on some paint then rebuilding the six. Just let me know what you guys think.

[blackdiesel]

You might be better than me, but I've only been able to biuld a truck or car that is worth what I had in it for parts. So my labor was free. I would do as little as possible. Be sure you enjoy the work. JMO

[55metalmonkey]

Thats exactly how I started almost the same situation and intent... then I started swaping and modifying stuff... it steam rolls pretty quickly. It's the ol "well since I got it all apart and this *bla bla bla* thing should be fixed. If you want to flip it fix the I6, pretty it up a bit you will be much further ahead if your looking to make a quick bit of cash.
If you want to do it to keep busy and it's one of those things you always wanted to do then 350/350. as long as your doing your truck the way you want.
I was just going to fix and flip mine but with all the hard work I probably won't let it go when I'm done.


Like the saying goes:
If you want to make a small fortune, start with a large fortune.... get into restoring classic cars.... sell it for a major loss, then you will have a small fortune.

Just my 2 cents

[Russell Ashley]

Good advice in the previous posts. You said you were told it burns oil, does that mean that you haven't heard it run? If so, I'd get it running and see exactly how it runs and drives, and then make a decision. I think your best chance of making money on it would be to make it look better and leave the six in it. Spend as little as you can and concentrate on appearance, not mechanical condition.
A purchaser might have their own ideas about what they want to do with it and the 350 might not fit their plans. You can always sell them the 350 if that's what they want.

I might not be the right person to listen to about this though, as I always seem to loose money on most of my deals, LOL.

[Indian113]

If your like me I buy GOLD and I sell Junk,at least thats what I'm told

[OrrieG]

Take a hard look at what similar project rigs are selling for in your area. Look at ebay COMPLETED sales, not what people are asking. If you are flipping it do as little as possible so you can make money. I saw lots of cars this weekend that the owners and buildings will never recover just the cost of materials if they can sell them. My wife has asked me if I could make money turning my hobby into a business and I haven't figured out a way to do it yet. We just do not have the same raw resource base the guys in the larger states like CA, TX and back east do and shipping cost murder us. You did not say what you paid or expect to get but around here half completed projects or raw project cars are going cheap or are way over priced.

[hamllik]

I have ran and drove the truck 4 years ago. It fired right up after I put an electric pump on it the mechanical one is bad. I drove it but the carb needs rebuilt so it wouldn't go very fast but it had no breaks so that was a good thing. I remember it had good oil pressure. I paid 350 for the truck and I got the 350 for some work I did and it ran when I pulled it. The th350 trans works great and I gave 25.00 for it. I was trying to get 1500-2000 for it done with a flat black paint job and gloss black interior. The truck came with all the patch panels and I allready did the fenders 4 years ago for the previous owner. This is just a hobby I'm not trying to get rich over night but I have other projects and want to fund them with this ones sale.

[55metalmonkey]

if thats the case you should do fine with it IMO,. At least you know the truck and have a realistic plan, in my area you'd be selling that (competed) for at least $6000 or more BTW
I've seen some money pits before where they look good on the surface but once you dig into them and see some previous repairs you slowly realize nothing was ever done right. I have a few spots like that on mine (hillbilly BS repair) but thankfully I'm down to the last 2 panels to fix.

If you have the eng/trans combo for that price I'd dump the 6 and put them in,

[hamllik]

Got the six fired up tonight and she runs great, so I'm keeping the 235 in it. Thanks for all your feed back. I will post some pics when I can.

[RichG]

Nicely done!

[dicer]

I would only pay parts price for a truck someone modifys. Real collectors only want stock and will pay a handsome price for a nice one.

[RichG]

Originally Posted by dicer

I would only pay parts price for a truck someone modifys. Real collectors only want stock and will pay a handsome price for a nice one.

That's a pretty narrow statement, "only real collectors". Just a wild guess, but you're going to pay more than "parts price" for a running '56 in decent condition.

[55metalmonkey]

Originally Posted by dicer

I would only pay parts price for a truck someone modifys. Real collectors only want stock and will pay a handsome price for a nice one.

That is quite the pretentious statement!

find me one that is TRUELY stock and I'll point out all the modifications that were done in the resto..... the original fit and finish on these trucks was crap, most so called restos have had every body panel modified to fit the way we like it today. To date I have only seen 2 trucks that were TRUE to stock. most of these trucks are always over restored...

[Kabwe]

RichG and 55metalmonkey,

This guy (Dicer) has been making statements like this since he joined. I think a lot of us have started to just ignore them because they are truly ridiculous.

First off owning 1 or 2 or even 3 or 4 vintage cars does not make you a vintage car collector. Jay Leno and Reggie Jackson, now those guys are collectors, and I'll bet there are some modified cars in their collection. I know there is in Jay Leno's I seen a show where he modified a car. Just because you have one or two nice baseball cards does not make you a a baseball card collector. You are just a guy that has one or two nice baseball cards. True collectors have lots of really nice rare and valuable cards.

Second, just because a car or truck is stock does not make it worth more then a modified car or truck. It depends on what kind of car it is and is it number matching and built to spec with flaws and all. It has to be just the way the factory made it to bring the big dollars and it has to be a desirable car. If nobody wants it, its not worth much stocked or modified. Just because you have a stock appearing 67 Camaro does not mean anything is a numbers matching factory spec SS? maybe you have something. I know a guy with a numbers matching 57 chevy belaire (rich guy who had it built just to show) and he lost lots of points on that car at a show because of very minor things that I would never notice. Please the car is beautiful, but the judges had him ashamed by the time the show was over.lol Its really hard to build a stock numbers matching car to factory specs to the point of a collector's item is all I saying. Its not as simple was I have the engine, trans and body and putting it together.lol You better have it down to every nut and bolt and I mean every nut and bolt.

Third I know many guys who sold modified hotrods for some serious cash and still they may have only broke even. This is not the hobby for the amateur builder to turn a profit and most of us that have been doing this for a while know this. This is a hobby of love. The love of building vintage cars or trucks. I don't care how the car or truck is built personally, stocked or modified its about the person that built it. He is the only person that has to like it.

You should build stock because you like stock, not because you think its worth more or you may be in for a rude awaking. Nothing is wrong with stock, but nothing is wrong with modified either.

[55metalmonkey]

I agree, after I hit submit I checked out his post history, enough said

I watch Barret Jackson all the time and constantly check out the local/ westen market for smoking deals, found a 29 Fo*d roadster which someone is holding for me... next project. I know the F word is bad
I've noticed full on customs almost always go for 2-3x the price of stock restos, mild customs for about 8-10k more. unless of course it's a Cobra or ultra rare factory one offs which are little more than corporate exec. customs.

[Kabwe]

Man I love all old ride Ford or Chevy you do the thing with your projects.

Yeah but how many people have a true Cobra? We are not taking kit cars.lol Mopars are bringing big money now. But the way some people are thinking today my 1968 Cuda that I had in high school is worth a 100 grand. I don't think so it was a mess.lol

hamllik,

I apologize for taking up your thread with this, but enough is enough I think statements like Dicers are very disrespectful to a lot of builders on here. I don't go to stovebolt.com and tell them to modify their rides. I go to appreciate the work they do, because I'm completely car crazy.

[RichG]

Thanks Kabwe, I'll keep that in mind when I see his comments from now on.

[hamllik]

Wow look how much of a discussion this little truck has sparked. I value everyones opinion no matter how extream or not. I like most rigs modified a little, thats what makes them yours and is the true meaning of a hot rod. I do this because I love old cars and trucks. I do this because my Dad loved old cars and trucks. I do this because I want my boys to have the same fun that I had growng up. Some of the best times I had with my Dad before he passed away was working on cars in the shop. I had great times with my friends drinking beer and tweeking on each others cars. I am not doing this to get rich or support my family, that is why I have a full time job. I do this because I like to take something someone else would call junk and make something nice out of it. I think of myself as a automotive archaeologist trying to figure out what had happened to this car or truck in its past, what had been modified, what is original or not. Each car I have owned has had a story to tell, most do if you just take the time to look. I am building this truck to sell to fund yet another truck project, my end goal is to own one of every car I ever wanted and this is the only way for me to do it. Unless I win the lottery or become famous like Jay Leno, if I do I will be like Jay and be a collector of many different taste not just muscle cars or trucks but a variety stock and modified. I always thought it would be cool to own 2 cars the same and have one bone stock and one modified and let people drive each one and then tell them "That's why we modify them".

[Kabwe]

hamllik,

Those are great reasons to get involved in the hobby and I don't think many could disagree. Good luck with selling your truck and I hope it funds your next build.

[55metalmonkey]

Hamllik I think we all feel pretty much the same, when you start off a post with "what would you do?" your bound to get some strong opinions.

Kabwe, I've never been a huge Ford fan... well untill I came across this one, back in the day when they made vehicles with curves and style,
on another note I'm curious if Dicer has acually done a resto or did he just write a check for someone elses work?

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by 55metalmonkey

Kabwe, I've never been a huge Ford fan... well untill I came across this one, back in the day when they made vehicles with curves and style,

Man, I'm a tri5 chevy nut and I always dreamed of owning one and now I have a 55 Sedan and I'm building my truck to be its twin.lol But you have to be blind not to like other brands. I would love to own a 37-40 Ford Coupe. The lines on that thing are ridiculous. Now I will stop mentioning Fords before I get kicked off the site or lose my Chevy membership.lol

[55metalmonkey]

no not blind, I was just born and raised in Oakville Ontario where the huge Ford plant is. I'm comming around, I do like them all especially anything pre 60's

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by 55metalmonkey

no not blind, I was just born and raised in Oakville Ontario where the huge Ford plant is. I'm comming around, I do like them all especially anything pre 60's

Yeah I know what you mean. I'm a pre 60's person myself.

[solidaxel]

Like the saying goes:
If you want to make a small fortune, start with a large fortune.... get into restoring classic cars.... sell it for a major loss, then you will have a small fortune.

Just my 2 cents[/QUOTE]]






I am still hung up on the Selling part
But I can verify the LOSS of a fortune!!!

[solidaxel]

Like the saying goes:
If you want to make a small fortune, start with a large fortune.... get into restoring classic cars.... sell it for a major loss, then you will have a small fortune.

Just my 2 cents[/QUOTE]

I am still hung up on the Selling part
But I can verify the LOSS of a fortune!!!