Odometer originality experts

[SS Tim]

Is it, in your opinion, 62k or 162K plus? The claim is of course 62K unsupported as yet in a 68.

[kwmech]

More than likely 162 or even 262. I find it hard to believe the amount of trucks lately claiming ''barn find and original miles" When I sold my 71 K20 about 15 years ago, I personally put over 300k on it. When I bought it, it was trashed and the odometer said 15,000. My guess was 215,000. So, what does the rest of the truck look like? Does it support the claim? brake pedal wear...steering wheel..seats under chassis etc.

[davepl]

There's no way to know from that picture (unless the 6 being aligned tells someone something). The needle is faded and the screws are rusted but that's environmental, not from mileage.

You need to look at things like the carpet where the left foot sits, the brake pedal pad, that sort of thing.

Since you can't prove it anyway without convincing documentation that I'm guessing isn't available, it's really just a curiosity - the truck is what it is, in whatever quality it is, independent of the mileage.

If it were 62K I'd look for original riveted-in ball joints. A 162K truck will have had them replaced, whereas a 62K truck might still have originals. That sort of thing...

[SS Tim]

All good points!
To me the "6" seems too advanced for a true first run 62K but then that is why I posted this, to ask my addiction support group.
The seat might support the claim but it all depends on how it was kept.
Seller's relative claimed original owner.
Seller ripped up the underlayment to show some metal but not the kickpanels.

[35boulder]

Here is photo of mine and its supposed to be original miles on a '69.

[NoNeck]

A little too large of an "arm sanding" on that driver door panel for 62K. The brake pedal looks more like 162K to me and the gas pedal arm that is missing the pedal looks too shiny for 62K.

48 years divided by 62K miles = approximately 1,291 miles per year, 107 miles per month or 3.5 miles per day.

I would need more proof. Maybe legitimate oil change receipts, dealer repairs, etc.

[LockDoc]

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I vote 162,000.

I have posted this story before but this is a good thread to re-post it in....

A few years ago I bought a 1967 Chevy C-20. It was in pretty nice shape and the guy claimed it had 42,000 original miles on it. I told him I didn't think so because of some observations I had made on the overall condition of the truck. The truck was priced right for the condition it was in so I bought it anyway. All of the paperwork was in the glove box and I was looking through it a couple of days later. In the back of the owners manual the original owner had kept a log of the work he had done to it. The truck had turned over 100,000 miles in 1983. I took the owners manual over to the guy I bought the truck from and he couldn't believe it. I see so many trucks (even some on here) that the owner claims are low mileage when you can tell just from the pictures posted there is no way the original mileage can be that low.

Moral of this story is: It really doesn't make any difference what the speedometer says, you better know what you are looking at when you buy a supposedly low mileage 45 year old truck.

LockDoc

[A1971Blazer]

people bought these trucks..... and drove them......... and drove them....... and drove them.........because they lasted so long.............
proof in point.....just look how many are still being driven.....in any and all condition.....billions of miles racked up over time......

[davepl]

Same thing happened to me. My truck was sold to me as original mileage, and I genuinely think the seller believed it (I did, the truck was well preserved) but I eventually found receipts showing mileage higher than what it had now, so it had been around once.

Didn't bother me, as I was pulling it apart for a resto anyway!

[special-K]

The odometer shows 162k due to misalignment of numbers as well as surfaces worn, from what I see. A pedal pad can be replaced in 5 minutes with no tools. I wouldn't worry about it if the truck is in great shape, but I would confront the seller with the fact that the low mileage claim is out the window as far as basing the value of the truck on it. Ignorance is understandable, but now it's not ignorance because experts have assessed it as false

[TBONE1964]

If it is a true 1968 speedometer, the odometer number drums will not misalign after rolling over. The thing that causes misalignment is the plastic retainer that holds the drum even across. They used the plastic retainers on the 69-72 speedometers but the 67/68 speedometers had a fixed bar that held the odometer drum in place. After time, they stretch and even break, causing the misalignment.

Also, depending on climate conditions in the area the truck has lived will determine the amount of cosmetic deterioration.

I vote for not enough evidence to support the claim.

Tom

[hamjet]

Background history can tell a person a lot about true mileage. I grew up by a vegetable farmer that bought a new HD 67 international pickup with dump box. The truck spent 95% of its time in the fields on his property hauling veggies to the house where they went to market in their IH carry all. A real work truck. I didn't have a lot of mileage 30 years later but looked rough from many years of farm abuse. A lot of pick ups from that time were used as a week end or 2nd vehicle, so it's possible to have low miles and rough interior or body. IF that truck were used as such then I vote original miles....

[FirstOwner69]

I always chuckle when someone claims original mileage on these trucks unless they have documentation. Anything over 99999.9 exceeds the limitations of the odometer. It may be the actual mileage, but we generally have no idea what digit precedes the left digit. That's why, as vehicle life spans increased, they made odometers that record just short of a million miles. Now that I've stated the obvious, I can say mine is original if a "1" is added to the left. Bottom line, as stated above, is buy based on condition not what the odometer says unless there is documentation.

Here's my '69 with a known 119,123.5 miles. The lens is a reproduction.

[GTORobo]

This is my 69. I have known this truck since new. I'm the 2nd owner

[BILT4ME]

352,247 Miles.

I wore out (3) speedometers in my 69 just during the time I had it. I built it from several trucks and put over 300K on it just in the 8 years I drove it.

It could be anything.

We just bought a 1970 GMC K2500 that the guy selling it was trying to convince me that it was 29K original miles. I told him he was full of crap and it was more like 229K due to the rust on the bed and the wear on the mechanical parts. The splines on the axle shafts were razor-blade thin.

Make it whatever you want your story to read.

[Dirt's72]

If it drives I think a good indication would be how the motor feels power wise wether it's 62k or 162k. Did you figure it out?

[bhemingson]

Mine reads 97,000 miles. I have a log book for every fill up, oil change and muffler since the early 80s. Interior is really nice but body rough due to living on the coast. I have no idea whether it is original miles or not. Considering low use is 10k per year it could be any number.

[LongBox]

Sellers claim low mileage to justify a high price. It's definitely up to the buyer to carefully evaluate the vehicle to determine if the mileage claimed is reasonable. Trouble is, even if you clearly establish that the low mileage claim is false, the seller fan simply tell you to take a hike, and keep on looking for a sucker.

When I lived in Kamloops, BC, a rural area, back in the 70s, it seemed as if every second house had a pickup in the driveway or beside the carport. It was used to go fishing on the weekend, or bring home a load of firewood. Many of those trucks got very limited use, so there are some true low-mileage trucks out there.