1969 F350 Custom help!

[jteipel]

Hello hello,

My name is Joseph, and I live in Denver, CO. I recently inherited by great Uncle's 1969 F350 Custom pickup truck. It has toolbox sides, and he (as an incredible custom metal fabricator) built a custom topper shell for it. It has a 4-speed manual, with a 360 motor. The truck drives well, but the motor needs a rebuild as it drinks oil (no leaks though!), and knocks rather loudly. My Uncle also installed a 3rd gas tank on the back, and it has a water tank as well - he used it as an RV for long trips.

I have an incredible amount of random spare parts, from body trim to extra light covers and much more. Also have three spare wheels & tires (tubed).

My wife and I are in the process of adopting two kids, and while I don't really want to sell this truck for many reasons, we may have no other choice financially, so I'm trying to get any tips/thoughts on potential value and how I might be able to find a buyer who would honor and care for the truck the way my Uncle did.

I've never seen the same style (F350 toolbox) for sale, and prices for 1969 F100s vary from $1,500 to $15,000 - I would really appreciate any thoughts from folks here about potential value and how they would go about finding the right buyer!!

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

- Joseph

[MadJoe]

from MA. That is an absolutely beautiful truck! It'd be a shame to let it go. My advice would be to find any way possible to hang onto it while you stabilize your financial situation, then just spend what is necessary to keep it up until you can afford to rebuild the engine (or replace it with a crate motor). I would be heartbroken to let such a beauty go without a fight.

Barring that, I'd spitball a guess that that truck could fetch $7,500 or more if you look hard enough for the right buyer (assuming the undercarriage and other things not the engine are as pretty, or nearly as pretty as those photos make the body seem).

My experience is pretty limited, though (I've only ever bought and/or appraised 1 of these (a 1971 DRW flatbed/stake), and mine appraised at a little over $10,000 not looking as pretty as yours, but with a solid engine, frame, body (no hidden rust or rot through), and electrical system).

On a side note shortly after buying mine (like 3 days later), I received an unsolicited offer of $1500 more than I paid and a 2005 2500HD 6.0L Chevy with 168,000 miles on it in great running/working condition. I declined.

Parting thought: Keep the truck!

ETA: The fender/hood/cowl gaps are so straight, and the paint and trim all looks perfect!

[TNIceWolf]

Placing a value on someones prized possesion is something I would avoid. There are many reasons an old truck has value other than just dollars.And dollars dont always cover that value. Thats a really nice truck I would personally love to own.But to place a value on it you have to decide what you will accept.There will be many who will throw out ridiculous figures that are appealing.But at the end of the day you have to consider what you are selling,A work truck with a bad engine probably isnt going to pull a 7 grand sell price.
A buyer who wants a work truck wants to make as much money as they can off the vehicle as opposed to its purchase price plus repairs and maintenance.A collector would probably look more at originality. Thats a tough call you are looking at. I dont mean to be a naysayer but to me that one is a work truck.

[Mancar1]

Welcome aboard from Gerber, Ca.
As has been said. Most potential buyers for your wheels will be looking for a work truck. Where I am at with a motor needing a rebuild I would guess maybe $2,000. But hey what do I know? My opinion and $2.25 will get you a cup of coffee.
Good luck, and who knows you may find a collector who is looking for just that very truck.

[jteipel]

Thank you everyone for your replies - I'd love to hear more thoughts from anyone else as well!

I'm definitely going to do everything I can to keep the truck. It has no rust at all and everything but the engine is in great working shape - not spot/scratch free, but straight and true for sure.

I'm going to look into rebuilding the engine while I wait and figure out if I can afford to keep it or not. Any thoughts on the materials-only cost of a rebuild? I'm not looking to sup it up or anything - just get it running well.

Thanks again!

[Madman]

I am in Colorado, and have priced and researched these trucks for years, and I can tell you what I believe to be true. There are many trucks of this era listed for sale with high asking prices, with tons of quotes about NADA value and such, and they continuously get re-listed over and over again. If you find the guy that has to have it, then you will get a better amount, but most of those asking high dollar sit on those trucks forever.

I agree that $7k with a engine rebuild needed is not a probability of a sale. If it has more sentimental value to you then find a way to hold onto it, otherwise do some research about what they actually sell for in this area, and price accordingly.

[Jacksdad]

I agree - this probably won't fetch as much as you'd like because of the engine work needed, even though it is an amazing truck. If you can find a way to keep it, I would definitely try to. I'm big on sentimental value though - I own the 1939 car my grandfather bought used after the war so I guess I'm somewhat biased.

[MadJoe]

My apologies if my guess got your hopes up, seems I was being a bit generous. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks you should keep it, and that you're considering it, though.

I'd love to see more photos from different angles and interior/undercarriage and inside that toolbox. The body does look perfect from the 2 you did supply, and that led me to assume the rest of the truck was probably just as nice.

[TNIceWolf]

I too would very much like to see more pics of this nice rig.I think you will find that most of us are pic hounds to begin with and the F350 owners even more so. We dont get to see a lot of them on here so its a rare treat. As far as the parts for an overhaul goes....... thats an even bigger can of worms......or sack of rattlesnakes.... than pricing the truck itself. You wont have any real idea of what parts you will actually need till its torn down...inspected ....and measured. Add to that with an engine of the FE type that old you can expect some machine work. Your skill set and tools also come into play. Again I dont mean to be a wet blanket but we actually dont know that much about the truck or you and your mechanical background yet so anything we toss at you is going to be pretty generic and wide ranged. You can glance at my project link in my signature below and it might give you some ideas or might not. There are many on here better than mine covering the FE engine. But I think you will find that an overhaul is very rarely just swapping out a few parts.Its more often a combination of several avenues of attack.

[jteipel]

Thanks again to all the posts! Here are a few more pics, though I need to take some of the undercarriage and engine bay (but its zero degrees and snowing right now, so that will have to wait!)...

I'm going to be approaching someone else to do the engine job, if I'm honest with myself, I do have an extensive DIY mechanical background, but I don't have the time, space, or tools for a deep rebuild like this. So we'll see.

Thanks so much and keep the thoughts coming!

[jteipel]

And more!

[MadJoe]

Looks great, I really like the dashboard cluster. Is that original? I think given the choice between that and what my '71 has, I'd take that. Thank you for the extra pics!

[ok68crewcab]

Pretty cool. Dash gauges look real good!