Why Old Pickups Are Suddenly Hauling In Big Money Marco della Cava, Yahoo AutosApril 27, 2015 [Photo: 1937 Studebaker J5 Coupe-Express, courtesy Auctions America] As with many technological innovations, the pickup truck was a product of the ravages of human conflict. Not long after the Great War ended in 1918, the Dodge Brothers began producing enclosed commercial trucks that had started life as ambulances and other mechanized tools of warfare. About six years later, in a partnership with the Graham Brothers, out popped a 1924 Dodge ¾-ton pickup. It had an upright cab, a bed twice as long as it was wide, and chains that allowed a tailgate to rest open in a perpendicular position. Nothing short of an American legend was born. Fast-forward nearly a century and vintage pickups are booming, with prices of restored and even hot-rodded models often doubling from what they brought just five years ago. [1954 International R100 Custom Pickup, expected to sell for $20,000 - $25,000 at Auctions America] “Trucks that maybe in 2000 cost $15,000 are now $30,000 or $40,000” says Keith Koscak, car specialist with Auctions America, whose upcoming Auburn auction, May 7-9, features a host of pickups, including a 1940 Ford ½-ton Model 01C ($30,000 to $40,000) and a 1953 Ford F-100 ($28,000 to $34,000). “The climb in interest and prices has been unrelenting.” Of particular interest to collectors and enthusiasts are Ford, GMC and to a lesser extent Dodge pickups from the ’40s and ‘50s, vehicles with an almost Transformer-like appeal whose beefy personality stems from muscular fenders and broad hoods. [1934 Ford V-8 Pickup, expected to sell for $20,000-$25,000 at Auctions America] But pickups from the ‘60, ‘70s and even early ‘80s are finding buyers as a mix of affordability — relative to classic sports cars of the same era — and personalization lure those who perhaps don’t want a new $40,000 pickup that looks just like the one sitting in their neighbor’s driveway. Koscak says the big bucks go to pickups that have had top-notch restorations, allowing buyers to write a check and step back in time to when their parents or grandparents used such vehicles to get things done. He recalls a 1955 GMC Step Side fetching $100,000, and notes that the upcoming Auburn sale will feature a rare 1937 Studebaker J5 Coupe-Express pickup that’s expected to sell for between $75,000 and $95,000. [Interior of the ‘37 Studebaker Express, courtesy Auctions America] “It’s thought that this Studebaker is only one of 15 or so that have been fully restored,” says Koscak. “It’s just a stunning machine.” He’s not exaggerating. Draped in a coat of elegant grey paint, the J5 is a study in Art Deco elegance, from its huge tear-drop shaped headlights to the elegant numerals on its rectangular speedometer. Although you’d be hard-pressed to make this gem haul lumber, many buyers of vintage trucks don’t hesitate to hit the road with their investments. “You could put them in a museum, sure, but most buyers tend to show them or just take the family out on Sunday drives,” says Koscak. “The brings smiles to people’s faces, because frankly you don’t see them around as much as vintage sports cars.” The pickup’s growing revival also has been fueled by the model’s flag-waving bona fides. “These things have undeniable charm, they’re fairly simple to work on, but most of all they are hardcore Americana,” says John Kraman, consignment director at Mecum Auctions, which has seen the number of pickups crossing its blocks jump in recent years. Kraman attributes some of the boom to the “rising tide” theory, that is the fact that vintage American and European sports cars are fueling an especially hot $25 billion classic car market. When an early ‘60s Ferrari can fetch eight-figures at auction, the appeal of paying five-figures for a lovely Ford pickup from the same era is obvious. Kraman says he’s “shocked and astonished” by the boom, “which nobody really called.” But now that the interest is there, a shorthand is developing for what pickups provide a little extra bragging rights. Besides pristine restorations (a must since most trucks spent the bulk of their lives actually doing work), one value-added feature is four-wheel drive. Now considered standard, in the ‘50s having all four wheels driven meant ordering an option called the Napco Power-Pak package. “If your pickup has that, it’ll almost double the value right away,” says Kraman. Other desirable features include being a short-wheel-base ½-ton (or 1,000-lb. hauling capacity) model, as opposed to larger ¾- and 1-ton. And similarly, having an aesthetically pleasing 6.5-foot versus 8-foot bed also drives the price up. [1953 Ford F-100 Custom Pickup, courtesy Auctions America] In Kraman’s experience, Ford pickups — which were particularly plentiful across the decades — tend to be the ones that get hot-rodded and lowered, while Chevrolets tend to be returned to gleaming stock configuration. “One thing that’s really driven this trend is aftermarket-parts manufacturers really stepping up, allowing you with a click of the mouse to change a heavily used pickup into something that looks almost new again,” he says. That’s indeed the stock in trade of LMC Truck of Lenexa, Kansas, a 30-year-old company that has long trafficked in truck parts but has seen a noted uptick in vintage pickup-parts business of late. “We’ve put a lot of money into (remanufacturing) parts, and have 30,000 so far,” says LMC marketing manager Susan Berkowitz, adding that interest has also been piqued by a steady stream of pickup restoration projects touted by magazines and TV shows. In fact, LMC Truck is busy helping Kansas-based Kultured Customs with the restoration of a 1972 Chevrolet K-10 ½-ton pickup for the MavTV show, “Chop Cut Rebuild.” “For many people, there’s a huge appeal in buying an older pickup for not much money and making it all your own, compared to spending $50,000 on a new truck that looks like all the others out there,” says Berkowitz. “The square-bodied Chevys from 1973 to 1987 are very popular right now, and they’re not that expensive,” often selling in the teens. “What’s not to like about pickup trucks,” Berkowitz says. “They’re American, they’re multi-purpose, and they’re just plain fun.” Source: https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-old-pickups-are-suddenly-hauling-in-big-money-117521024037.html
I built a magazine quality 48 Chev. 3100 in 1991. I sold it at the Frog Follies in 1999 because I thought they had topped out!!!!!!! Man was I wrong.
I guess that explains why AA's were going for nothing up my way and now they're getting to be unobtanium.
All I can say is when I take the Avatar out I get a bunch of guys looking at it and asking questions. When I take the pickup out, I get a better mix of males and females looking at it. Women seem to like the truck a whole lot. Go and figure--same handsome guy drives them both.
Maybe it's the mattress in the back of the truck. LOL My dad never could understand why I bought a station wagon when I was a kid. As for trucks, I found that the larger ones are cheaper, so I'm hot rodding a 2 ton.
I'm not selling mine... Well that's the plan, but if someone made me a stupid offer, who knows. Great thread Blowby, best news I've read all day.
LOL. Women seem to like my old pickup too, but I think they figure they might get some free hauling or yard work.
Nice ones for a good price are getting harder to find... gotta kick myself for selling a few in the past.
Sold my Studebaker Coupe Express 3 years ago. Don't really miss it. Know where another 3 are laying dormant. All 3 are projects but original.
When I bought my 30 Madel A sedan delivery it was 1/10 the price of a coupe. (1972) I had a 1954 cab over Chev that I could not give away in 1982.
Waiting for Flowmeister to chime in.. I like pickups, glad to have my 39 Ford and 51 GMCs. Dad didn't understand why we would put time into fixing up a truck!
Ha ha, OK. To me it's always been trucks. Glad to see the value of them going up, even happier I got a really nice one first. A friend of mine built a 32 pickup about 20 years ago, when he first brought the truck out, the first comment he got was, "what, you couldn't find a Model A to build?" Trucks Rule!
Come on guys!, what is printed in the 'catalog' and what they actually sell for are two different things. Lets sit back in our auction chairs and see who raises thier hands. And not to worry, when the Gold Chainers get tired of them in a couple of years and they move on to the next 'fun thing to have' they will dump these vehicles for pennies on the dollar....
Old trucks are special--many of them took a beating. I can remember my dad's 49 chevy driver sure didn't have it easy with the stuff he hauled in that thing. The trucks on the farm really had it pretty tough too. All of them left as scrap. Wish I could have a couple of them back.
what AVater said......hard to find nice old ones.....most nice ones take two or three or wait....they have catalogs now.....
Yea you think so !!!! I am still waiting for 40 Fords to come down to 3 for a $1000.00 bucs.. when ever you'er talking about gets tired of them..
Pickups are cool and they can actually still work. Mines going to the nursery to pick up some plants for the yard tomorrow.
. 3 for $1,000 that was wishfull thinking when I bought my POS '41 back in '81. Bobbed rear fenders, 53 flathead, white paint covering roofers silver sealing paint, t Bird bucket seats, and the best white trucker white spoke sheels with some G and H 78's and it cost me $3200. Five years ago found a friend a non running stock 40 that had doors that closed like a Cadallic for $6,000. And of course when ever we sell, we don't we always get every penny out of them.. So ,the $25 - 35,000 asking prince on one of them looked like someone might have dummped over $60,000.00 into. So these 'Gold Chainers' look like the owners are dumping onto the market now... How much do you really have in your truck? Initiail purchase - $1500 to $3,500 for a project. Body work - (not include your hours) $5,000, Paint - in material $2,000, labor if you have to pay $2,000. Tires $2,000 rims $1,200.00 Inter - and trucks are small $2 - 5,000. Electrical - $500.00 for the kit then to install. Crate motor and trans $10,000 Currie rear - $2,000 Suspension $2,500. So if you have the bucks the one year build is $10 - $25,000.00 in material and $30,000 to $50,000 labor,if you are lucky. $25,000 for your truck seems like a good price Five years ago helping an Ausie friend I came across a '56 Ford big window that was started rebuild in th '80's it had got as far frame rebuld, fresh Olds 445 and trans, two sets of doors, eight fenders, fresh balck paint it stalled and the owner figured he had $5,000 into it and wanted $3,500. So they are still out there. Let the Gold Chainers and the Reality TV Idots have thier days.
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