I, too am rebuilding (my Term) a 50 3600. A restoration would require a lot of NOS parts, but a re-building to me is makeing it sturdy, safe while keeping the original character of the vehicle. The 1/2 tons are more common, but for my use , a 3/4 ton is what I want. It is really up to you. If you watch prices on frame-off's on E-bay, 1/2 tons do better, but I'm not re-doing my to sell at a profit, it's what I want to do. Mine will need floor, toeboard and kick pannels and 1 left rear fender(I'm looking in the spring for the fender)$2000 for just patch pannels sounds awful high. You might want to look for a donor cab or another truck that does not need so much major work. I looked hard for 3 months, lost the no rust body that I was drooling over by $50.00, and this was my second choice. But I got a good 235 and a very mechanicaly sound truck with more body work to do. I've NEVER done body work, but I'm going to take my time and learn. I have done some mechanical, so this is a new challenge. Just take some time to decide what you want and then your choices will be clearer.
