At yesterday's Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction, a restored 1983 Toyota SR5 4x4 pickup sold for $50,000, plus 10% fees. I'm not sure, but this must be a new high sale price for ANY pre-'84 Toyota truck. The truck has power steering, air conditioning and a tilt wheel. Engine and interior appear totally stock. WOW!

Here's a link to the info on the truck: https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Even...-PICKUP-221930

 

That crazy!

 

Wow!

That is more than twice as much as the 4Runner I posted about not too long ago!

I would still prefer the stock wheels and tires though!

 

It speaks to the declining value of the dollar as much as anything else.

That being said, the perceived value of any artifact is largely determined by the size and demographic of the people interested in that thing.

I knew folks who had a 1924 Packard 8 touring car of concours winning quality.

Over 30 years time, they saw it's value drop by near half, as the folks who had money and real interest in this type of car died off.

The same thing will eventually happen to muscle cars, and sadly, even our beloved Toyota trucks, as new generations of owners and collectors move on to something different.

 

That's good, we'll buy cheaper Toyotas!

 

I am seeing this shift in interests too. Right now, Japanese vehicles from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s are what are "cool" these days and shifting away from the classic 1950s, 1960s and 1970s American cars.

Stock muscle cars have an uphill battle when a new Honda Accord could basically do what the old Muscle cars did with much more comfort.

I am also seeing the shift in interests in one of my other hobbies: restoring antique radios. At this point, there are more radios than antique radio enthusiasts, so the prices of common unrestored radios is almost nothing (unless you look at eBay....).



Where I live, the roads are not salted so cars last a long time. The era of the truck above is from a time when Toyota really started to prove their reliability to the U.S. Market.

We are in the strange situation where I live where some of these old Toyotas are still on the road as daily drivers since new, while others are being restored as collector vehicles.

Everyday, I still see many 30 year old Toyota Trucks, 4Runners, Corollas, and Camrys as daily drivers.

 

Wow that is amazing. Beautiful truck and at least two guys with deep pockets wanted it.

 

Crazy. I believe you could still spend a lot less than $50K to restore one to that level yourself. I love Toyota pickups and would give my left nut for one that nice but I can think of a dozen other cars I'd rather spend $50K on.

 

 

Mileage of like, 10 flat. Musuem worthy treaaure!

 

This truck sat at a classic car lot in Roseville California for months with a price of 27K with no takers. They shipped it to Vegas for the auction and sold it for double the asking price, wow!

 

Kinda makes me think that maybe auctions are not such a bad deal for the seller, as long as at least two buyers are salivating over the vehicle being auctioned. I had a buddy thinking about selling his (1990 or 1991?) Corvette at a Mecum Auction in Denver, but he couldn't deal with the fees that he would have to pay as a seller. Unfortunately, he still has the Vette.