Ok I've the hang of this now .. I hate to destroy such a part of history , But I want a Street truck to drive every day 400 small block of even a 396, Take on trips ect . I was NEVER thinking full restore ,
This truck looks like a really good one to me , I'm struggling now .
I would be struggling too if I were in your shoes. Actually I am in your shoes right now.
You may not realize this, but what you have turns as many heads, if not more than a highly modified, high performance show truck.
I have one of each and that aspect amazes me.
I have a '50 with deep patina similar to yours (I like yours better than mine). I wanted a daily driver that I could comfortably drive across the country on the interstate without any worries. I replaced every moving part in the stock suspension, and installed a T-5 behind a fully rebuilt '53 235 engine. It has a limited slip rear end in it so that I can pull my heavy Jon boat out of some very nasty boat ramps. That T-5 really brings that 235 to life. I can pull stumps and drag them down the road at 65 MPH. (I haven't actually done that yet. One day I will.
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It drives and rides like a dream, and people are constantly honking their horn at me and giving me thumbs up. I can't stop anywhere without someone coming up to me to tell me how much they like my truck.
If the rest of your truck is solid and repairable, I suggest that rather than hacking this one up, buy another one and build it however you want, and fix the one you currently have as is. I never could understand why anyone would just have only one of these trucks. I have recently pared my fleet down to only three trucks. My third one is going to be built as original. I want to be able to pull into a cruise-in and start the 216 with a hand crank.
