what do you think?

[VeloVT]

Also, I find it odd that someone set the seat at its lowest possible height- like the rider was too small for this bike. If you pull it up a bit to a more normal height will the bike be too big for you, leg length wise?
I know you are shorter than me, but this head tube looks pretty tall to me. I'm wondering if someone put the seat all the way down to try to make this too-large bike fit you?

I don't think the set-up is all that uncommon for an older steel bike... You will rarely see a bike of that vintage with a mile of seatpost sticking out. Usually the top tubes are a bit longer than on a comparably sized newer bike, but the seat-to-bars drop is a whole lot smaller, so they feel a lot more relaxed provided the top tube isn't way too long for you.

Edit: OK, I just went back and looked at the photo again and it is a little abnormally low -- but I still generally agree with what I said .