New Here...and '83 c-10 Short Bed question

[dmjole]

Hi all--this is my first posting here, so I apologize in advance for any confusion or insufficient knowledge or etiquette here. I have been reading this forum for about a month or so to get information about working on my vehicle, and have found this forum very helpful.

I have a 1983 short bed C-10 (inline 6 cyl, 3 speed manual transmission--L, 1,2,3). It's a 2wd vehicle, and used to be a U.S. Forest Service fleet truck (still has Forest Service green paint job on it.) It has a 2bbl carburetor on it, and was originally sold as a High Altitude vehicle (the vacuum line map sticker near the radiator shroud is very legible still!) Power Steering, no AC. It has a trailer hitch on it, and we drove this truck from the West Coast of the USA to the East Coast and back again--the 2nd time (Ohio to Oregon) pulling a trailer.

It's got over 200,000 miles on it...and we just learned today that piston #3 has very little compression, and it's probably time for a rebuild. I also know that I need to replace the front rotors, the radiator, and the water pump (got a little leak up there).

What I want to know is this--What would you folks say is going to be an average re-build cost? Do I dare tackle it myself? I do not have easy access to a shop, nor machine tool experience.

I am thinking that it may be time to find a new home for our truck, which has been like a son to me and treated us well. What is the market like for this vehicle? I am located in Washington State, in Tacoma (south of Seattle).