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Not sure this is the correct place for this post but here goes..if not please direct me to the appropreaite group

I bought a 49 GMC 100 truck in pieces out of New Mexico a few weeks ago (complete less drive train). The goal is to have a cool looking, lightly hot rodded, reliable driver. The truck is a project that was started in 1998 by a father/son team. The son went off to college got married and never came home to finish. It's been sitting since then. Being a desert truck it is good shape. I believe their plan was a SB Chevy with a turbo 350 trans. I have it home, took the cab off, cleaned and chassie blacked the frame. Cab is back on with new mounting hardware and bushings. The bed sides measure 6 1/2', is that a long bed or short? Now on to the trickier questions....

I have a pick up truck full of questions (get the pun ;))

It has the straight front axle and I am planing on upgrading that area of the suspension. I have contacted TCI and Scotts for quotes on the IFS kit. I know it can also be done with a Mustang II front suspension. My first question is...which one gives you the biggest bang for the buck? I haven't priced a Mustang front yet but I suspect it is less than the kits. Are there pitfalls I need to be aware of on each? I would like to lower the truck a bit, not drastic, just bring it down a few inches, is one better suited for this than the other?

I intend to keep the rear leaf spring suspension, but again I want to bring it down a few inches, has anyone done that with original leafs? From what I can tell the previous owners did put a rear axle in it from a Blazer. It is a 6 bolt pattern with 3:73 gears. The TCI sales guy was pushing for the 4 link rear suspension, I don't know alot about them but everything I read seems to indicate they are very adjustable for many racing conditions (drag strip, autocross, etc) as I'm not planning racing it seems an overkill.

Will air shocks allow me to fine tune the ride and height?

The plan for drive train is a 305 SB Chevy (out of an 85 Camaro) with a 700R trans. Considering the large front profile of this truck and weight does this sound reasonable? I am not after a tire smoking hot rod (I have a 69 Camaro for my need for speed) but I want to feel comfortable that the truck can cruise the highways easily and possibly pull a light load on occasion (small trailer with a Kubota BX23 untility tractor on it).

For a time I was considering mounting the truck on a S-10 frame (actually bought the donor truck 87 S-10 reg cab, long bed, 4-wheel drive. It came with a new 2.8 V6 long block. No hood, tail gate or rear bumper and the engine was in a box in the bed, it had been sitting for a few years). When the GMC got here from NM I was so thrilled with the condition of the frame that I scraped the S-10 frame swap idea. Has anyone used just the drive train from an S-10 4-wheel drive and mounted it on the GMC frame? This is still a concideration as I have the S-10 truck sitting at my house. It's also on Craiglist Sheboygan, WI.

So this is my first salvo of questions, as I proceed I expect there to be many more in the coming months. Any input would be appreciated, stories of builds, links to pictures etc.

Tom

Have a 50 Chevy short bed in the shop right now that is going the same route as your plans. It's a budget build so the owner bought one of the bare bones MII kits which I think was around $1200. Might snap some pics even though a search will turn up much info as this is a popular project. Lowering blocks will get the rear down but if over two inches I like to add a Panard bar or maybe a sway bar also. Ignore the hype on four link as it's for a huge engine and sticky tires to get hookup to the pavement. NOT ONE PERSON IN 10,000 actually knows how to set a four link for track conditions and wouldn't crawl around under their ride as the track changed even if they did. Your 305 will be just fine and if you want a few more beans GM had the factory parts on some mid-80's IROC Camaros that did the trick.

I'm not impressed by the idea of putting a suspension system for a subcompact car under a truck- - - - -even if it's going to become a Cowboy Cadillac that never carries a load in the bed. At least give it suspension designed to carry the weight of a V8, like a mid-1970's Chevy Nova, or a Camaro subframe, etc. You also get the benefit of a properly-engineered suspension and steering system that's actually designed to handle in a turn, not something that just keeps the frame off the ground at a car show and might let you drive in straight lines and stay in your own lane. It costs a lot less to clip the frame off about the front of the cab and fit a complete frame assembly, instead of doing a butcher job on the original frame, figuring out how to mount a rack & pinion steering gear to minimize bump steer, and design some Rube Goldberg U-joint system to connect it to the steering column!
Jerry

I would suggest that anyone considering the S-10 frame swap to actually drive an S-10 truck. They are nothing special in ride quality, nor are they sleek on the slalom course.

The ultimate S-10 Pep Boys Special Race Car... Ugliest S-10