Hey all a-yah
Well, I took your advice and called the owner. I very politely asked if he'd take a G-note for it, and he said he was sorry, but 2500 was the lowest he'd go. Told him to keep my number if he couldn't sell it - who knows. I got all crazy, thinking about how fun it would be to salvage all the parts from it, to keep as spares and diddle with.
If anyone knows of a similar deal, (northeast US), let me know - I think we'd still be interested in going halves. Sounds like a good idea for a winter project.
Cheerio
Jeff