Structural Damage? What to look for/how to repair?

[glitch340]

Hello Mopar Experts! I wasn't sure if this is better in the suspension or body area, sorry...

If anyone has seen my 'Newb Intros' post, then you may know I'm looking at purchasing a 1973 'Cuda 340 4 speed. The seller is asking 12k but would probably let it go for 10k.

Here's the lowdown on the car:
Decent repaint, looks like there may be some minor rust issues
New trunk floor
transmission needs work
interior is in really good condition
The block numbers don't match... it may not even be a 340 motor, I'm not sure how to check.

...Told a friend about buying it, and I guess he was asked to appraise it a few years back. He said to be very hesitant because it was in a rear end collision and was pieced back together with another car. He said it has some frame damage.

The car looked really straight to me, so I'm wondering what to look for. A friend suggested that we jack up a rear wheel and see if the car flexes a lot to see if the strength is still in the body. Is there any other things to look for? The rear sub frame looked good, but it's got undercoating on everything so it's hard to tell. Maybe there's some measurements I can take to see if anything is tweaked???

If the car is damaged, can it be fixed? If its the frame rails, I know they get rust issues a lot, so I thought those could be replaced. Maybe the body panels can be replaced or strengthened?

I had plans to use the sub frame connectors and maybe even the full XV level 1 suspension upgrade kit, was wondering if that would reduce any issues from the body being weakened.

I don't plan on racing/autoxing the car or anything, just want a fun car to wrench on, cruise main and take to a few local car shows as I work on it.

After knowing this information, what would be a reasonable $$ offer on the car (was thinking more like 6k maybe?) It's still more than just a parts car, and if the frame isn't even too bad, the transmission is the only real issue...

Any opinions/suggestions would be awesome!!!

[elitecustombody]

look for buckles and kinks in frame rails,floor boards, park the car on level floor,measure between the floor and all corners,rockers,wheelwells,check for even gaps between body panels,make sure trunk and door open and shut properly

[glitch340]

Thanks for the reply. The doors all shut really well. Gaps are excellent all around on those. The trunk is a replacement lid and it doesn't shut properly because the hinge is torqued, not sure why. Any idea what a reasonable price would be for this car?

Also, just read an article in moparmusclemagazine about replacing mopar frame rails. Sounds like a lot of work, but something I would tackle if need be. only difference is, the one they did was because of rust, if I did it I wouldn't be able to base all of my alignment on the old rails due to it being tweaked of course.
For anyone curious, here's the article:

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/body/mopp_0711_1969_super_bee_framerail_replacement/index.html

[glitch340]

Talked more to the guy who did the appraisal. He said the car was bought in Oregon and had been an a rear end collision so they 'clipped' the car. The cut it behind the rear window and welded in a new rear section from a car with front end damage.
If it's as serious as he says, I really think I'd be able to see some of this damage. I'm going to insist on driving's it, I think the transmission get's stuck, but it can be driven. And also put it up on a lift to see what all I can notice. It's looking more like this car is worth a hell of a lot less than 10k. More like 3k, if that. I've seen rusty bodies go for that much.