55.2-59 1957 GMC Dump Bed, Advice Needed

[Old Blue 1978]

Hello All,

I am brand new to the forum but I only have one question at the moment. My grandpa has a 1957 GMC Dump Bed truck rusting away on his property and I am considering helping him get rid of it. He wants to scrap it with a local recycler and just get $ for the weight.

I am wondering if there is enough good stuff on this thing, and demand in the restoration community, for him to part it out instead. I've attached the one photo I was able to grab last week. It has been sitting as you see it for at least 30 years. He says it only needed a fuel pump when it quit and he parked it. The interior has been dry all along.

Any advice would be welcomed.
Thanks,
Mike
Grand Rapids, MI

[mongocanfly]

Welcome...
Grill,bumper,emblems...probably still a few good small parts...you might run a craigslist ad to see if there's any Interest in parts...if not..haul it off..

[duramax55]

hard to say how much can be salvage but hood doors etc might still have some use or advertise and see what you get, Is it a big back window?

[mr48chev]

I'd think you would have to drag it out and check the cab over to see if it is worth removing from the chassis. If it isn't beat up or rusted out the bare cab might be worth as much or more than what the whole truck would bring scrap and you folks would still have the rest of it to haul for scrap.

The fenders look to be pretty well destroyed so they aren't worth anything.

On the cab, doors, dash and some smaller pieces it is what is good enough for someone to want to use them. Then are they worth your time to remove to sell or are you up to have someone show up and take stuff off the truck before it goes to scrap? If the cab is solid enough to use without replacing a huge part of it and you have lots of time and the equipment to lift it off without tearing it up you might unbolt the fenders and hood (looks rotted out in front) and throw them in the back and take what ever you need to to be able to lift it off and set it on a pallet or something and offer it up for sale locally. You won't get rich but a couple of hundred bucks for a few hours work is a couple hundred bucks. Then grandpa still has the rest to haul for scrap.

[1project2many]

Depending on state laws, those old plates may fetch a couple of bucks as well.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Depending on state laws, those old plates may fetch a couple of bucks as well.

I paid a little over $200 for my 51 Indiana plate with 53 topper.

[dsraven]

since 57 is a stand alone year for the grille you may get some interest there along with what is left of the grille surround and front signal light.
like said, get a look at what shape the cab is in. if it was dry like you mentioned then it may not be as rusty as some of the stuff guys fix. look around the windshield for rot, the rood drip rail area, door hinge pillars, floor etc. if it is good then drag it out, snap a few pics and put up an ad. lots of guys would love to have some original steel. if you were to go to a parts site you would see that the cabs from 55-59 are all the same. somebody somewhere may be interested. as far as scrap prices you could ask what kinda dollar value it is worth but you will likely get back an answer like "well, it's not clean steel, pretty rusty and some different alloys in there so the price isn't as good as clean steel where the stuff is not caked in rust layers and there is no tires, upholstery or cast iron mixed in". sometimes giving a guy a deal on the thing as is where is makes it easier for you if you leave it to them for the removal process. just get the cash in hand before you let them start removing, lol.

[dsraven]

if you have access to something that can drag the truck out of it's spot so you can get a look at the big picture, and you are ok doing a bit of work yourself, you could likely get a few bucks for these items. it is a gmc so a lot of the gmc specific stuff is not avaiable in the aftermarket. they had a different dash and grille area than the chevy counterparts
-the doors, even if rusted at the bottom etc. these will fit chevy or gmc and will also fit the regular 1/2 ton size trucks since the cabs are the same as the larger trucks, just the front sheet matal was different to sccomodate the bigger wheels. those door replacement rust repair panels are available and guys would rather fix an original door than work with an offshore replacement panel that was never actually fit on anything. the doors would be a pretty easy removal especially if the bolts just broke off or you simply zip disc through the hinge
-the hood, it looks pretty good compared to some AND, some guys would put it directly on their truck as it sits because of the old patina look. it even still has the emblem, which is becoming harder to find. the hood may be specific to the larger bodies but there are still guys fixing those trucks too
-the fender emblems, they unbolt pretty easily from the back side
-the grille parts, filler between the front bumper and grille, the bumperettes or the whole front bumper and accy set as a whole
-front turn signal light, even better if the mate is somewhere close by so you have a pair
-interior parts like heater assy and controls, especially if it has the deluxe heater which picked up air from the outside instead of recirculating heat from the inside. wiper motor which was probably electric on this truck and had an integral switch with a cable that ran to the motor, guage cluster which is different in shape than the chevy trucks and not available aftermarket that I know of anyway, park brake mechanism especially if it was coming up through the floor instead of hanging under the steering column. guys like those for their rat rods, complete dash assy, not that easy to get out though,
-if the cab appears to be pretty solid, and if there is a title especially, the cab would be worth more than the scrap value most likely. you could sell the cab with doors, complete, and have the new owner remove it as part of the deal. then scrap the left overs. some guys would take the whole truck off your hands if they got a deal on the cab with a title

[mr48chev]

Last load of scrap I hauled didn't bring enough money to pay for the gas to haul it to the scrap yard. That was a double wide trailer frame cut into ten to 12 ft lengths to get them on my flatbed. I hauled right a ton in and got 37.80 for it. Meaning that you grandfather probably won't get a whole lot for it and if it doesn't have a title they won't normally take a whole truck.

Still it is your time as in hours spent for what you can salvage and use or salvage and sell off it. if it has the 302 GMC six there may be some interest. Someone might want the transmission and or pto drive.
If you can get to it safely the Pto driven hydraulic pump that works the hoist might well be worth pulling off. If that is good it could bring as much as the whole truck by it's self. Or it might become part of a non truck project that could be used around the farm.
Others might want the generator or starter even if they have to be rebuilt. Not much money for them unless you know they work but you could take them to O'Reilly's to have them checked and buy the person who checked them a soda or coffee as a thank you.

If you are young it might be a learning experience to pull the parts off. Just make sure that you follow safety procedures and don't get hurt anymore than a bandaid will fix. We don't need reports of something falling on you and causing a major injury.

[Old Blue 1978]

Thank you everyone for the advice, it is greatly appreciated. Since a lot of the stuff on this truck will be big and or heavy, are people paying to ship large stuff around the country or would I only be looking for local buyers?

It has a title. My grandpa needs a project like this for the spring. I'm willing to help him eBay stuff as it comes off if that would be a good market. I'll even help with some of the wrenching for fun. He is a retired farmer so we have a dry barn and all the tools needed.

Does this forum allow selling?

Thanks again,
Mike

[mongocanfly]

You can sell here but must be a paying member to do so...
Shipping large items usually isn't worth the cost ...the big stuff I'd sell local...smaller items you can Ebay em...

[Gumbi]

The motor would be worth pulling and selling as well especially if it is complete and isn't seized. I doubt if it would have a 302 but a good 270 is still worth something.

[Old Blue 1978]

What are the odds that we could sell the whole thing complete?

[mick53]

If you pull it out and brush it off. Take some pictures I'm not far from you and am looking for a dump truck to restore for my business.

[mongocanfly]

To sell complete youll probably have to list it as a parts vehicle...just from the rot we can see its probably to far gone to restore...its gonna be expensive for someone to move it(think big wrecker)....