THE GOLDEN ERA IS NOW
IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT THE TRUCK MARKET IS ON THE RISE. We’ve watched the surge throughout the past few years. Classic trucks are a different animal, on the other hand, and they might not be the first customizing choice for the general automotive enthusiast. Although, attitudes seem to be changing, if a few recent sales at the 2018 Barrettjackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, are any indication.
General consensus used to be that anyone could build a radical custom truck, but it would never be worth big bucks. Because trucks were plentiful, most believed that the values weren’t there. But times are changing, and the base price of a decent project truck is steadily increasing, and custom versions that are built correctly can possess a high resale value.
Buyers with deep pockets aren’t stupid, either. The trucks that pulled higher bids were not only fully customized, they all had a solid theme that made them timeless. Buyers weren’t going crazy over older builds that looked the least bit outdated. The assumption that you could complete a truck, put it up for auction and get rich quick didn’t pan out. Nothing is ever that easy, and the winning formula is made up of many parts, including provenance. If a truck made an impact in the scene, it could fetch a much higher price.
This was the case for Joe Yezzi of Squarebody Syndicate, when his ’74 Chevy C-10, known as SS01, went up for sale. Joe previously turned heads with this truck when it debuted at the 2015 SEMA Show. The build paid homage to the Chevy’s original style, with the addition of a modern chassis, LS engine, stunning paint and a host of other details. Before the ’74 rolled off the assembly line, there was nothing else like it, which is the source of its appeal to enthusiasts. A unique truck like the ’74
C-10 is an icon on a level of its own. Joe’s truck also won a GM Design award, was on the cover of our C/10 Builder’s Guide and won Street Truck’s 2016 Truck of the Year award.
You might think a truck like this would have too much sentimental value, and Joe would never sell it. That would have been ideal, but sometimes we have to move on to bigger and better things. Joe has a few projects in the works, and we will fill you in on them next month. He needed space and funds to get started on these new ventures, so he put the truck up for sale through Barrett-jackson with a $109,000 price tag. Though, it didn’t go across the block (the truck was sold through the showroom), the final posted sale was $107,500.
During the
2018 Barrettjackson auction in Scottsdale, numerous other trucks fetched six-digit figures, which turned the heads of many in the automotive scene. We weren’t surprised because we know firsthand how great these trucks are. The uptick in sales proves that the popularity of trucks is on the rise, and we don’t think it’s peaked yet. It’s been a long time coming, and we’re just glad that these trucks are finally getting the attention they deserve.