Cost To Refurbish A Truck

[sodly]

I've been a fan of the old truck hobby for decades but generally only as a spectator.  I've always hoped to one day get in on the action so I'm now hunting for a hobby truck of my own, preferably a Superliner.  Over the years I've collected a few antique pickups but never personally owned a "big" truck of my own.  I'm not in the trucking business like many of you but I have driven big trucks off and on over the years and have a life-long passion for them (esp. Superliners!).  As I look at trucks for sale I find that most of the ones in my price range need some "sprucing up."  I'm trying to get a handle on what it might cost to have some of this refurbishing work done since I don't really have a clue.  I'm sure many of you have tackled these kinds of projects before.  Can anyone give me ballpark costs for some of the tasks below?  I'd just like to have a general idea of how much $$ I need to allow for these things as I plan my "toy budget."  

*  Professionally polish all the aluminum on a tractor-- 6 (or should you just do all 10) wheels, 2 large fuel tanks, battery boxes and air tanks.  Do polishers do stacks, grilles and mirrors, too, even though they're not necessarily aluminum?

*  Sandblast and re-paint a frame.  I know that's a loaded one.  I'm talking about doing a pretty thorough job-- removing all the wheels, fuel tanks, air tanks, battery boxes (or somehow covering them).  Then covering the cab and engine so the entire length of the rails could be primed/painted uniformly from end to end.  I don't know how else you could paint a frame without it looking half-assed (like just doing from the back of the cab to the end of the frame).  Of course, the frame behind the cab would have to be done inside and out, including the rear axles and suspension.  A big project!      

*  Install new air lines and other rubber/plastic that might be degraded from time.  

*  New tires-- what kind of money does it take these days to put a nice, new set of 10 matched American-branded tall tires (say 11Rx24.5s) on a tractor?  Include mounting, please.  

Thanks, guys!  

[AZB755V8]

A Superliner is a good one to start with. Buy the best one you can afford. EVERYTHING is expensive to replace and parts are harder to find as the age of the truck gets older. I have had trucks done by professionals, done my own and purchased one that just needed a little work and had all the right stuff. 

Going down the line:

Wheels cost $275-300 new. Repolish is approx $125-175 a wheel. I have bought repolished wheels for $175. An old or scrap wheel is worth about $50-70. Scrap the old ones and get new, there is nothing like new wheels and tires. Danny's truck wash by me in Phoenix, AZ does polishing all the other polishing you asked about. Call them and they should be able to give you a ball park price. The more you can polish the more you can spend in other areas.

Frame restoration is going to be what you are willing to accept. A perfect frame with no rust pocks, holes welded, painted in and out will be expensive $20-50k. Just to grind down, sandblast and repaint like you stated will be at least $10,000. A nice Superliner went for $15000 with aluminum frame, E9, and nicely painted in the past a member here had it. They were out there, maybe still.

Air lines and hoses are things that you should be able to do. Having a hobby truck is having something to tinker with and work on. There are things the go wrong, break and just need replaces. You will go broke if a truck shop is going to maintain your vintage truck. DOT Hoses, lines and fittings, $1500 should cover it for parts.

American Big rubber tires: $3500-$4500 for a set of 10

Hope that give you an idea of what you could be looking at. Buy the best condition truck you can to start with and you will be money, time and work ahead. Then go out an have fun with it. 

 

[Hayseed]

4 hours ago, sodly said:

Can anyone give me ballpark costs for some of the tasks below?

Figure out what you think will be a fair amount.. then DOUBLE it...

 

That'll cover All the "Oh Sh....t" Problems of "the more you pull apart the more you find"...

 

Ask me how i know This...

[keg1]

I have this 83 for sale that I would have to have 30,000 for. I have done a lot to it and have around 40,000 in it. Everything cost money and I've never got out of them what I put in and that doesn't count my time.

[sodly]

Thanks guys, especially AZb755v8.  This is helpful stuff.  Yikes!  So you say about $7k-ish for new wheels and rubber?  And an equal amount for frame blasting/painting?  This definitely isn't a poor man's hobby, is it?  It amazes me when I go to truck shows and see how many guys have "toy" trucks that don't do anything but go to shows.  Many have more than one!  And then to haul or drive those trucks long distances to shows!  Yowza, that some serious coin!  More power to ya!  Hope to join the fun some day.  I realize it helps a lot if you're already involved in trucking somehow and have access to the equipment to be able to mess around with big toys.  Unfortunately, I don't have that "excuse" to have an old truck.     

 

If anyone else has additional feedback on their experience with buying or refurbishing their hobby truck I'd love to hear about it.  I'm sure some of you have been in my shoes before.  

[Timmyb]

Hi sodly. I guess how much it cost depends on how fastidious you are. A hobby truck and a show truck in my mind are two different things. Which are you hoping to achieve?

I think like has been said before, buy the best truck you can afford. If you can avoid any major mechanical repairs then you have a bit more money to personalise it. 

Edited September 23, 2018 by Timmyb

[Hobert62]

Usually buying a truck like keg1 is selling will be cheaper for you then buying all new parts.        You also have to decide what you want. Do you need a $100k toy you will cry when you get your first scratch or a $30k toy you can play with? Do you have a place inside to park it?      I bought my wheels for $50-&60 each.  even a new polished wheel will have machining marks but it will shine.  We started sanding with 80 grit sand paper on a lot of my aluminum to smoothe everything out before the buffing process. We sanded all the way to 1000 grit before buffing.    Dewalt has a nice variable speed buffer my dad has.   It looks like a big 9" angle grinder but much slower. To fast and you can burn the aluminum.  Buffing wheels and the rouge isn't that expensive and not to hard to figure out.          Do you need new tires or would a matched set of used ones work for ya?  I bought my 4 used virgin Goodyear drive tires and 2 aluminum wheels for $500.    I love seeing the trucks at shows that are all perfect,( I really like AZb755's b model) but there not for me.    So far I have somewhere in the $10-&12 k range in my B.   it's nowhere near a perfect show truck and was built with mostly all junkyard parts.   I play with it,  beat on it,and don't worry about stone chips, splattered bugs, or mud on the tires.     Good luck with whatever you go with, and remember we like pictures of all types.     

[Freightrain]

Cost for everything is relative to your area.  

I just had my hubs and rims blasted this spring(dustless blasting).  I had $300? in it.  He brought his trailer/equipment and did it in my driveway.   Few hours and it was done.  I'm sure if you have a portable guy in your neck of the woods you could do the same kind of deal on your frame.

Tires?   $400-600 depending on brand, and they can go higher for high end tires.  I run 22.5" Toyo on mine and they were $400 each just a few years back I put new steers on it.

As for which truck?  Buy the best you can afford.  Try to make sure all the big mechanicals are in good shape, you don't want to have to put engine/trans/rearends in it.  Rust is common and will just have to find the best you can.  All depending on your capabilities and/or how much you can spend to have it done.

I bought my B for basically $2500.  I've done near everything but put a transmission in it over the last 17 yrs.  Every few years I find another project to tackle. I'd have to do some math to figure out what I have tied up in it, though I know it's not a large sum.  I keep it running(as I need it).   Some buy a project, tear it apart and never see the light of day again.  It can be a daunting task.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Freightrain

[DDEMLOW]

I have recently been in the same situation that you are contemplating.  My B61 was purchased for $3800 in the condition of the photo on the right.

After 1000 hours of work; the final cost for the restoration was between $15-$18k.   This does not include new wheels or tires which I have not yet purchased.   I would not sell it for less than $25k.

It was a lot of work and time but it was worth it.  There were times when I thought that I was in over my head.  It is not a "show" truck but it turned out ok.

Good luck and have fun with it. 

[Truck Shop]

                                           The B75 I'm working on at the moment will probably run 20K when I'm done. And that is completely hand building the truck, because everything will be modified.

                                            the hood 14" longer, a new frame and totally different running gear. I have to build the outside frame steering, clutch linkage, all crossmembers , air intake, exhaust

                                            system, visor and several other goodies. But for me I have a ton of connections for parts and some of it has been given to me. I have a friend that runs a great 

                                            machine shop for those items, plus I have lengthened 72 trucks over a span of 44 years as a mechanic. My advise is do a bunch of looking and investigating 

                                            on costs before jumping into a major rebuild, having excellent sources is key to keeping the costs down.  $12,000 in the KW I did some years back, Again I had most

                                            of the parts already.

 

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