Welcome aboard babbott, you've come to the right place.
I currently have 180,000 miles on my '89 Suburban. I'm sure I would have 200,000 on it by now had I not bought the '47 a couple years ago. My '89 is in top shape because I spare no effort to make sure it is ready, willing and able to take us anywhere we want to go. Problem is, if I spend the $2500 - $3000 that it would take to cherry the rust out of the body, it would only be worth about $2500! My '47 will never get to that place.
I plan on doing the same thing you are. Modern amenities in an old style body for a daily driver. The '47 is harder to find stuff for than yours. With yours, a trip to the junkyard will get you everything you need for power brakes and steering, air conditioning, overdrive automatic, and even cruise and tilt. If you can't adapt power windows and locks from the junkyard, there are aftermarket kits available.
The old truck is past its major depreciation and can be viewed as a viable investment (if you don't go off the deep end paying others to do it for you...) You will also find that it is a lot easier to learn everything you need to know to maintain the old one yourself. (By the time you get the restore done, you will pretty much be there!) You could probably restore for less than the investment you would need for the specialized tools and diagnostics to do everything yourself on the new one.
