There's 2 things that really bring money. Let's say your truck was completely stock and original, and had been stored away in a mouse-free barn somewhere. Original paint, original interior, and a one-off or "few-off" factory accessory package that there just wasn't many released with, or not many left. Low miles and simply wash the dust off the interior/exterior, get it mechanically sound and you could expect close to $20k.
Second would be. let's say it's a 4x4 one ton, and you put a nice 24v Cummins or other popular diesel option in it that wasn't available back then. And add other nice amenities like overdrive transmission, very nice seats, a/c and a very nice but TASTEFULLY DONE paint job. With the right stuff you could expect close to $20k from a truck like that. But too many times I see someone just go crazy with the paint job and it ends up looking tacky, silly, or downright ugly. Then again, what 90% of us find unappealing somewhere out there will be a slot of people who just think it's the best thing they ever saw. Inevitably those people end up getting tired of this or that and end up changing it.
Now, knowing that you are in the Rust Belt, and knowing what I saw as far as rust on the body panels you would already HAVE $30k in it trying to get $20k. What I would do if I were you is get it running, put back together, body and paint straightened out best you can, interior done up as original as possible even if some of the trim/door handles/etc have a little pitting, and put $8k on it and see what's the best you can get. The less time you have in it, and the less money, the more likely you'll have a good turnaround, depending entirely on what you paid for the truck to begin with. Trying to pay for your school loan on one truck just aint happening dude.
Now with all that said, I KNOW, you will only find one thing to comment on and generally skip over everything else. To sum it all up, good luck but mean Mr. Reality is gonna nut-punch you so hard your eyeballs will bleed.
