Without knowledge of the truck bluegill7, it appears the type of truck that most people should stay away from for their first truck.
Bondo: most likely means a lot of rust and body rot. Which means that a lot of metal will have to be replaced. Welding equipment is not cheap and takes time to learn welding skills.
For most people the skill level is not there though it can be learnt however unless you have a lot of money and or you dad or kindly uncle or grandpa own a body shop this type of work will be extremely costly. The amount of tools and equipment will cost you more than many adults can afford.
Frankenstein Truck:
A heavily modified truck is a Frankenstein Truck. It may be a 63 truck, with what year motor, trans, brakes, rear diff, and so forth. You will find it harder to get parts for you can not say to the parts man give me a ________ for a 1963 Chevy because that correct for the year part may not fit.
Upholstery/Interior:
Putting on seat covers is one thing but as auto's newer interior work becomes more involved.
Best bet for you as any other first timer is to get an original truck, as close to complete as possible, where the body and interior may not look great but are still in useable condition.
A basic mechanic tool set is not that expensive.
Learning to fix a stock auto is hard enough for a first timer. There are many people from time to time that have problems with "primitive" and "simple" ignition, fuel system, and brake systems. Jeffrey
