The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Found a '46

I found a '46 1/2 ton sb today,completely disassembled. The cab was sitting on top of bed and bed was full of hood,fenders,lots of parts etc. you get the picture. All was under a shed and the metal was in pretty good shape. The cab was real good,running boards had some small holes as well as a few small holes in backs of fenders. Around another shed and back in the woods was the chassis,engine,trans,rear end. The chassis was good,rear looked good,motor was shot,head off cylinders full of water. I almost forgot, the grill looks pretty bad also. I figured this was about a $300 truck and I would gladly give that for it but the owner won't budge from $1000. Does this sound way out of reason for this truck?

Mike

I would walk away. If it's in as many pieces as you say he'll be chasing you down the driveway to take the pile of parts and clean his shed. Heck he probably doesnt remember how it goes back together either. Remember that every seller thinks just because it's old, it's rare. Its not.
I paid around that for mine and it was complete, almost running (head gasket, some other comparatively minor stuff).
A couple of months from now he'll call you and offer it all for $200 if you still want it.
Does it have a good title? What are your plans for it? Stock? Modified? Full custom street rod?
Any idea how many parts are missing? Or where you're going to find them? Or how much those incidentals are going to cost?
Other members may have a different opinion than I do so be sure to get as many opposing opinions as you can and weigh them objectively.
Good luck with your new truck or your continued search, whichever it may be.

I have been watching a 2 ton wrecker...the owner put $2,500 into the brakes, it runs, and has no rust...problem is...No title. I could have bought it today for $1,500....the truck is in great shape. It spent life in a scrap yard...

Add up the cost of all of the good parts on the parts truck, use realistic pricing for what you see; rear fenders, floor, that rare front lower splash pan..then decide what you are planning to replace on your truck...if what you need to spend to replace your parts is high...keep working on the guy....otherwise, walk away.

I'd agree, I paid $650.00 for my '46 two years ago. It was a 3/4 ton, didnt run, but was complete, and came with a spare tranny, and a complete '60 235. I sold the truck eight months later, but kept the 235 as a spare for the '61 Apache. There are always better deals out there. The guy that wants it, and has the $$ in hand, ultimatly decides what anything is worth.

My sentiments exactly, Bill.
M.Smith, another way to look at it is it's value in parts for use in another truck or to trade or sell for something else you need/want...just thinkin' outloud.
About 15 years ago or so I went to look at a '36 Oldsmobile sedan just to check it out. The old man that had it said his son had started to "restore" the sedan. The body looked good in primer, the engine had been rebuilt by a reputable shop with old engine experience but it was missing a few "incidentals" like the gauges, the interior, etc. I thought about it, after the man told me he wanted $1,000 for the car, for about 1.75 seconds and thanked the man for showing me the car and I took off. Months later the 'ol boy tracked me down with a lower selling price with what looked like the speedometer from the car and some other parts in his hands. The project was too big for me I explained to the man. I found out later he'd sold the car for junk and it was crushed! I thought then that if I'd had a few more resources, (like money and a place to store the car out of the weather), I could have maybe made a few dollars off of the deal. Naaaaah...it'd probably still be sittin' in my back yard, rustin' away.

I really want a '41-'46. I've always liked the body style. I just want to make an original old beater out of it. Nothing fancy and I don't want to be afraid to use it. I'd probably put a 235 in it and paint it myself. This one's not going anywhere. I knew he had an old '46 that was almost restored but never has finished. It is a nice one sitting in his basement for about 20 yrs. now. I can say for sure he won't sell the other one for less. He's got T-models,old tractors,a '39 Ford,'55 Bel -Air,lots of old stuff. I've known him all my life and he don't care wether he sells it or not. He told me before I left that it's not eating anything right where it sets. Well I know you all say they are not rare but why in the heck can I not find one of these old trucks. I've been asking around for years and everybody laughs at me and says you'll never find one of those. I have found a few but they were really junk rust buckets. I've put ads on the internet,local papers,cable,radio swap shops and I never get a call. Maybe I'm in the wrong part of the country but they sure seem to be rare in NC Charlotte area. I'll keep looking though.

Here is a 46 in our swapmeet.
46 chevy

Here's a '46 1/2 ton with an extra 1 for ya. 1946
You may have to think about traveling to find the right one. May open up some more possibilities. Have you ever used the Trader Online? Trader This is how I found my '65. The Search feature is a little sketchy. You've really gotta play with it, mainly the location part.
-David
Kustoms-and-Sleds

Found another one today that a friend told me about. It was a complete all original '46,still had the old 216. It was sitting in the woods behind an old barn and guess what? IT'S NOT FOR SALE!! My friend told me it's been there for 20 yrs. or more that he knows of. The old man said it was his Father's and I rekon I'll just keep it. Trees grown up around it you'd have to cut just to get it out too. There's another one that will rust away. I just don't get people like that.

Mike

After I finish my truck (which may be a while) my next project is going to be a custom woodie. I have pretty good woodworking skills and I would like to use an art deco or earlier front clip and fabricate everything from the windshield back.

It is pretty easy to find a front clip from just about anything at giveaway prices if you are not in a hurry. The minute you act like you really need one the price doubles. It's kind of like dating. :rolleyes:

Hey Smith,

I feel like you're a kindred spirit. A few years ago I went to look at a '45 1/2-ton. It was a civilian truck, so definately rare, it was totally complete, but it was cancer ridden. Today, it's possible that i would have gone for it, but i was in college at the time, so I didn't have the time or money for a project that size. I passed up on it, despite loving the lines on that truck. I've had my eyes open for one since than, and this summer found a '46 GMC, complete, no cancer, and, after getting it home, fresh gas and jumper cables were all it needed to start. It was only $800. I'm a firm believer that if you know what you're looking for and have patience, you'll get exactly what you want for the right price.

Just my humble opinion, but $1000 seems a little steep to me.

I think a lot of us have been there. A couple years ago I found a '46 in WI that looked like ther were a few parts that were good enough that I was willing to buy it and part it out for the right price. The guy was selling it for his brother or something and was asking way too much. He ended up trying to bluff me saying he had another out of state buyer interested. I called his bluff and told him to sell it to that guy. About a month ago (two years later) he e-mailed me asking if I still wanted to buy the truck because the other buyer "fell through". I told him no thanks because I already found all the parts I needed. If there is anybody near Janesville/Beloit WI there is a guy out there with a 46 for sale. I don't remember exactally what the numbers were but I think I offered him somewhere between 600-800 and he wanted over 1000.

Back when my son was little I used to take him in his stroller to the local cruise night and as I was checking out a '54 I let it slip to the owner that I have a '46. He got all excited and asked me to sell mine to him. I refused. About a year later I heard (and have since seen it) that he found one in a barn in the next town over. Yup, there's something mighty appealing about these trucks.

I looked for some time for an AD truck in reasonable shape. I finally found one that was exactly what I was looking for but it was in North Dakota. I ended up buying it and the owner sent it on a flat bed to PA, and I picked it up there. I paid $500 to ship from North Dakota to Pennsylvania. It ended up costing me quite a bit, mainly because I was unaware of going rates, but I felt a lot better when I got it home and had 4 offers to buy it from me in 2 days, all of which were more than I paid for it.

Hooray!! The man found the title for the '46 as well as the windshield frame. Now what other key part should I look for? I remember a man saying look for the rare front lower splash pan. Show me a pic. what is that and I'll look for it on the next visit?

Mike

Msmith, there is several ways to look at this picture so rule out anything. I'm sure in your area you can find someone with a lot of knowledge about this truck and what is "missing" if you take them to look at it. I found my 37 and a some months later saw one at the Charlotte AutoFair. If I could have found it earlier I would have gladly paid 1500-2000 more for it as it had "good metal" and a few other goodies. If you can't do the body work yourself spend a little extra if one has "good metal" or you will spend a helluva lot more at the body shop. Another way to look at it is you don't have to spend the time disasembling it and with all the help here at the Bolt you can get it back together.... just my .03 worth.

Well, I can do a lot of the body work and I have some good friends to weld (I'm still learning that skill) I'm a pretty good painter when I have a booth to paint in. I'll go back next week and make a list of all the parts I can find and can't. I know the man and have known him all my life. He says it's a complete truck we just gotta start digging it all out of the sheds.