Charlie,
I have a 1940 Chevy that I am working on slowly. One upgrade I did was to use the Stainless Steel Brake's Royal King pin kit. It replaces the stock bushing style king pin with one that uses roller bearings. I also converted my front hub to use roller bearings instead of the stock ball bearings. At this point I believe the front end is as modern as any MII when it comes to handling the load that my truck will deliver. It may not ride as nice as independent suspension but that is how I want it. I also have disc brakes in the front.
I will say however that I am using a 1947 - 1955 1st series front axle. I switched to that axle because the 1940 hub and king pin are different.
I also put a sway bar on the front axle as well.
Maybe in the end I spent as much as a MII swap. But if someone ever wants to put my truck back to original, they can.
Oh.. I forgot. I am switching the steering box to a 1942 - 1946 box. This is a bolt in upgrade to the 1940 box. Highly recommended.
