Welcome Steve, good to do a project like this with your son. You started out good by dropping by here in this forum. Our motto is "Knowledge is the best resource". You would be wise to purchase a shop manual for your truck. Know what you have, get familiar with the whole vehicle, make a good assessment of what needs work and what, if any, you need to change. I'm a big fan of keeping the six cylinder engines in them, others prefer V8s. Look into perhaps getting a slightly newer 235 engine, up to 1953, they were splash lubricated engines. After that, they went to a full pressure oiling system. The newer engines are better for higher rpm cruising and will last longer. Again, varying opinions on this. Be sure to visit the "tech tips" at the top of the page, check out the "getting started" section and then go from there. There are also vendors listed there. All the stuff you need is available. There are some real experts here on the site, you will hear from them, just be sure to ask in the most appropriate forum.
Leo
