I'm planning to build first something like this without a bed:
and later on maybe a small flatbed into it.
I have browsed through old chevy parts - sites, but I haven't realized if all those body/fender parts are actually for the smaller 3000 - series trucks? When I was talking about ~1000$ trucks, I mean something like these below. They might have ugly looks, but still all the body panels should be quite solid with only surface rust on them:
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/che...400-truck.html
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/che...rear-axle.html
And sorry if I'm using wrong terms... in my world cab is everything from front grill to back of cab (including front fenders etc.)