The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk New Guy With Question on Potential Purchase

Been keeping my eyes open for a pre-60 truck. Have found one close to me so my first thought was to find a forum where I knew I could get some accurate information. First the truck:
1958 GMC longbed with and automatic tranny. The Good:
Recent paintjob that looks like it was done correctly. Could not find any rust on the body and no bondo. All the glass is good. New oak bed. NO modifications done! This truck is completely stock down to the hubcaps. Starts, runs and drives well.

The bad: Missing the tailgate. Missing front signal lamp housings/lenses, rear bumper I do not believe is stock (looks like a homemade steel step bumper. The owner bought the truck in this condition 10 years ago with the thought of restoring and never got around to it. The engine is leaking oil from dried out seal, but does not smoke from the tail pipe.

Now my questions:

He wants $4750.00. Is this a fair price?
Are there any impossible to find parts for this truck? Particularly the tailgate, rear bumper and front signal light housing/lenses?

I am sure I will have more questions, thanks for your patience with the new guy!

That seems a bit high to me but hard to tell without a picture or two. I assume it is not a big window cab or you would have mentioned it. Does it have a title? The tailgate can be replaced but the turn signal glass is not readily available for some years.

Houston, thanks for the reply! No it is not a big window cab. And as for the price, it sounded a bit high to me, but I am not that knowledgable as to what a fair price is, which is why I am here!

Here's a VMRIntl page with some estimated values:
http://www.vmrintl.com/cctm/CCTMENUS/cctmprcs%5C58gmseon.htm

This isn't anything etched in stone, but it's a fairly good starting point. It looks like this site may have been where he came up with the pricing. Ya never know

Welcome to Stovebolt..
IMO this may or may not be a decent price DEPENDING on the overall condition of the truck and what you plan on doing with it. If you plan on a restoration as I just completed on my 59 Chev you will be spending a ton of money. You have to figure that a truck that is 47 years old WILL have things wrong with it that you can see and that remain unseen until ownership/driving or tear down occurs. My 59 was a desert truck I purchased in 1974 for $500.00 and was in great shape except for a worn out engine. There are a lot of these trucks still out there but like everything else they are not getting any cheaper to buy or own. If you are not in any big hurry to buy one I would shop around and maybe one more agreeable to your price range will come along but consider it may not be in as good a condition. Am sure you will be getting other opinions here and they will all be good ones. This board is THE BEST place available for old GM truck questions and info.

Depends on what the going price is in your area.Missouri there should be plenty of them around.Up here in NE Ohio that would be a fair price.Look it over very good especially underneath.That old black undercoating can hide a lot of rust.Use a magnet to ck.for bondo especially around cab corners,door bottoms,lower fenders,etc.If the body is really that solid it might be worth that much.

I would also add that the long bed is not the most desirable model of any truck although it does have its advocates. I would advise you to not jump into this purchase. At that price it will be around for awhile I would venture to guess. In the mean time you can start looking for the "right" truck. In my experience these trucks have a way of finding you if you keep your eyes open. If you get out in the country side much you should cruise through the side streets of small towns and you can find old trucks sitting there waiting for you. Always have a objective eye when evaluating a purchase though as the price of replacement panels, upholstery, wiring, paint and other system requirements will add up very quickly. If you are not planning to do the work yourself then you should get as close to solid as you can find. Good luck and enjoy the search.

What engine is in it? I don,t think it,s too bad
of a buy. It all depends on what you have in mind
to with it, what your taste is & how much work
you can do yourself. I like the 55-57 s myself.
Welcome to the stovebolt sight. Great bunch.

RUN!!! Go buy something complete,fair priced,and good
Go buy the truck this seller is gonna buy when he gets your hard-earned money!!!!!!

Bet it's in the same town

OH .......one more thing....... WELCOME

Go to the local market and put a photo of this guys truck sayin'

"WANTED!! One better than this ---ONLY CHEAPER!!!'

Bet you get a call from his widowed neighbor

Boy this New Years resolution thing works!!

as for the price, i would say high, but thats just because there are a lot of old pickups sitting around in the fence rows out here.

another thing is that the front park lamp/turn signals you cant get and will have to fabriacate something (or at least i couldnt find where to get them). I just used a piece of stainless steel.

Brian K

I'm kinda partial to the long fleetside - they're real trucks that got room to haul a load, not just look pretty!

like Brian sez, the only place you'll find the park lites is swap meet used - rear bumper will be another swap meet item, and prolly few had them originally as they were an option not many wanted - the tailgate will be 500 or so for a repro

it's a reasonable price for a mostly ready truck, but you can find lots cheaper if you can handle some of the work yourself - tho paint jobs aren't cheap!!

Bill

Just wanted to say I appreciate all the comments. I was somewhat swayed by the decent body and paint job, but was concerned about the missing parts and you confirmed my suspicions that they would be hard to find.

Kurt V

Seriously do shop around

DON'T BUY ANYTHING RED!! And never buy at night or on a rainny day!!!

Lookin' round is fun and after you buy yours you'll find three more better and cheaper Ask anyone here.........

If you don,t buy it let me know where it is.
I,d like to see it. What part of Mo. are you in?
I,m in the K.C. area.

there is an old saying "satisfaction is cheap at any price"..... if its what you want buy it! there has been a lot of good advice listed above. My two cents is check the body! I wish I could have found better metal and I would have paid more for it! Body parts ain't cheap and body/paint work is going up up up! A CHEAP truck won't necesarily be Cheap to re-do. Also add what you want to do to the truck and then see how much you would have in it. Some say check the price of it in #1 condition...then add up what it would take to put it in #1 condition and subtract that from what it will be worth. That gives you some idea of what is ahead. Did ANY of this make sense? :confused:

It never hurts to look around, but if the truck is in great shape for original, you have the money, room, time, and you like the truck then maybe you should go for it, or atleast after you have looked around. I love the 58 fleetside style, especially the long bed. My Uncle always told me "If you've got the money for it, then its a good deal", maybe its true in a way?

- Shane

Well I am going to take a closer look at it this weekend and armed with this information see if I can talk him down some to make the deal seem more attractive to me.