A lot of money has been spent for the sake of sentimentality. You can always shop around and buy a finished one way cheaper than you can build one. As far as frame strength 500hp shouldn't be a problem. These trucks were built to haul loads over really sorry unpaved roads of their era so frames are darn tough and designed to flex. We have installed big blocks of every description in them with no problems. You can really speed up panel replacement by CORRECTLY using panel bond instead of the long, tedious, and slow welding process. Passenger planes, super sonic fighters, and many new cars are glued so why rivet or weld. An example is replacing a 30's era cars soft top with a steel insert used to take at least a week of welding and warpage removal where it now is done overnight with zero warping. Having it media blasted before making decisions is a wise move as it reveals much more damage than you imagined. Chassis swapping is NOT a weekend job and though we have done several S10 swaps I would now recommend at least checking out the Dodge Dakota swap. Dakota's were offered with a V8 and so designed and also have a much closer track width than the very narrow S10. Last, you need to have a sit down talk with your wife on schedules. The topic of the conversation needs to include "be realistic". Of course you can disregard all this and just buy a $20k Detroit speed chassis and another $20k all new Dynacorn cab/sheet metal and be done by Easter.
