I planned to put the engine under the cab. Is there a better place to locate the engine? I haven't decided if it will be an inline 6 or a small V8.

I like the idea of the 6, but size wise it looks like the small V8 would fit just a bit better.

As for the transmission, most likely it will be a TH400 or its later OD version.

Rear end, hmm, I haven't got that far, but would like to upgrade to something with an open driveline and disk brakes.