The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk resale on a restoration

would a 51 3100s value increase the closer to stock it is? or are there things, such as upgrading to a 1954 engine due to the oil pressure, that would increase the value of a complete frame up restoration but takes it further away from stock.

the "value" of an old truck is what a buyer [if you find one] is willing to pay - if you're looking to make a profit from restoring an old truck you should reconsider your investment strategy, a "frame up restoration" might return almost what you spend on it, if you do ALL the work yourself ..... maybe 30-50% if you're paying for labor

Bill

There are two camps on this - the stockers & the modders. In a resto-mod you 'restore' the truck but you add modern tech like power disk brakes & air conditioning.

These appeal to a wider audience as lots of buyers like to take the truck out for a Sunday cruise & they like the ease of driving a modern vehicle.

Museum's & Jay Leno types like the totally stock trucks but they are harder to come by. But that is just my opinion.

I do with my old jalopies what I feel like doing without any regard to resale value. If you ever get into a position of having to sell at a distress sale, you are going to lose money. Its your vehicle and fix it to what pleases you. If you sell and lose money, at least you can look back and say "I did it my way and enjoyed it." In my opinion that is what its all about.

If you think you can break even on either, you are badly mistaken

I like Gazim's response!. I'll bet I could almost get the value of the parts out of mine. But I wouldn't ever sell. All you really need to do, is what you want. Don't worry about the resale, it's generally a fraction of what is worth! - When you include any time, even at $1 an hour.

Its a buyers market out there.So my advice is do a nice job,no matter which way you go.

Restoring old trucks is not a money making proposition, it is a labor of love and expensive. As every body else says, you likely will never get rich doing it. As it sits right now, my truck has over $5k and I quit counting the hours months ago.

Amen .. I easily put 2X the "worth" in my truck. But hey it wasn't about the money :-)

The only people who make money on restorations, resto-mods, rodifications and the like are the hot rod shops and parts vendors.

I'm sure everyone who has or is restoring a vehicle answers the same 2 questions as I do asked by none restorers... 1. How much money have you put into this? My answer: I have no idea. (Plus it is none of their business but I'm a nice guy) 2. How much is this going to be worth when you are done? My answer: I'm not going to sell it. Once you sell it, then you do not have it anymore. How can one put a pricetag on their own blood sweat and tears (Yes I've shed all three, some more than others). Like the Mastercard ads say, "Some things in life are priceless, For everything else, there's Mastercard (thru paypal for most of us!)

In summary, it is only worth what you sell it for. If you never sell it, it can be worth whatever you want it to be worth. There is a big difference between worth and replacement cost!

Ditto on what '46 says...it never ceases to amaze me when people ask how much money you have spent on your truck ! I always answer " way too much " Why would I give a perfect stranger that kind of info ?

If you plan on restoring to resell forget it, unless you restore for the love of restoring and are willing to take a loss when you sell it.

Well, I take a little different approach but probably get the same results. It amazes me how most folks guard dollar figures like it was some big secret. True, its none of there business and you can give them a polite answer like 46HalfTon said. In my years I have run across some that I thought were asking a logical question as they may be wanting to have a vehicle just like the one you have. I usually just nonchalantly say what I think I have in it and tell them to add about 15% to that! They generally move on without much fanfare. To my closer friends I always give them an honest answer and they do me the same way.... like recently I ask a friend "well,Art, how much did you end up having in the 50 when you finished. His reply, 16 grand. And so it goes.

I think a lot of folks don't talk $$$ because they are afraid they paid to much for something..... heii don't we all do that?!!

Anyway, just a different view point. (If I'm in a bad mood I might tell them I inherited it or "only the bank knows".)

The general public doesn't care what has been done during the rebuild as long its clean and shinny, and 1 out of 50 might recognize the non-stock items. Mine is modified for two reasons, one it was cheaper to go with modern parts, and two it was faster, I didn't have to hunt all over the country for each part. It still took 4 years, but from what I started with, I am happy. The building and tinkering is the fun part, and I still work on it all the time for something to do.

I know down to the dollar what I have in it for parts, and if I sold today, I might break even if I find the right buyer. Joe

Here's the rules regarding buying and selling old trucks.

• Every truck is worth what someone will pay for it
• Every truck is worth less when you want to sell it than it is when someone wants to buy it
• Every truck is a bargain when the seller is anxious
• Every truck is a steal when the seller has to get rid of it
• Every truck is a great investment when someone really wants to buy it
• Every truck is a fantastic investment when the owner doesn't want to sell it and the buyer insists on buying it

Paul,
AMEN on that post!
Tim

Here are a few things that I know:

once you get over the fact that restoring vehicles is a hobby AND a perpetual suck-hole for cash and time, then you can enjoy it.

If you want to make a small fortune restoring an old truck or car, then start with a large one

If you want to make money on restoring an old car or truck, then own a reputable restoration shop that caters to the wealthy.

AAAAAAAmen brothers! As my wife use to say about real estate. No two contracts are the same... "fair price is what one will give and what the other will take" enough said

(oh, that was my X wife who I paid half what the 37 is worth)
so now I have "1 PLUS a half in it". I'll never get my money out of it. hehe But who cares, its still cheaper than her high maintenance