Determining the difference in a viable daily driver and a basket case isn't possible without detailed pictures and such. Many folks use these models as daily drivers so those questions shouldn't be an issue. Some folks love them so much they completely restore them to their original glory and drive. Everything on them is repairable, even the rust.

To me, if a car was rusty and had lots of needs (brakes, shocks, tires, steering componets, suspension rubber, all fluids changed, electric windows, a/c, etc) from sitting I would aquire a better conditioned non rusted platform to start from. You can repair all these things yourself if you are reasonably competent, but it will be around $2k in parts plus lots of DIY time. When your done, if the car is rusty the value will be less than $2k. Start with a non rusted platform and the value will be $3-7k after bringing it back up to speed.

The other option is to simply fix what's broke and drive it in the dirt and not worry about anything that doesn't make it unsafe or prevent it from going?
Good luck!

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You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find you get what you need.