I should have added a smiley face to my last post John :-)
Your explanation on the possible story behind the buttplate was more interesting than mine.

As for the cost of getting the gun "up to speed", I think it really depends if you are just looking to get the gun in shooting condition or want to address the cosmetics. As a shooter it could likely be done for a couple hundred bucks tops. To address all the the cosmetic issues, one could easily spend several grand. You could spend that on stock alone.

Ken