Hi all! I joined on here a little over 2yrs ago. When I joined I just had my second daughter so I haven't been back on here since my children have been my main priority. I have, however, started to disassemble my 1954 5 window. I got it for free from my father-in-law and it sat next to his barn out in the elements for 20+ yrs. Needless to say, it has A LOT of rust issues. Here are some pics of how the truck looks currently:

Here it is right when I got it:
When Truck Arrived

Here is sits now:
Current 1
Current 2
Current 3
Current 4

So my wife tells me this past weekend that she would REALLY like for me to try and get it running by spring. I know this is going to be next to impossible to do but I told her I would try my best. A friend has done 2 separate project cars with one being in almost as bad condition as the truck and he told me to get it running as it sits and start buying everything else on the side then start my big build. I attempted to go that route but apparently the transmission is trash, all the brakes are seized up, its so rusted on the floor board that its like driving Fred Flinstones car, windows are broken...basically its an absolute mess and after dropping hundreds trying to get it to even start it finally did but would die right away and started dumping fuel onto the group so I decided I might be better just tearing it down now and building it back up. But, here is where I am stuck. My wife wants it to be as fast as possible but still street-able and I am ok with that as well. I currently have a modded Trailblazer SS (cam, longtubes, intake, electric fans, lowered, and tuned) and we want it to be considerably faster than that. Thinking a turbo'd 5.3L, since those motors are cheap and can hold a decent amount of power. Now to some questions:

1.) Can the current frame support 500+ horsepower? I read an S10 frame can be used but I dont know if it is necessary.
2.) Am I better off with an S10 frame if I plan to go with more modern parts like the brakes, suspension, and an LS motor?
3.) Should I remove every single panel and then have it all sand blasted to see what truly needs to be replaced? I was told to have the sand blasting company use Walnut pieces or something to avoid warping panels....?
4.) I have been searching LMC truck for parts/panels/floor board. Is there a better place to look?
5.) Should I just replace the whole cab since the floor is done for and the cab corners are completely rusted out?

Sorry about the long post and questions. This is the first ground up build I have done and I am just lost on where to start. The only thing close to this that I have done was partially restoration of a 1967 Austin Healey Sprite, just enough to sell it.

Thanks for any input.