Noob looking for 55-57 purchase advice

[mr48chev]

Personally I'd rather go for the truck with the really solid body with little or no rust or damage that might be a bit suspect mechanically than one in great mechanical shape that had suspect body.

I'd look that one over close though all around every seam and corner and if you can get it up on a hoist spend some time under it looking for repairs that might be hiding something. The paint is old enough so most rust would have bled through it though and that works in the truck's favor. Once you really go over it it's time to bargain if you have the ready cash to back up the bargaining effort. If he won't come down to the price you think is right you might just try waiting him out to see if he will bargain if it's still for sell a few weeks later. I got my Model A project car for less than half of the original asking price by watching it on Craigslist for several weeks before I went and saw about it. That was mostly due to my money not coming through right away but it saved me several hundred dollars in the process that went into part for the car.

One thing I see and like on that truck is that there aren't any "added value" items on it that the seller is expecting to jack up the price with. No fresh set of wheels and tires, no sound system that has just been installed and no other just added items that are intended to raise the price but may not be what a prospective buyer wants.