the reason I asked is a guy that built a "34 hudson and has won a few good guys car show awards told me that changing the motor and all that it would be wise.
I would question that "wisdom". While there's nothing necessarily wrong with doing upgrades or even frame swaps, it isn't something that "has tt/should be done" to make an older vehicle enjoyable to drive. There's plenty of us on here (myself included) that use our trucks regularly with stock suspension and brakes, and even the original engines.
Longbox , no sorry if I mislead you. The guy with the Hudson actually is a friend and suggested I use the old frame. He stated that with the extra torque of v8 etc.. I should box the frame and do the mustang 2 front end. I thought it would be more economical to do the s-10 route. Parts readily avail. Lots of drops on them , easy brake upgrade etc... Thanks for the reply and lead to Scott danforth
Well we can question wisdom all day long.it's a matter of opinion. I've read plenty of these before. This v.s. that! there is no right or wrong just each his own choice.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that upgrading/swapping frames is bad/wrong, rather that the person you talked to at the show jumped the gun by insinuating that it has to be done (or at least that's how it appears to me).
Since you have a good idea of what you want, classic looks wth modern ride/handling/drivetrain, then by all means, explore how to do it.
I will throw another frame option out there for you, though, Dodge Dakota. The Dakota is a little bit larger truck than the S10, with a wider track width. If you get an early one, it will have the common 5x4.5 wheel bolt pattern, giving the largest selection of wheels to use. They also came from the factory with V8 as an option, so fitting a 350 (dimensionally similar in size to the 318/360 used in the Dakota) may be easier than the S10 chassis. The wider track width also eliminated the "sucked in" look in the fenderwells that the S10 conversion tend to have, especially with smaller/narrower tires. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, check with Scott Danforth, he can help with this.
