Hi Spanky,
I did change the rear end to a 4.63 ratio out of a 96 chevy 3500 running 19.5's
I have a 261 ready to go in, but i was thinking better carb set up as the coe seems only to take an updraft. I am looking into a custom intake as well so i can run a regular 2 barrel. I don't want to change the chassis as i am also trying to stay original , but improve daily drivability. I did upgrade the brakes to disks(thanks Grigg for the help)