38 tow, I lean towards original. There is nothing, in my humble opinion, more fun to drive than an old truck. They sound good, (engine and tranny gears), and they smell so good. This is from a guy who has restored and driven 60's camaros for 20 years.
It is ultimately your decision, and the truth is EITHER way will be very cool, so it isn't so much what you won't have...rather what you will have.
I will say that you can 'restore' the truck without having to know exactly what you have. I mean, many stovebolters don't go back completely pure in the restoration phase. If you do restore it and keep it original, that doesn't mean you can't do what you want with it. It just means it remains an old truck rather than a hotrod. If it is important to you, for some reason, to keep it pure, then without the original engine, I'd say you need to start with something else. If you can restore it to look, feel and drive like original, with our without the original engine and be happy with it then I weigh in on the side of original. I personally don't find anything more gratifying than moving thru the gears in an old truck on a summer evening... That is just golden.
