One of the ways to make this hobby affordable is to find a way to wheel and deal your car account to a higher level. I'm thinkin' parts car here, if the chrome and stainless aren't either pitted or dinged up a lot there's a small fortune in trim on that car that can go to others. Same for parts of the interior. The price might be a bit on the high side for this purpose, as Pops said $500 or so less would make it better. Spend some time on ebay in the closed auctions portion and price out what this stuff goes for, that'll help figure out what there is there in value. I'm less enthusiastic about 4 door "rods", it costs as much or more in both time and money to fix one (compared to a 2 door) and the market value is still way lower. Unless there's some over riding sentimental value, AND you plan on keeping it til you die they're not a good strategy for advancing your hobby position down the road.