suncruiser

So I found an old mead cruiser for sale on craigslist today, looks to be in rough but restoreable condition. Most of it is there, tires are gone and the headlamp is missing (I think that's what the bracket is for on the front fender) supposedly supposed top be the metal/wood rims. The bike is covered in surface rust, but none of it seems to be particularly bad. The rear wheel it's missing a spoke or two. Wish I could get the pix over here but I can't seem to be able to... is this a bike that's worth 400 in non rideable shape? Or should I look elsewhere for my first vintage bike?