Thanks for your replies. I was kind of figuring the assembly manual was something that came about later on, but hoped I was wrong. I have been trying to get creative on how to gather as much info as I can, from a number of sources, to get the project started. The shop manual is good for some info, and I have no doubt that the rest of the info is available here.
The free picture hosting sites, like Webshots, have quite a few good detailed pictures of project trucks that have been great for showing some of the sub-assemblies and finished projects. I have also been using ebay as a source for pictures on how things fit together. Whenever I see a truck or parts for sale , I usually snag the pictures from the auction, especially if it shows enough details to see how things are put together and what the original assemblies looked like.
Thanks
Stephen