I've been in your shoes. In my case, I was looking for a specific A body at least semi-locally which I defined as 500 miles. I never quit looking over the course of 3-4 years. I found both of my target cars for $2k, one 15 minutes away one 45 minutes away. I found my truck for $200 about 2-1/2 hours away. The reason I was able to get them was I never stopped looking, and I was on CL, FB, and BAT. I had cash in hand, a truck, and a trailer that I took to each meet-up. People know you're serious when you have cash and a trailer. If you're that close to St. Louis, there has to be a nice A body nearby for way less than $10k. Like WAY less. Keep your nose into the grindstone, you will find something nice.
