Now this is inflation. I wonder if most of this cost came from building out of metal as 1951 was the year that they switched from wood to steel. This page also had a picture that showed a bombardier, but has wheel wells in front so it must be a metal body, but the head lights are lower on the hood much like a 1952 and not like on my 1951.
This is a cut/paste from a translated french web page.
B-12 bomber
Bomber B-12, 1951, bought in 1956 per Alexis Charon, of Saint-Ulric, before his restoration. In 1951, this vehicle, nine, were worth 1500 $, but it cost approximately 6000 $ in 1956, whereas new a Chevrolet truck was sold 2500 $.