do what ya want, but i think i would suspect everything the guy said was bogus unless you see it with your own eyes. 1800 ain't a bad price if the body is good, even if you have to rebuild the front end. if you are doing your own work, and want to keep the truck, then the price could be more than fair. that body style is pretty popular with collector types, with good resale values.
you are invited to visit the webshots site and check out my old 72 4wd. look under koolkar100.