1959 GMC Advice Needed

[Grumpy63]

This weekend this truck was brought to my attention. The fella who owned it passed away a few years ago. He used to drive it to work every day on a 25 mile one way commute. His widow has it sitting around and wants to sell it. I'm going to look at it later in the week. It is a 1959 GMC. It was originally blue. It has the original V8 in it. It is a manual tranny. The bed floor is rotted out and gone. Not sure about much else yet other than she wants $4500.00 OBO on it...

I welcome your thoughts.

[IMG][/IMG]

[mongocanfly]

hard to give a good assessment from the one pic...look at all the normal rust places...i can see a rusted cab corner....and theres damage at the door front edge to fender...cant tell for sure whats going on but it looks like the standard opening the door to far into the fender problem.....could easily be worth 4500....

[G&R's57GMC]

Take a hard look at the lower part of the front fenders and the door hinge pockets also look at the lower rear cab corners for rust damage.

Note the bent LF fender wheel opening , bent edge on the step and LR fender.

Now depending on what you want the truck to be and the type of finish, you have a good start if its not badly rusted . $ 4500 is not a bad price for a relatively solid truck.

[northerngmc]

Does it have signal lights in the grill? They are not readily reproduced ( a few attempts have been make and you may find something) and are worth a small fortune in good shape.

[Jesse Z]

When faced with such decisions, I always put the ball back in the other person's court. Offer her $3500 - if she takes it you can be assured you got a good deal. Plus you'll have a little cash left to do some maintenance on it. If she doesn't take it, you're no worse off than you were yesterday.

[Grumpy63]

Thanks for the good advice guys. As of right now you know all I know. But I will know more as the week progresses and I'll fill you all in on what I find out.

[Grumpy63]

Updated with a bunch of pics from today...

[dsraven]

remove the rose coloured glasses, grab a clip board, pencil, safety glasses, flashlight and start at the front bumper and do a thorough inspection right through to the rear bumper. the other way would be to get a third party unbiased inspection.
decide what you want the end result to look like-stock or modified
price out the parts
estimate the labour

[dsraven]

if going stock then you would need to worry about things like
replacement OEM lenses for lights
working speedometers and guages
etc
if going modified there is room to work around those items.

[G&R's57GMC]

Now that you've posted more pic's, There is a lot off rust to be cut out and panels to replace.

This would cost a bundle to repair thus dropping the value of this truck. If your up to cutting and welding in new panels and doing a lot of metal work then offer no more then $2500 max and be prepared to spend thousands on repair.

Or walk away.

[Foot Stomper]

I think you've found a great deal.
It's a rare V8 truck...short box too!
You can look a long time for another and it won't be $4500, and it won't be in your area...and you won't know anything about its history AND it's not all F'd up with chopped frames and failed LS swaps.
If you are ok with rusty bits, grab it run!
The only thing I'd change is the seat... find an original and you'll be fine.
The original park light lenses are very hard to find (if not impossible) but there are billet chrome ones that would suffice... or you can find some old patina ones that would match the overall condition.
Gauges are cheap and plentiful.
I say it's worth it. Grab for less if you can, but if your gut says to go for it, then go for it!

[Grumpy63]

I was told tonight that $3500.00 bucks would make it mine. I'm going to look at it later this week.

[Fred n' Ethel]

Assuming:
Ran when parked.
Pretty well complete.
Clear title ?
Moderate rust/corrosion.
$3500

If it were in my neighborhood, and I hadn't just bought 2 others .... it'd be mine.

[Foot Stomper]

Originally Posted by Grumpy63

I was told tonight that $3500.00 bucks would make it mine. I'm going to look at it later this week.

Don't hesitate. It won't last long at that price!

[mongocanfly]

well the obvious places from pics are both rear cab corners, rockers, and possible floor replacement. ....theres something funny going on at the leading edge of the doors and fenders on both sides....I would inspect those areas close. ..its worth the 3500.....
love the rear bumper!

[Grumpy63]

Originally Posted by Foot Stomper

Don't hesitate. It won't last long at that price!

Well, the good news is, it's not going anywhere until I go look at it. :-D

[MiraclePieCo]

That old truck is like an orphan puppy dog that needs a home, and destiny has chosen you to be it's savior and guardian. Adopt it now, love it and cherish it. Don't regret any money spent to fix it up. Money spent on classic cars is not gone; it's an investment that will appreciate and multiply over the years.