beau james

[elk hunter]

i have aquired what was explained to me as a beau james. there is not much left of the old girl but what i was wondering is should i part it or fix it. there is no bed, part of the nose is missing, no column, and the cab was damaged by a tree. the kicker here is this truck has a big block in it. ive been told that they made about 550 of these trucks total. how many were big blocks? i own 67-72 trucks and have had a few of the 73-87 trucks but dont know anything about the beau james. what do you guys think?

[bigblock73]

What do I think? I think I hear Joe (ElGracho) crying right about now.

I personally don't think it is worth restoring/keeping (based on your description only), but if you are a chevy truck fan and like special edition trucks...then maybe it is worth it to you.

Have any pics by the way?

[elk hunter]

not yet, i havent picked it up. but when i drag it home ill take some pics.

[Captkaos]

Originally posted by elk hunter
ive been told that they made about 550 of these trucks total.

I wouldn't count on that number being an accurate estimate.

[elk hunter]

how many would you say? werent they special order?

[Lynx]

Here is some info from 73-87.com

http://www.73-87.com/Special_Editions/Beau_James.htm

and a website devoted esp to them

http://beaujames.s5.com/


Heck just got to 73-87.com and see the diffrent special edition sites hes has

[ElGracho]

As Jeff alluded to, I know at least something about these trucks.

First off, take a look at my website:

www.GMCSpecialEditions.com

If this is a truck you want when its done, then go ahead and restore it. The big parts are available (nice used bed, new front clip, drivetrain parts, etc...) to make it better than new. The special Beau James parts are rare, but if you're patient you can find them. They had special bed rails, floor mats, tonneau cover, factory fog lights and the decals on the side of the bed. The decals are being reproduced.

As far as value, the special editions are worth something more than trucks that aren't special editions. At this point, that difference isn't that much. The fact that this truck is a big block is desireable but not 'rare' in its own right. These trucks aren't being collected right now so much as modified and driven, so a nicely modified driver will be worth more to many than a perfect showroom stock truck (though many appreciate those for the blank canvas).

I currently have a Gentleman Jim and an Indy Hauler. My uncle has two Gentleman Jim's and a Beau James. We are guessing that in 10 years or so, they will be more sought after but even then I don't think they'll be big money, just cool to have.

As for production numbers, I've never seen any for these trucks period that I believed. None directly from GM so it's tough to guess at what they might be. Just from what I've seen and people that have contacted me, the Beau James is more rare than the Gentleman Jim.

[ElGracho]

Oh yeah, where are you in Oregon? I've been hearing rumors of a Beau James up in Corbett for a while now...

[elk hunter]

that may be the one. thats where its at. the guy that has it is a customer of mine, and i traded some front end work for it (ball joints,pitman arm,and such). when we get some good weekend weather ill go get it. i havent even seen it yet, but i figure even a core big block with brackets is worth more than i have in it. did those come with buckets,tach or anything cool?

[ElGracho]

Well then that makes you Mark right? I'm Glenn's nephew Joe.

[elk hunter]

yup thats me!! whats up joe? havent seen you in a while. i hear you bought glens red truck. not sure what to do about this truck!