1953 Chevy Need Opinions

[Coursey]

I was looking at a 1953 Chevy 3100
It has 350 motor
350 trans
power steering
disc brakes
new wiring
18/20 American Racing wheels
s10 chassis
channeled body

They are asking $16,500.

Is it worth this, or what should I offer for it?

[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm not big on frame swaps; I don't see anything wrong with upgrading the original frame.

The things I'd be looking for if seriously considering this truck; assuming it runs well and you have a compression test, etc., is the quality of the work, the welding, routing of the wiring, the amount of remaining rust, etc. It looks like the interior is rough. No door panels, no radio, too small of gauges installed in place of stock gauges. Can't see much in the under hood shot but in general it does NOT looked "detailed".

Bottomline: It's worth it if it's worth it to you.

[dubie]

with time to build and new parts considered, you couldn't build that truck for that asking price. If it's a turn key driver, it'll fetch $15,000 + all day long. I'd say it's well worth the money if it's solid.

Not detailed under the hood? are we looking at the same engine bay Dan? It looks pretty clean to me.
The S10 frame swap has been done thousands of times over from rat rods to trailer queens. The main reason being, you already have the luxury of power steering, power disc brakes and independent suspension. If you upgraded all these components on a stock frame, you be in the upwards of $6000 just in parts. I am all for whatever works best for how you're going to drive the truck.
Sure the body has a few small imperfection but for being 60 years old, I'd say it's as straight as you're going to find for a driver

This is a nice truck for the money. I'd pay $15,000 TOPS, so hit him low at 12,500 and work your way from there. Ya gotta start somewhere

[Coursey]

I have not looked at this yet it is 3hrs away.

It is supposed to be solid and rust free.

Interior does need some work.

Also it has the original seats, which I would have re covered and installed. The current ones don't look very comfortable.

[Dan in Pasadena]

My comments on the engine compartment are related to the battery cables, brakes lines and that fire-waiting-to-happen plastic fuel filter laying on the valve cover. Everything looks like it's running sort of willy nilly and not well anchored or nicely bent. Maybe that's just me but I pay attention to that sort of stuff and if I bought it I'd want to correct that stuff.

Coursey may or may not care about that stuff but I always check prospective car purchases for the stuff I will obviously feel the need to spend time or money on.

Coursey, it's also missing the front bumper. Can't tell if it needs bed wood and/or bed strips, and if it were mine I'd move the gas tank out of the cab for safety.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

It may have some possibilities if you want to work on it but I wouldn't pay that much for it.

[torchlight]

Something about it really seems like it was a truck that someone built for the sole purpose of flipping it for a profit. Dunno if that's actually the case - but just in the pictures you can see a lot of corners being cut.

[NEWFISHER]

If you like it, it's your style, it drives safe and runs well...pay it or negotiate from 16k. For me, there are a few things I would personally change and would offer accordingly.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by torchlight

Something about it really seems like it was a truck that someone built for the sole purpose of flipping it for a profit. Dunno if that's actually the case - but just in the pictures you can see a lot of corners being cut.

I kind of agree.

It also might not have a front bumper because with running an S-10 frame you have to be creative in how you attach it to the frame. I'm kind of thinking less than 12K.

One of the pics you can see the gas tank is still in the cab.

Good luck
Marc

[Coursey]

If it were a Nova, Chevelle, or Camaro I would know the value.

I am un familiar to the value of these trucks.

I did notice the things you all had pointed out such as the gas tank, interior, and engine compartment cleanup.

From what I have seen in parts catalogs the interior shouldn't cost to much to finish up.
The gas tank I am not to sure about, and the engine compartment shouldn't be hard to clean up a little.

The front bumper is supposed to be installed now, just wasn't pictured.

This is not a truck that I think we would ever paint, kinda like the patina on older stuff. We would probably just drive it for a few years and then get rid of it. We just don't want to make a loosing investment from the start.

[gale]

Originally Posted by Coursey

I was looking at a 1953 Chevy 3100
It has 350 motor
350 trans
power steering
disc brakes
new wiring
18/20 American Racing wheels
s10 chassis
channeled body

They are asking $16,500.

Is it worth this, or what should I offer for it?

When I am looking for a truck I will not even consider a frame swap or a front suspension swap.

This truck needs painting and I would assume it needs bodywork under the paint. It needs much more than this but that will be a big number.

You can find solid trucks with the original 6 for under $10,000. A GM350 crate motor is less than $4,000 and that's new. I shopped eBay and found a nice '54 3100 in the middle of Montana for $8K. I flew to pick it up and drove it back to Houston. It had a fresh 350 crate motor and AT. The 1800 mile trip was an adventure since nothing on the dashboard worked. I had a toggle switch to turn on the headlight. Bought a 2 gallon gas can to relieve the worry of not knowing how much gas I had. This truck is virtually rust free. I have it completely disassembled now but I kept it as a daily driver for over a year.

[alaska gasser]

You have to decide if it is worth that much to you. I just saw a really nice finished one that was chopped and had nothing left to upgrade sell on EBAY for $16,000.