The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk repro 47-53 steel cabs

I was reading the Dec. 05' issue of Classic Trucks and Rob Fortier mentioned in the Driver's Seat article on page 10 that 47-53 steel cabs were soon to hit the market. Just thought I'd let ya know.

52Shovelay

Dynacorn had the first cab at SEMA. Don't know pricing or availability, though.

Now That ain't right. I've been following the article in Classic Truck of a F### F-100 that they are putting together from 100% remanufactured parts. Someday I guess the truck market will look like the 32 fiberglass roadster high boy...

49bourbon,

I agree, it aint right. However, I'm sure you've noticed the price difference between a glass 32 highboy, and a "real" 32 highboy.

My guess is that our "real" trucks will outprice that glass or repro steel stuff every day.

Just like the Deuce(s)...

if ya follow this close i don't think they are talking glass as i think it was hot rod mag that has the all metal 69 camaro convertible Gm licenced body fron dynacor that can have your v.i.n. nailed on that sucker instantly capable of passing as orginal to a "sucker" if thats gonna be the right word?????????? any how what possibilities are gonna exist now makes for an interesting situation don't it????????????

I'm all for dudes making repro cabs as well as fenders, hoods, doors, etc.

Based on the quality of the metal repro body panels i've seen, I suspect it would be pretty easy to tell the difference between an original and a repro cab.

I'll also bet they'll be mighty expensive.

Well, Glass or repro steel, I'm with Fumblin... they wont be the same quality (or gauge of steel) the originals were.

I still believe the market price difference will be there as the "real" stuff is getting harder and harder to find. With demand, the prices will rise.

Those of us that were lucky enough to horde some away will be sitting on a nice investment. I don't believe any of us will get rich, but...

Who would have ever guessed the AD suburbans (not to mention that pickup) would have brought what they did at Barrett Jackson, this last year.

They are already making 'glass truck bodies at U.S. Body Source. I could buy a complete 64-66 truck if need be,
Scott

This is one of the dumbest ideas yet.Why would you reproduce something that is plentiful.AD's are every where around here and rust free for the most part.There is 33 AD's between my house and my place of employment which is 10 miles away.

I'm just reporting the news. There's a wrecking yard a few miles from my office that has five complete '47-53 cabs for $500 ea (that was the price quoted to me...may vary). I can imagine the steel repops being almost ten times that. As for the 'glass "blue-oval" stuff, I'm just reporting on that, too.

Actually I just saw that to. I can't remember what the website is though. something like goldenautomotive.com just that doesn't come up.

I read the article in Hot Rod about the Camaro. The price of the Camaro was $10,500 or $11,500. I don't know if an AD cab will be more or less, but I expect they will cost a pretty penny or two.

Seems unlikely I'd ever buy one, but I'm glad they are out there. Most the cabs I see in this part of the country have serious problems and it might be cheaper to buy one of these new ones than to fix some of the old ones.

IT STILL may be a deal when a new truck is 40-50k i have promised to never buy a new truck again (been there done that) so havin said that i,m ok with the new repo i just want to know when it's repo

Lots of AD cabs around my neck of the proverbial woods, too.. but we are the exception, not the rule.

I've heard on more than one occasion a person paying $5,000 for an AD truck, just to tear it all down, spend countless hours sanding down, fixing, sealing, and priming the cab, then just end up sticking it on an s10 or other frame.

Thats above and beyond the transport costs, and not really knowing if the seller revealed hidden damage that he may or may not know about.

I've also heard of dudes buying a cab, getting to the sanding part, only to find out body panels were welded on, the cab was full of bondo (or worse).. all sorts of headaches.

So if you're gunna spend the bucks, why not just buy a cab that all you have to do is shoot with primer and paint?

That single issue of Classic Trucks or whatever that rag is called that R.F. edits is laying in my bathroom floor.. I was thumbing thru it a few days ago and in the back theres a dude selling new rolling frames for old Fjords and Chebbys.. THOSANDS of dollars for these frames.

If you got the jack, why would you put thousands of dollars into cleaning up a old cab just to stick it on a new frame? It's not like you're that concerned about originality, not if your putting a 400 small block in it and setting the body on an aftermarket frame.

My guess is the aftermarket bodies are intended for a select market.. the guys with lots of money and a thing for old cars and trucks.. who dont want to hunt around for the right cab at the right price.. the kinds of guys who pay the big money for the SSR's and Vipers and that sort of stuff.

Well I think that there will be a healthy market, regardless of the cost. They are already selling new frames for these trucks with all the hotrod features, for around $7500. I am also pleased that there is enough interest for them to do it.

I have found the quality of the rocker panels, cowls and cab corners to be quite high. I am talking about the ones with the black finish from Taiwan.

I agree that the market for turn key trucks are for the folks with big bank accounts. I still prefer the original, no matter in whatever condition their in. I wonder if you can pound out dents in this repo sheetmetal like ya can on the original. If it wasn't for scrapyards, and implement enamel I wouldn't be able to have this much fun with my boltzzzzz-------resto44

make that goldenleafautomotive.com its "coming soon".

I don't know what that Camaro body looks like, but Dii parts that I have seen were JUNK. I mean, REALLY BAD JUNK.

Brian

The fact that someone is stepping up with the resources and the time and the $$$ to make things like repro doors, cabs, and other parts happen should indicate to all of you that first, there's a market for this stuff. Second, there's a demand somewhere or people wouldn't be making this stuff. Third, the quality of the parts and affordability will dictate whether these repop parts will sell and be successful in the marketplace. Fourth, a new part would sure beat a 60-year-old part, in many circumstances. Again, quality, price and durability will dictate what happens with this stuff.

The free-market economy at work...you gotta love it!

try finding old pics of your brand new repo truck. mine has lettering on it from back in the 50s. so no way you can do any more then copy it, and it cant be worth it. you cant repo history. :p

Reproducing these old truck are a good thing. With cars, people try to make "clones" all the time. Yes, some people get suckered but by people who don't know beans about the car anyway. The values of the vintage original stuff can be way up there and that drags the value of the "clones" up too. People want them and will pay. They say that out of every original muscle car, there are 2 clones. The clones are made up of original parts, or are reproduced. Heck, I have a stepside that is a clone of a Fleetside.

With the old truck market changing the way it has in the last 10 years, values will go up and people will start to clone them. The original truck values will be high, but it is the retro rod trucks that bring the best and easiest money anyway, not the restored trucks. If I were buying a resto rod truck, I don't think I would care if it had an aftermarket cab on it or not. I wouldn't blink at putting on a pickup box or tailgate from the many suppliers that reproduce them now.

For us Bolters that are getting older, having a new cab might be kind of nice instead of jerking around with all that rust floorboard and crap. They all rust in the same places anyway. How many times do I have to replace the cab corners on an old truck?

I don't care if the truck is an original or a clone. As long as the quality and beauty is there, it's a good thing. Ask Martha Stewart.

There were two AD cabs at the Monroe WA swap meet this fall. Both were complete with doors and both in very good condition. Both less than $125 each.
Another thought about glass bodies and modern frames. Some of the bigger car shows (Goodguys is one) have a year cut off for entrants. I think (I could be wrong) that it is 1978. Yet some guy with a glass 1932 roadster, crate engine and modern tubular frame can enter. Same thing in this province. A Collector car (modified collector to be exact) applies to pre-1948 vehicles. My buddy has a stock 1952 AD save for a 350 in it (stock front no IFS)and he doesn't qualify. Yet a guy with a 1934 Ford with a modern mill, tubular frame and glass fenders does. And as of next year the glass body will also be acceptible. Incidentally vehicles registered as either Collector (bone stock and original) or Modified Collector pay dramatically less insurance up here.

Im working on an AD cab, pretty much replacing the whole bottom half of it plus pieces of the dash and it had one good door.This cab cost $400 and i drove 3 hours to it.I guess cabs are a lot rarer around here.

While I don't have 33 available (like ViejitosCC), there are a ton of old grain trucks (2-ton) that have the AD cab in my area. I'd bet I could buy the whole thing for <$500. Maybe I've found a way to support my old car/truck habit.

So Cal would have truck parts all over the place.
Down here in So FLa, there's few to be had and I could really use one that's rust free or at least better than what I have. The whole bottom would pretty much have to be replaced...

Rob,
Wow, that's big news -- thanks for reporting it and filling us in!

Regards,
John

I'm just wondering how long it'll be before we start seeing "kit trucks" offered. The cycle shop I work at offers kit bikes,including one that's a very good replica of a 1948 Harley Panhead. It comes with everything but gas,oil and battery,and the engine and tranny are complete units.All that is required is paint and assembly. The downside (for me) is about $15,600.00. I guess that's really not that bad;I'd be hard pressed to find an original in new condition for that price.
Speed

What a statement! Only proves the viability of those old GM designs that you'll be able to make one from parts. You can already do that with old jeep bits.

Dynacorn is now making enough repro sheetmetal pieces for the AD that you can practically piece together a complete cab. Lookie here for all the available parts.

Well the whole story is this cab was supposed to be rust free and for $700.So I went to look at it of course it was nowhere near rust free.But I really got tired of looking for one and figured everything I find will have this much fixin to do.