"Buying the Body"

[SOUTHSIDE]

I was listening to some old episodes of the C10 Podcast over the holiday( shout out to Ronnie Wetch) and one of the builders he was interviewing used the phrase "buying the body". I understand that to mean the bodywork/rust will eat up a budget fast. So wheres the sweet spot?

I live in southern Illinois and every winter they throw enough salt down to pickle the asphalt. Trying to find a body/frame in decent shape is pretty hard, unless I want to travel south or west and transport something back.

I can buy rusted and busted c-10's here off of CL for 1800 all day, which seems like a waste. I will occasionally come across a real nice truck with minimum rust or repairs for 6,000-8,000.

So my question for the pro's out there is, where is the happy medium of cost/quality when trying to find a new truck project?