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Original Sanford and Son Truck For Sale


Guest harner

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Guest straight shooter

I have always wondered where that truck ended up. The first question I asked myself when I saw the ad was how much would that truck cost if it wasn't the one from the show. The auction is starting at $20,000 and that does not meet the reserve. Will there be any serious buyers willing to pay such a premium for the provenance? I guess we will have to wait and see.

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I have always wondered where that truck ended up. The first question I asked myself when I saw the ad was how much would that truck cost if it wasn't the one from the show. The auction is starting at $20,000 and that does not meet the reserve. Will there be any serious buyers willing to pay such a premium for the provenance? I guess we will have to wait and see.

It has been sitting in a garage in Northern Indiana for the last few decades. My late Grandfather was a big fan of the show, him being in the scrap business as well surely had the most to do with it. I do believe that most of the value of the truck is due to its status as a piece of television memorabilia. As far as the pricing, it's hard to put a number on something like this. Like most antique memorabilia, the nostalgic factor really plays in.

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Now don't lie... when you drive this around you whistle the theme song, don't you.;)

Haha, I have never driven it, but I have sat in the back during a parade that we took it through.

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Guest AlCapone

I own many antique cars and trucks several which were in movies or television series ( most famous is lead car in Untouchables movie and tv series ). Having said that I will be shocked if you get anywhere near your asking price. If you do I would think it will not be a private buyer but possibly a museum. I will watch closely and if you do I will likely list 4 or 5 movie cars for sale. I was wondering, did you contact Barrett Jackson ?

Wayne

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Guest straight shooter
It has been sitting in a garage in Northern Indiana for the last few decades. My late Grandfather was a big fan of the show, him being in the scrap business as well surely had the most to do with it. I do believe that most of the value of the truck is due to its status as a piece of television memorabilia. As far as the pricing, it's hard to put a number on something like this. Like most antique memorabilia, the nostalgic factor really plays in.

I don't blame you for starting the auction at $20,000 and the reserve higher, there is only one original, the show was/is very popular, and the truck always appeared at the beginning of the show. I don't think a many private individuals will pay top dollar for it but a business or attraction might. It will definitely bring in some public and generate publicity. Good luck with the sale, If I had the money I might actually be bidding. :o

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I own many antique cars and trucks several which were in movies or television series ( most famous is lead car in Untouchables movie and tv series ).
I think his truck has much more appeal and provenance than a car from the Untouchables. The Sanford truck is nearly as iconic as the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Nobody remembers what car Elliot Ness drove, but the truck was almost a cast member. It might be priced a bit high, I dunno, but I'll bet it fetches a pretty fair premium over a regular F-1in the same condition
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Guest AlCapone
I think his truck has much more appeal and provenance than a car from the Untouchables. The Sanford truck is nearly as iconic as the Beverly Hillbillies truck. Nobody remembers what car Elliot Ness drove, but the truck was almost a cast member. It might be priced a bit high, I dunno, but I'll bet it fetches a pretty fair premium over a regular F-1in the same condition

They had a different viewing audience and therefore can not be compared. Maybe you do not remember the car Elliott Ness drove but many do. To suggest otherwise is without merit. Hopefully for the sellers sake this means you are going to bid, correct ? Wayne

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Guest AlCapone
I don't remember what car Elliot Ness drove, but I do recall that Sanford drove a beat up old pick up truck of some kind or other.

Cheers,

Grog[/quote

I will bet that not 1 % of this site knew it was a 1952 Ford. It was an old beat up truck of some kind or other.

Wayne

Edited by AlCapone (see edit history)
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I knew it was a 52 Ford but for all the years since the show was first on TV every beat up old pickup is called a Sanford and Son truck. For that matter ever since the "Untouchables" aired in the sixties every 20s or 30s black sedan is used with toy tommy guns and gangster clothes to re-enact mob scenes.

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Perhaps nobody knew what year and make Sanford's truck was. That is not the point. How many know the Clampett's truck is an Olds? It doesn't make them any less iconic. The Untouchables car is just another prop in the movie, like a gun or a whiskey barrel.

I am not here to knock your car, so there's no need to get defensive. And, no, I do not plan to bid on the truck. Do you?

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Guest AlCapone
Perhaps nobody knew what year and make Sanford's truck was. That is not the point. How many know the Clampett's truck is an Olds? It doesn't make them any less iconic. The Untouchables car is just another prop in the movie, like a gun or a whiskey barrel.

I am not here to knock your car, so there's no need to get defensive. And, no, I do not plan to bid on the truck. Do you?

Not at that price ! Wayne

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It's all in the timing. Lots of potential buyers still around who remember Sanford and Sons and the truck. 20 years from now maybe not so many. A few years ago the original truck from the movie Grapes of Wrath, an iconic vehicle if there ever was one, was sold and apparently due to lack of interest ended up being converted back to original according to posts made on these forums at the time. Trivia for the day...where did Elliott Ness end up career wise after he retired from chasing bad guys in big cars?

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Elliot Ness was only 28 years old when he took on the task of bringing "Scarface" down. Sadly enough, even with all his work on the case, Capone was later tried on income tax evasion with little or no involvement from Ness, although by that time the newspapers made Ness a hero. He stayed in law enforcement and in the mid '30's was instrumental in cleaning up Cleveland Ohio's police force and started programs against drunk driving and other traffic problems. He left law enforcment in 1944 and fell into relative obscurity, started to drink heavily and died on May 7 1957 in Coudersport Pa. I'm sure that the TV series and the movie are a whole lot more exciting than Ness' real life experiences! As to movie cars like this truck, to me it was only a prop used in the opening credits not like some cars that were used extensively in the series like the Ness car or the Clampett's truck so it doesn't carry any real significance to the story lines. I've known people who have tried to sell cars said to have been used in films when all they were were background props with a 2 second life on film. This truck might hold some memories for some folks but I think he'd be better off just trying to sell it as a restorable '52 Ford truck and nothing more. IMHO.

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Going against the grain a little here, but I like the rules on one of the gun sites I'm a member of. The rules states that anyone can ask what they want for their item and it is against the rules to question it. The rule actually is very well respected there and has worked very positively through the years.

Bill

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Going against the grain a little here, but I like the rules on one of the gun sites I'm a member of. The rules states that anyone can ask what they want for their item and it is against the rules to question it. The rule actually is very well respected there and has worked very positively through the years.

Bill

I like this, as long as if the item is misrepresented, that can be questioned. I wouldn't want someone saying a car was something it wasn't, but price, when selling always start high, and when buying always start low!

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Yeah, I fully agree with questioning mis-representation. We have a lot of fakes out there that we are always battling. Not sure if it is happening with all brands and in all eras, but 50's, '60's and early 70's Chevys sure have a good share of it.

Bill

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I visited this incredible museum a few years ago which has so many historical items from Matt Dillon’s hat to a huge selection of unusual vehicles including Johnny Cash’s one piece at a time Caddy, JFK’s ambulance (recently sold), etc, etc. They also claim to have the Sanford truck (scroll down) which was there when I visited.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/18242

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Well, if they're claiming that to be the actual "Sanford and Son" truck, they got the wrong year. Fred's truck was either a '51 or '52 and that truck shown is a '48 to '50 Model.

Now they stated: "only a few feet from a pickup truck used on Sanford and Son"

Now that could be possibly true, there may have been another truck seen somewhere in the series, but that was not Fred's actual truck.

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That may of used a few trucks on the series like mostproduction sets. This museum has a lot of “real” vehicles including CraigBreedloves Spirit of America, original bat mobile, several presidents personalcars, etc. They even have the casket handles from Abram Lincolns casket whichwere taken off prior to burial. They could have made a replica made but doubtful. All the real trucks should have a studioletter of authenticity.

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I have now watched this about 60 times and I'm pretty sure the truck listed in the original post is indeed the truck used in the opening credits. Check out the rust/damage on the driver's front fender and the flag stand welded to the passenger's side front bumper. The graphics on the doors look right, too.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1WqazleR3FE" allowfullscreen="" height="315" width="420" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Is it worth more because it was on TV? I don't know. I've seen garden-variety Plymouth 'Cuda convertibles sell for five times their actual value because Don Johnson's butt might have been in the front seat at one point. And we all know that anything with Steve McQueen's butt print in the driver's seat is worth exponentially more than equivalent vehicles of the same type. Who's to say? I probably wouldn't take it on consignment, but that's not to say some museum somewhere doesn't want it or some guy who owns a bunch of other TV memorabilia won't see the value.

/now you're humming it, aren't you?

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I visited this incredible museum a few years ago which has so many historical items from Matt Dillon’s hat to a huge selection of unusual vehicles including Johnny Cash’s one piece at a time Caddy, JFK’s ambulance (recently sold), etc, etc. They also claim to have the Sanford truck (scroll down) which was there when I visited.

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/18242

That is not Fred's truck. I can hear Fred calling the museum curator a "big dummy".

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Well put me in the 1% I guess because I knew it was a 51 or 52. Doing a quick search the web seems to think it is a 51. No comment on price, everything is worth what a seller and buyer agrees on.

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I can't imagine anything more fleeting than "pop culture" fame. Sanford & Son was cancelled in 1977... 37 years ago. Presuming you were 18 at the time, a fan would have to be 55 now. Thats all well and good because its the age bracket a buyer is likely to fall into, but what about 20 years from now (unless you are betting on someone paying a small fortune for a truck they saw in late night re-runs). I'd just about bet that in another 20 years you'll have to look hard for someone who even remembers the show, much less that would pay a premium for the beat up truck that was in the opening scene.

I once had the wreck of a RR PI chassis behind my shop. It belonged to a friend of mine who bought it for parts and had me sell those he didn't need. Supposedly, it had belonged to Tom Mix, identifiable by the chassis number (although I never bothered to confirm this)... even presuming it was true, it didn't add a cent to the value of the stuff although I kept one of the pistons and used it as an ash tray for many years. I ended up giving it to a friend who was, at the time, in his 70s and one of the few people I knew who had any idea who Tom Mix was.

Go out and ask some High School students if they can name the Beetles - you'll find out how long popular "fame" lasts.

Edited by JV Puleo (see edit history)
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................

Go out and ask some High School students if they can name the Beetles - you'll find out how long popular "fame" lasts.

I guess you could put me in that segment a few years ago. I had never heard of a "Tucker" Automobile. Now, with the help of the AACA Museum, and the gentleman that donated his collection of Tucker's, people a lot younger than me will learn about Preston Tucker and his dream.

I will bet that every day that one could spend on this AACA Web Site one could learn something new that others would not have thought would be important in life. It's the mission of the AACA's and every one of us to educate, promote, and protect the history of the automobile. I can not wait to see Fred's old Ford on an AACA show field at some time in the future. We do not have a class for it yet, but mark my words, I'll bet you will sometime in the future.

Wayne

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Wayne,

You forgot about Class 39...

Special Interest Vehicles (Class 39)

A display only, non-judged class. All vehicles in this class must be approved by the Class Acceptance Committee. The owner of such vehicle

must provide documentation and authenticity documents to the Class Acceptance Committee. Consideration will be for the following examples:

a. Celebrity vehicles

b. Vehicles in movies or on television

c. Vehicles of historical significance

d. Vehicles of inovative design that never matured

This class is not for modified vehicles, i.e., hot rods, street rods, choppers and etc.

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