I would agree that it has been quite modified at some time. The two side arms should swing out to the sides to become outriggers to lift/pull at an angle.
This being said I would still try to fix what is there unless you really want a fully functioning, as manufactured unit. The bent arm could be straightened, the broken welds replaced and a bracket made up to replace the chain to hold the boom up. The teeth that are broken off would not really worry me too much either, they are catches to keep the spool from turning. If you are confident of your welding you could build the teeth back up and file to shape, if not you could find a welder to build the teeth back up for I would think not too much and then file your self. They don't need to be perfect as they are not drive teeth on a gear that need to mesh perfectly.
I have an old wrecker that is completely homemade and was used by a heavy wrecking company for quite some time and I think it looks great. Most people probably wouldn't even notice that yours is not original anymore, as it definitely looks factory....mine does not.
I would say though that if you keep the set up mostly as is that I would find a double pulley block for out at the end of the boom and run the cables back in to the front framework and anchor them. This would give you 4 strands holding the boom up instead of the two as it is set up now. It may well be strong enough as is...but by changing you cut the load on each strand in half. Due to the angles involved there is a much higher load on the cables than what is actually being picked up.
If you do decide to get another wrecker I would try to see if anyone is interested first before just scraping it. If you weren't 2500mi away and the price was right I might be interested.
But then I'm all about getting things cheap and fixing them so that they are nice.....for some reason I like the challenge/punishment.
Tad
