1300 isn't a bad price for a roller around here to that isn't too bad. I would be very leery of a 355 with 75k miles that will run with new gas. If he can't put in the effort to make it run he is either hiding something, or is lazy enough "judging by the pictures" that he just slapped a lot of stuff together and cut A LOT of corners.

Figure out what it is worth to you without a motor or transmission, because in the worst case scenario, it is going to need both of those, lots of interior parts, a windshield, and who knows what awful things have been done to the wiring on it. A little bit of rust and the wheels are the least of your concerns right now.

 

Also, by looking at that paint job I'm going to guess 3/4 of that body is covered with filler.

 

Depends on what you plan to do with it. It is in pretty rough shape and has had no TLC for quite some time by the looks of the pictures....

 

id have him fire it up and ask for specs on the cam and what heads are on it. what rears in that car? is it a real ss car? at the end of the day small block gbodies are a dime a dozen. if the body/interior arent perfect or near perfect and your not a body guy, or have money for a good one id look elsewhere. if the motor isnt something odd or radical(big block,lsx,big gen 1 sbc, turbod, stroked, or blown.) id move on. everyone on earth has a monte ss with a "355" in it. its a never ending trend. id be certain its a 350 first, none the less one thats been bored out, and not a 305. its also odd the car has a 400trans in it. theyre heavier, and dont shift as hard as the 350. theyre also unnecessary since 350s can take pretty much any punishment a sbc can throw at it. oh and make sure theyre draglites and not the jegs knock offs or the weird crager version. unless you are absolutely in love with the car id pass on it, unless it meets the above(which it doesnt). you can get a granny fresh 4th gen for the money this guy wants, do a drive train swap, and wind up with a far nicer car that hasnt been molested by a bunch of gypsies over the decades. my .02 cents