How much is too Much ?

[Plushy]

Hi Everyone ,
This question is more related to the Aussies on the Forum . The question is how much money is too much for a Blitz ?. After some interesting bargaining over the last few days i was wondering roughly what people think a Blitz is worth?.I found a F15A with a crane attched on the rear its missing the doors but has the engine still in and the engine cover after approaching the owner he asked what i thought it was worth so i said if it was running i would have thought 800 max [as that was what i had seen at clearance sales ]. He then told me how it belonged to him and his father before him and how rare these trucks are and so on and so forth he then told me he couldn`t part with it for less than 2000 . So are my price estimates wrong ? i dont think they are as so far i havent paid over 400 for any of my Blitz`s yet .

Any one have any ideas or comments on this ??

Cheers Plushy

[phoenix]

$2000, tell him he's dreaming. As for rare, well, that's a debate in itself, but plenty seem to be about the place at the moment.

Hell, my ambulance is one of 30 ever made, but they don't relly get classed as rare. It's complete, and in reasonable nick and only cost me $1500.

[Ryan]

Hey, I'm only starting out in this business but here's my two cents. I think $2000 is way too much. Of course it depends what sort of condition they are in, blah, blah, blah, but for what I've been coming across (the normal farm wreck finds) I'd only be paying in the low to medium hundreds. It will take (help me out here anybody) a hell of a lot of time and much money to get your purchase back on the road and in a safe manner. The people selling them often overlook this.
But then again, we should consider ourselves lucky, just look at the sky high prices being paid for early rodder projects or Aussie muscle cars.
Ryan

[Keith Webb]

You can take scrap value as a yardstick which values something like a F15A with crane at around $400 to $600, whether running or not. To the collector however it's potentially worth more. To the seller though it may be worth either a lot more or a lot less, depending on his perspective which can range from rare heirloom to take it away for free.

[Plushy]

Keith i have found some more trucks to photograph i will post up some photos late next week

[Keith Webb]

He-he-he that ought to confuse Jif!

Originally posted by Plushy
Keith i have found some more trucks to photograph i will post up some photos late next week

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Hi all – here is a bit of a reality check.

1. Assess what you want as a finished product against what you are starting out with.

2. How skilful are you in a workshop and how much can you do without outsourcing work? Are you skilful enough to end up with a safe, roadworthy vehicle?

3. Are you restoring with your head, ergo prepared to spend money, or with your heart and hoping it won’t cost much. Probably seven out of ten restoration efforts end up in failure as lack of finances, resources, skills and lack of networking stretch the restoration period into years and often cause considerable emotional strains on partners. I have seen so many restoration start ups where everything is immediately stripped down into a thousand pieces, not catalogued or photographed and then finished up lying on the shed floor for years to be eventually sold as a jigsaw puzzle or just scrapped. Personally I would rather spend several thousand dollars on something that won’t take years and/or thousands of dollars to restore.

4. Plushy, put yourself in the place of the F15A crane Blitz owner. What would you sell it for given that it could be worth up to $1000 in scrap depending on whether it is a real crane on the back or just a glorified jib arm? A scrappy acquaintance is currently getting $170 a ton for heavy steel and $120 a ton for cars. You say you haven’t spent over $400 per vehicle so far, but what have you actually got for your money and how extensive is your shopping list and budget.

5. Richard, re. your argument about comparing the value of a Blitz to your ambulance, could it be that there are not as many people interested in Land Rovers as there are in Blitzs hence they sell for far less. Besides which you can’t compare a small softskin to a full grown truck, and remember Blitzs are trucks.

6. Ryan, firstly if it is going to cost thousands to restore then perhaps don’t buy it in the first place and secondly the seller couldn’t give a rat’s A how much it will cost you to restore and, as I said to Plushy, put yourself in the seller’s place.

7. Everybody should take a leaf out of Ron’s book with his spectacular and swift Carrier restoration. He both fabricated and outsourced and just got on with it.

8. Another thing I have noticed is people baulking about having to travel afar to obtain something. Ada and I go on lengthy field trips but we treat it as much as a holiday as a field trip. If you have to worry about travel costs then I suggest you have a problem before you even start to tackle a restoration project.

9. My final comment is, and this is critically important, make the effort to involve your partner even if it is only by communicating what you are doing. Our rule here is that this hobby is kept in perspective and if it imposes on our lifestyle or relationship then it would be time for me to pull my head in a bit.

There, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Bob

[Plushy]

Good points bob , i was guessing around the $100 mark per ton for scrap but if its up to $170 then i might have to up my offer prices a little . My Wife actually likes me to buy blitzs as she thinks there cute the only demand she makes is that there is somewhere for the two dogs to fit in .

[hrpearce]

My Blitz cost $2000.00 Running with a short jib and a saw bench thrown in. The spare parts Blitz was given to me. The cab with a drivers door I needed cost $70 and two three hour round trips. A fuel tank with cap cost $60 and a seventeen hour drive with an overnight stay for me and my boys. So it all depends what you want to end up with and how long the overdraft lasts.
Robert.:

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally posted by Plushy
..... the only demand she makes is that there is somewhere for the two dogs to fit in .

That's why the intrepid Canadians invented trays with sides! That way you can fill them with flats of beer AND dawgs to guard it (hint though, you have to ensure your dogs haven't been keeping a close eye on you popping caps, because they'll get into your stash and help themselves when you're not looking)...

[Ryan]

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
There, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

*Warily looks around the campfire at his companions* "Did we all just get told off?"

Just kidding bob. Advice taken on board. And as for my partner being in on it, my hobby has got a lot of catching up to do with hers. Let's see, empty driveway compared to paddocks with sheep, alpacas, chickens, geese, goats and a pig! A few Blitz's won't hurt.

[phoenix]

LOL, the comparison between my ambo and the blitz was only an example Bob, I wasn't suggesting that prices would be anywhere near similar

[Howard]

I have been keeping an eye out for trucks for a little while now, and for ages they were hard to find. Then, I attended a clearing sale one day, and bought (on behalf of another collector) an F60L for around 4x what I would have paid...
Now, it seems, there are trucks everywhere. And they are all worth a fortune...

[Max Hedges]

the last one I bought was $600 and it has a realy good cab, home made tray, stuck engine but should free up.
A lot depends on what is on them and what you need, I have seen a good cab back panel bring $150 for a 13 cab and doors are what every body is on the look out for as well.
I also have had a lot given to me because of my good looks ya know
Max

[Bob Moseley (RIP)]

Wrong smilie, that one is mine. This is yours

Bob

[Howard]

Here is an example of the differences of sellers.
A couple of weeks ago GT & I went for a drive to check out a couple of trucks. First stop was an F60L in good nick but missing the engine. The owner had stars in his eyes & asking Price $2800. It stayed there. I will hit him up later...
Stop #2 just 2km down the road was a Chev C15A in pieces. But was ours for the taking. Gratis. In the end I offered to do some work on his 4WD, value about 200, in return.
Jo (Mrs HH) got her F15A for S.F.A, as the owner was very keen to see it back on the road again & realized that it was only going to rot into the ground at his place.
So yes, it depends on the seller. Are they selling it to bolster their superannuation, or are they keen to see something get fixed.
Generally, I have found that the more the owner cares about the truck itself, the less it will cost you if your motives are genuine.
That's my two bob's worth...
HH
And, yes, keep the partner involved.

[Rod Diery]

Originally posted by Plushy
Hi Everyone ,
This question is more related to the Aussies on the Forum . The question is how much money is too much for a Blitz ?. After some interesting bargaining over the last few days i was wondering roughly what people think a Blitz is worth?.I found a F15A with a crane attched on the rear its missing the doors but has the engine still in and the engine cover after approaching the owner he asked what i thought it was worth so i said if it was running i would have thought 800 max [as that was what i had seen at clearance sales ]. He then told me how it belonged to him and his father before him and how rare these trucks are and so on and so forth he then told me he couldn`t part with it for less than 2000 . So are my price estimates wrong ? i dont think they are as so far i havent paid over 400 for any of my Blitz`s yet .

Any one have any ideas or comments on this ??

Cheers Plushy

This rusty old C15A was an ex radio van located in Albany, Western Australia. I contacted the owner of it about ten years ago and he told me I could have it for nothing.

Stupidly I did nothing about it until about two years later. I then found out that the owner had died so I had to talk to one of his sons. The son told me that it was a one of a kind truck and that it was worth at least $5000.00.

I told the son he was dreaming but he was adamant so I left it at that. The C15A was parked close to the road verge and about a year later the Albany Town Council impounded it, towed it away and crushed it at the local tip.

Sadly this is a fairly common story. Many people who have old vehicles, whether they are CMPs or whatever, can only see the prices that fully restored vehicles can bring. They do not appreciate the time and effort involved in restoration not to mention the money spent by the restorers.

Cheers
Rod

[Max Hedges]

Originally posted by Bob Moseley
Wrong smilie, that one is mine. This is yours

Bob

my mistake