Why Old Pickups Are Suddenly Hauling In Big Money

[Photo: 1937 Studebaker J5 Coupe-Express, courtesy Auctions America]

As with many technological innovations, the pickup truck was a product of the ravages of human conflict.

Not long after the Great War ended in 1918, the Dodge Brothers began producing enclosed commercial trucks that had started life as ambulances and other mechanized tools of warfare.

About six years later, in a partnership with the Graham Brothers, out popped a 1924 Dodge ¾-ton pickup. It had an upright cab, a bed twice as long as it was wide, and chains that allowed a tailgate to rest open in a perpendicular position.

Nothing short of an American legend was born.

Fast-forward nearly a century and vintage pickups are booming, with prices of restored and even hot-rodded models often doubling from what they brought just five years ago.

[1954 International R100 Custom Pickup, expected to sell for $20,000 - $25,000 at Auctions America]

“Trucks that maybe in 2000 cost $15,000 are now $30,000 or $40,000” says Keith Koscak, car specialist with Auctions America, whose upcoming Auburn auction, May 7-9, features a host of pickups, including a 1940 Ford ½-ton Model 01C ($30,000 to $40,000) and a 1953 Ford F-100 ($28,000 to $34,000). “The climb in interest and prices has been unrelenting.”

Of particular interest to collectors and enthusiasts are Ford, GMC and to a lesser extent Dodge pickups from the ’40s and ‘50s, vehicles with an almost Transformer-like appeal whose beefy personality stems from muscular fenders and broad hoods.

[1934 Ford V-8 Pickup, expected to sell for $20,000-$25,000 at Auctions America]

But pickups from the ‘60, ‘70s and even early ‘80s are finding buyers as a mix of affordability — relative to classic sports cars of the same era — and personalization lure those who perhaps don’t want a new $40,000 pickup that looks just like the one sitting in their neighbor’s driveway.

Koscak says the big bucks go to pickups that have had top-notch restorations, allowing buyers to write a check and step back in time to when their parents or grandparents used such vehicles to get things done.

He recalls a 1955 GMC Step Side fetching $100,000, and notes that the upcoming Auburn sale will feature a rare 1937 Studebaker J5 Coupe-Express pickup that’s expected to sell for between $75,000 and $95,000.

[Interior of the ‘37 Studebaker Express, courtesy Auctions America]