If Jerry can break with the crowd so can I...
A bolt-in side mount crossmember kit isn't much money. It might even be cheaper than trying to find the repo parts to put a V-8 in the stock way.
As for what motor, I like the surge of power you get when you nail the peddle on a big block. But if we were building a truck for my kid, it would be whatever reasonably good, but cheap, motor I found first, and 305s are cheap and plentiful.
