I converted my '52 from a 235 to a 350 V8 too. But I'm probably on a tighter budget than most other people too, or at least it feels like it.
I used the stock suspension and just a crossmember conversion from Speedway Motors. I also still use the stock steering gear. In order to gain the room for it, I turned a pair of shorty headers upside down and still had to space the steering gear out about an inch.
Everything works fine, but I do need to get rid of that stock steering gear.
