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1952 Chevy in Clinton, MO from ebay

If I were you...

KC to Clinton, Mo is around 75 miles, right? I smell a road trip. There's 9 days left on ebay, so there's time for you to check it out thoroughly. It's a cool looking truck, no doubt. Minor dents and dings on most body parts, but that gives a character! There was no mention of what kind of motor is in it, but from looking at the oil pressure guage (replaced the original 0-30 with a 0-60), my guess is that they might have installed a 235 vs the original 216. Looking at the pics, they addressed some of the places where rust takes its toll, but not all of them for sure.

You'll notice that in the test drive video, he never got it above around 10 miles an hour. You'll also note that he said that it didn't have power steering, nor did it need it. No Chevy truck of that era needed power steering to come to a rolling stop and turn especially with thin tires.

Here's what I'd do if I were interested in buying this truck. I'd set up an appt. to check it out and take along a buddy. Ask if you can take it for a test drive where you can get the truck up to 35 to 40 mph. Have your buddy follow you to see how it tracks down the road, if it smokes under load, etc.

Next, ask if any of the body panels have been repaired or replaced, especially the lower rear cab corners. Pay close attention to differences in the paint, pitted vs smooth, smooth vs bubbly, etc as they can often tell you if repairs have been made, or if your arch enemy, rust, is fixing to pop out and ruin your day.

It looks like it's a dealer, so ask them to put it on a lift so that you can inspect the underside. Look at the engine, tranny, drivetrain, rear end and make mental notes of oil dripping, excessive build up of oily/greasy crap as they can tell you where you might have blown seals, leaky gaskets and the like. Inspect the front end too! As Nate has advised in the past, grab the top and bottom of the front wheels and give them a good shake. They should not have too much play in them. While underneath it, check for signs of rust and/or rust repair. Take notes of where potential problems could be.

Take a camera and document potential issues. Post them here, if you have doubts.

I reserve the right to tell you what I think is a fair bid for the truck until you feel comfortable with the above observations!

Ken
 
Auction Truck

Ifin it were me I would offer $6500. If I had the chance to look it over I would offer more. Dont get in a hurry because I expect it will be relisted. Anyone trying to make it look better 'cheap' will want more than he will get. You could buy this truck and spend $20,000 on it and may not get the 20k back. It has been painted flat black to hide the dents & it looks like they are abundant. The good thing it looks as if the rust is not there so if you can do the work yourself it would make a fine project. It worries me that there are no pictures underhood or where rust attacks. Go check it out and if you buy it buy compherisive insurance. They can be lost to fire, storm of flood and you would feel like a "wooden head dummy". Ask me how I know, it happens.
 

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Well ;

This could be good , could be yet another $3,500 beater .

In general , primer or matt finish vehicles are not only hiding things , but they're usually owned by idiot kids who mangle them before dumping on unsuspecting enthusiasts with lotsa glib talk like this guy does .

I notice he claims to know all about old trucks but glosses over his reluctance to show or talk about the rust issues and so on .

If you're keen on it , go look at it and take some coveralls and get underneath it
& greasy .

Hopefully it's the real deal .

BTW : NO ONE pays $35 K for these trucks ! period .

For $10K , you can buy a $25,000 actual value old AD truck ,remember that .
 
E.Bay 1952 1/2 truck, ad and You Tube movie?

Hi Sandy

In the advertizement the salesman is talking a lot about details that are not relevant at all. But there is an 235 CI under the hood (115 hp). Pictures are blurred and of bad quality, not very representativ fore such an compagny.There is honnesty in the film to , about everything they have replaced and thats just great. The fact is that they have mounted new parts that cost them around 1500 dollars + work and the truck basic price this truck is`nt worth moore then between 5000-7500 dollars. The suggestion Ken did to make a road trip out of town is the only solution, ask how many actual miles this truck and engine has been running and ask fore the complete trucks history. Rust could also be a problem ? Look spesially at the cabcorners ,floor and framework. Take a look underneath the truck and give it a thorough inspection for wear,rust and oilleaking, slappy wheelbearings, axle ect..
At last , make a short trip and testdrive the truck yourself , then feel how the tranny works.Remember this is not a fully synchronized transmission and it could rape some when you drive this truck. Be aware of how it steers , loosen up your hands a bit from your steering wheel when driving it at the speed of 30 miles an hour.Then see if it goes to the left or right and how it reacts? Is the steering tight or not?

Good luck bidding and welcome back with an litle report of how your experiences have been?

Martinius:confused:
 
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Re:

Blueflame236 said:
Hi Sandy

In the advertizement the salesman is talking a lot about details that are not relevant at all. But there is an 235 CI under the hood (115 hp). Pictures are blurred and of bad quality, not very representativ fore such an compagny.There is honnesty in the film to , about everything they have replaced and thats just great. The fact is that they have mounted new parts that cost them around 1500 dollars + work and the truck basic price this truck is`nt worth moore then between 5000-7500 dollars. The suggestion Ken did to make a road trip out of town is the only solution, ask how many actual miles this truck and engine has been running and ask fore the complete trucks history. Rust could also be a problem ? Look spesially at the cabcorners ,floor and framework. Take a look underneath the truck and give it a thorough inspection for wear,rust and oilleaking, slappy wheelbearings, axle ect..
At last , make a short trip and testdrive the truck yourself , then feel how the tranny works.Remember this is not a fully synchronized transmission and it could rape some when you drive this truck. Be aware of how it steers , loosen up your hands a bit from your steering wheel when driving it at the speed of 30 miles an hour.Then see if it goes to the left or right and how it reacts? Is the steering tight or not?

Good luck bidding and welcome back with an litle report of how your experiences have been?

Martinius:confused:
Click to expand...
You are right,Martinius,too much glowing repartee which has no significance regarding this truck. No way it is worth the 30-45,000 dollars they keep referring to. Just another survivor which may be at tops worth the 6,500 dollars willardgreen mentioned. I wonder who wrote the review?



John
 
Nice bomb, but if you do not know about working on them and finishing them, Keep Looking for something that has less to do on it.

The add side nothing about the moter or it being able to drive around the states any. That is something you can ask the seller, is it rode ready.
I've have driven mine from here, Ventura County, Ca. To Hudspeth County Texas and back.
 
I am going tomorrow (Wednesday) to go look at the truck.

Thanks everyone for letting me know what to look for and how to do it.
 
Here are pics underneath the hood

It is a 235
 

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Good luck Sandy! Remember, no matter how much your emotions say "yes", let common sense be your guide! "Reserve" has not been met yet at $8500. It's definitely not a $10,000 truck (my bet on what the reserve is!"

Ken

P.S. Check out my thread "Rust Never Sleeps" and look for those tell tale signs!
 
look around more

Hello Sandy - my 2 cents worth since you asked: I think the truck shows very well with the flat black paint and those EYE popping white walls and the shiny red rims/caps. The stagged photography adds alot as well. I can tell you are anxious to own one of these trucks and we all certainly understand that desire. However, I do not think that this self described "restoration project" is the truck for you for $8,500 (current bid and reserve still not met). Considering your previously stated budget and the fact that you live in the 'motherland of these trucks", I would suggest you keep looking around locally for an existing project or daily driver. I would also save quite a bit of your budget for after you buy one to be able to get it in top safety order. I would think that where you are, you should be able to find a good decent truck to start with for $5-6k and that gives you plenty left over to have a local mechanic that knows these old trucks a good working over. (there are bound to be quite a few partially completed project trucks that have been given up on - and ready to be sold - especially in this economy)

I just don't see in their ad that much they have done to this truck already. a quick paint job can hide a lot, new glass was required and the bed is just plywood (hope not to offend anyone here). Tires may be bias ply and not even radials? Looks to me like they just addressed the worst areas for aesthetics only in order for a quick flip on this truck. (paint, seat, glass, tires, bed, etc.)

I encourage you to continue searching and more importantly looking and "kicking the tires" as they say. You will get a better feel yourself when you see and touch them in person and you will get a better feel of the value to help you determine what you should pay. AND keep reading the past posts here and you will get an idea of what adds value.

Best of luck to you - jd
 
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My first reaction on how the engine compartment looks

Blurred pics. again.They painted it in a bad way ( in a hurry just to let it look a bit nicer).This engine have most likely to be overhauled ?

I would`nt bother to pay much for it.

My old mecanic friend allways says when a bad job is done" outside like a dollar smile , inside like shit" wont help you much.

Martinius.

ssexton1 said:
It is a 235
Click to expand...
 
NOT Overhauled !

If you look closely at the engine pix , it's clearly just cleaned up and quick & dirty painted...

Typical used car work , I do it to all my old beaters too but be aware , it is NOT 'rebuilt' , ' overhauled' or whatever . these fine engines can easily be ade to run sweetly when totally worn out....
 
I just came back from seeing it, and you are right. The engine is NOT overhauled and there are holes in the tailgate and raised paint on the running boards and other bubbled paint in other spots. The wheels look great, and the interior is okay. Now I hope that I do get out bid. You are right, he wants too much and so far I have not met his reserve price.

Here is a 1950 truck:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0502787748&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT
 
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New EBay find looks OK, but...

I think this is going to be a problematic truck as far as rust through is concerned. Looking at the pictures, I see: (1) completely rotted out where runningboard connects to driver's side rear fender, (2) passenger side front cowl (between fender and door) has visible blistering of paint, as well as bottom of passenger door with visible signs of rust, (3) blistering of paint on rear bed sill, (4) obvious dent in driver's side front fender and possible matching dent on passenger side (would appear that the driver rear ended something, (5) chrome is history on front bumper, hence the cheesy decals trying to mask the rust that has formed on the passenger side.

Cool side pipes, though I'm not sure I like them on this style of truck. Indicates that it most likely has a V8, which means that someone has done modifications to it and unless you did it yourself or know the person who did, that could be an issue as to the sound engineering principles used in the process.

Hope I don't come across too negatively. I don't want you to think of me as the guy who always pisses in your post toasties. Just trying to help!:o
 
ssexton1 said:
...Now I hope that I do get out bid..., he wants too much and so far I have not met his reserve price.
Click to expand...

Oh Sandy - please tell me you are not the high bidder on the black one at $8,501? If so, you need to drop your proxy bid down to that so that if ANYONE bids, it will let you out. Other bidders since $2,000 ago have NO transaction history and are most likely just kids or someone just raising the bid on you. And then PRAY that the seller does NOT lower his reserve forcing you to win the bid at that price.

The blue one is much more reasonable but Ken has pointed out some noteworthy items (I did not look that closely). (however Ken said might be a v8 engine, yet the ad says 235 inline 6). It looks like you are also the current high bidder on this blue truck as well. What is your hurry? You have 4-6 days on both of these trucks and if not careful, what will you do if you win both or the one you don't want? I would not bid any higher on the blue one until you go look at it (it's in KS so i assume it is within driving distance) and take notes and closer pictures if need be. This guy sounds like he wants to SELL this blue truck and ad sounds anxious - even willing to end auction early if the right offer is made. He is a pawn broker, so after looking it over and yacking it up with him a bit - flat out ask him what his reserve is on the truck(he may or may not tell you, but if he does, then there you go), then start negotiating. - but then again, you can't really do that until you know you have NOT won the black one, right? Please tell me you are not one of those deadbeat bidders on ebay. My guess is his reserve is at $5k and he would take a cash offer of even less than that. This is already a driver and looks like quite a bit has already been done on this truck. Make sure that title is not an issue in KS. If you look at it and it is what you expect or better, then i'd start an offer at $4k cash and slowly go up to $4500 and just see how he sits with that. That will leave you quite a bit of your budgeted amount left over to fix anything that bothers you, right? Just my 2 cents worth (ok, now it has gone up to 3 cents at least)
 
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