Bouymaker,
Sorry about the delayed reply, I didn’t see your last comments.
Yes, the hydramatic works. The truck is currently fully functional. I too think it is best to sell the motor with the tranny. I will take a few videos of me driving it before I start removing the body. Hopefully that will make it easier to sell. And you’re correct, shifting 1-2 is complete 1/2 way thru an intersection and up to 4 is harsh!
I converted the 54 to 12 volt the day I brought it home, including the fuel sending unit. I found some modern gauge replicas but they are $$$$. Plus I really want the original look. That’s my goal…I want it to look exactly like a 54, until you look underneath or under the hood. It will however, sit about 2” lower. I even tucked the rear mount gas tank as high up as it could go without conflicting with the bed. The filler cap will run through the bed wood, but I will hide it by mounting a vintage, well used tool box above it. Unfortunately, there’s no way to hide the AC in the cab.
I will likely wire the S10 OBD II connector to a bluetooth adapter under the dash and use my iPhone and an app such as Torque. It’s under $40 and I can view every live sensor data, vehicle speed, rpm, volts, fuel level, etc. My iPhone has a magnet on the back and it sticks very well on the steel dash.
