+1 on buying it done and maybe modifying to your liking. I have a 49 3100 and had bought a 74 Camaro from a junkyard many years ago and am finally getting around to getting my truck together. Even though I have done everything my self except the actual welding of the clip and paint and body work, I still have big bucks into mine.
This project will have taken just short of 2 years of fairly steady work. Of course I wanted PS,AC,new seats, etc. along with a pearl paint job. Hopefully in a couple of months I'll have a nice driver.
Dittos on Baba's comments -
Buy quality truck that looks and drives the way you want it. Since you want a stick shift & most of the "built" trucks are automatics; you may just find the perfect truck
(minus the stick shift) and get to know and love it, while planning on having a good shop convert it over for you... Not really a huge deal to do so. Clutch linkage, crossmember, pedal assembly solutions abound out there.
my 2 cents!
