There's also a Bumpside crew cab pickup that was, I think, at Barrett-Jackson, that rolled away for $220K. And to think those were only $4K back then.
It was actually a dentside, and it was at Mecum. But yeah, $220k. I'm just glad I got mine when I did. At this rate I would NEVER have been able to afford even a rust bucket.
It was a Dentside? Wow. I need to get my eyes, and my brain, checked.... Every time someone runs a vehicle over the stage at an auction house, the prices of everything that is that vehicle, soup to nuts, skyrockets. But never anything I have.....
I'm of the opinion that those people do not care, long as they get their money they think they're due. It's people like us on these forums that are alarmed young people are not getting into the hobby.
Seeing one of these go for $220k is just absolutely nuts, but part of that is the "custom" aspect with new expensive crate motors and trannies, high lift and customized suspensions, and upgraded interiors. All paid for by a shop to install and tune. If you're paying someone to do all that, you're easily going to run into the $75-100k figures depending on how wild you can make them. I mean I remember seeing young dudes in college with Excursions jacked to the limit and when you inquired how much they were costing, it was north of $60k which for a 19 year old frat-bro d-bag was just NUTS, almost 25 years ago. I have only seen those older crew cab pickups VERY rarely in the last 20 years. I suspect they were mainly ordered by well-off contractors and businesses who used them up and then sold them cheap to another business that drove them into the ground cyclically until they were gone. Before the mid '70s there were virtually no 4 door trucks, their popularity is a recent thing as you couldn't even give the damn things away 10 years ago in most cases. What was the expression up in Washington? "Crummy" or similar? Crummy truck to take you from your crummy house to your crummy job? In any event I wanted a diesel GMC crew cab for years but they were all beat to $#!^ and had title issues, then suddenly the same trucks were being sold for $7500-12,000 about 6-7 years ago.
The vintage truck market has exploded in recent years. And as you mentioned the crew cabs were rare back then, so they are definitely scarce now a days. Most were ordered by municipalities, railroads and logging companies. They were used up and then cast aside for a new model when they were deemed beyond repair. I am not exactly sure where the "crummy" moniker comes from, but I have often heard the old crew cabs referred to by that name. Usually by old loggers. When I was a kid My Dad had a crew cab. He worked in construction and had 7 kids, so it made sense. I loved that truck probably in part because like most little boys I wanted to be like my Daddy when I grew up, so having a 79 Ford crew cab became part of the long-term life plan. lol. I also know that at a young age I was keenly aware of the fact that my Dad's truck was unique. I only remember seeing one other truck like it until we moved back to Washington. I have always been on the lookout for old crew cabs and have spent more time than I care to admit searching for them in various ways. These trucks have always been more valuable than their standard cab brethren. Now it's just been magnified 100 fold.
Not all crew cabs were work trucks; as it was with our camper, they were used for campers and trailer tow vehicles, but admittedly, were the smallest piece of pie. And, work trucks were never really "driven into the ground;" from new, for the most part, they were used then replaced according to IRS laws on depreciation in force at the time. I learned about preventive maintenance and depreciation from my dad before I joined the Navy, and most companies would've simply sold off their vehicles as they bought new ones. The U.S. Government does the same thing.
LOL I don't know about that. I hope to keep mine into my retirement. You're absolutely right Andrew. I was speaking in general terms. Our truck wasn't an ex-railroad or logging truck. It was sold new to a rancher in Wyoming off the FORD lot. When he traded it in on a new F-350 in 82 my Dad bought it. I know that is a broad statement and there are are probably just as many that weren't as those that were. In the industries I've been around however far more are, then aren't. Just my own personal observation.
