Years ago, I had a Willys wagon. I blew up the original hurricane 6 (inline flathead 6) and replaced it with a 302Ford. (Kept the original manual steering and manual trans). Then I blew reverse playing up in the snow and split the side of the trans. I replaced it with a C-4. Somewhere along the way, I decided that power steering would be nice so, I added that. By the time I was all done, I had a stock Willys body, on a stock frame with all the springs and drivetrain completely non-stock. It was so much nicer to drive and wheel with once I got all the mods done! no more clutch pedal and manual steering when crawling around in the hills!
That said, my 58 2-ton is all stock except the engine that the previous owner put in.....
In the end, it is entirely up to you! As Martin and Alvin said, stock is cool but driveability may lead to more actual driving and more enjoyment!
