I'll probably get eaten up for saying this, but here goes:

I see no reason why you can't build what you want. On this site that is not a popular opinion though. A restored truck to me is as useful as a screen door on a submarine. I appreciate a restored truck and enjoy seeing one, but for how I use my vehicles it would never leave the garage, and that's just not okay.

There are "opinions" on this, but from my experience this is what I've seen: The modified truck will not change your re-sale value much and it may go up, but you'll probably lose what you put in at the purchase price you're considering. Perhaps not though, if it's done well a nice mild custom in the 30's can easily go for somewhere in the 30-50K range (up here). From the market up here I know that restored vehicles may be listed for the same values, but in my experience (that being in the Alberta market), they're much harder to find a buyer for. Nice mildly customized vehicles up here sell MUCH faster than restored vehicles, as there are just more buyers interested in something that they can drive wherever they want at whatever speed they want, than are interested in something that is the way it left the factory. That's just the truth.

If you have a nice customized vehicle that appears relatively stock otherwise, there will never be an end to comments about how you should have left it stock. The thing is, those people weren't there with cash in hand to buy the vehicle, and they certainly don't own it or in some cases they didn't think the vehicle was worth the effort beforehand.

Ultimately you have to be happy with the decision, and that's all that matters.

1946 GMC Pickup - S-10 Frame, 455 Buick, TH400, original patina.

My 46 GMC on Photobucket