John, I think plunking the un-restored body back on the newly restored mechanicals is just fine.
If there's any rust on the body underneath or whatever, I'd probably take care of it while the body is off. Other than that, you can always have the truck painted sometime in the future. I'd be all about getting it on the road and enjoying driving it.
I can do just about any of the mechanical work required but I've never done body work or cosmetic restoration on any vehicle. I'm sure I could do it but I don't have the patience for it or the time. I also don't have the money to pay somebody to do a proper frame off restoration so I would probably do the same thing you're doing.
When Ol' Roy first came to me, I wasn't too thrilled by its appearance. It didn't really "fit in" with the rest of the vehicles I own which are very presentable.
Well, the beat up nature of Ol' Roy has grown on me and nobody else seems to care what it looks like. I get as many compliments on it as I do any of the other "nice" cars I drive. Beat up trucks have a little more credibility in peoples' minds than beat up cars, I think.
I use it for work and it gets a couple hundred miles put on it each week. I've driven it over 10,000 miles in the last 3 1/2 years.
I look forward to seeing your truck put back together and on the road. I'd be driving it all the time.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
