To save it in the family, is the respect to your Grandfather. Building it how he would have, and not liking it yourself, is not what he would want. You don't need to practice, just do it the best you can. Build the one with the body you like. AD or TF. You are not a butcher or disrespectful if your heart is in it. You are not ruining anything. Many old guys ruined a lot of 1932 ford coupes in their day. The Mother of all that is American Automobile sacred and a few Fathers: Vettes.
Agreed. Keeping it in the family is more important than what you choose to do with it. Either way you'll be breathing new life into an old truck, and your grandfather should love that.
So with my free time before my wedding I am planning a build in my head on restoring a truck. My grandfather had a 47 and a 56. So between those two is one a lot easier to modernize than the other? I know the 47 can do a frame swap so I'm assuming that would be easier? I'm also planning on making a lot of power so almost a performance truck. Am I fighting an uphill battle or are their kits to modernize these trucks that I just can't find? I know it's going to be a lot of work just curious if the 56 frames can handle the amounts of torque and horsepower I may want to reach.
You won't find much support on this site for what you're planning on doing, or at least you'll find many vocal against it (as evidenced by this thread). However, you could probably do a frame swap on either truck. I'm a big proponent of frame swaps, I think they're the way to go. I prefer older trucks, either wouldn't really be that hard, so use the one you like best.
If you're determined to butcher up an otherwise pretty serviceable truck, pick the 56. It would be possible to swap the sheet metal onto an S-10 frame of the right year and wheelbase, and leave the running gear intact for someone to purchase who appreciates old iron in its original form. The S-10 will have independent suspension, disc brakes, and the right mounting points for just about any hotrod setup you choose, except maybe some sort of big block installation.
Jerry
A big block install on an S-10 frame is very easy. Since S-10's could be had with a 4.3, which has the same motor mounts as a SBC AND BBC, it's basically bolt-in. My dad's '52 with an S-10 frame has the 454 mounted in the stock 4.3 location and it fits just great.
