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About a year ago I purchased a '49(ish) Pilothouse. The body is in great shape, motor turns over but doesn't run. I've wanted to do a project like this for years but I've never done anything like it before. I am pretty comfortable with fabrication, currently practicing my mig welding, and good with mechanical stuff (but again not a lot of car/truck experience). My Wish-list: A Pilothouse that I can drive to work and back (50 miles round trip, potentially on the highway) daily. Modern suspension and brakes A/C (I live in Florida) Sorry to those this may offend, but I am not a Mopar purist. I love the style of these trucks and I want to keep the outer appearances in-line with that era. But as far as the "guts" go I want to use what ever combination of make/model/year that helps me achieve my goal without spending a fortune or a lifetime. Considering this is my first build I am thinking about doing the S-10 swap (maybe with the code 504 kit). My question is: Can I just keep the existing S-10 motor/transmission/accessories and fit the dodge body over it? I see so many posts about swapping motors with these s-10 conversions but it seems like for a beginner the simplest path would be to just reuse the s-10 powertrain. Am I missing something? The other option I see is keeping the original frame and swapping out the front and rear ends for something more modern and building up a new powertrain but that seems a little daunting and I don't want to bite off more that I can chew for my first go. Any advice for the newbie? Thanks, - Jason

I have a 48 panel that has a hunk of scrap iron for a motor, a chassis needing everything and needing some new metal on the front. I have a good front clip and doors handy and it occurred to me this evening I should consider mating all that with an S-10 I bought a while back. S-10 is a 91 swb 2wd 4 cylinder 5 speed. Sheetmetal is pretty rusted, but the running gear and tires are good. Looking at specs, the S-10 is 108.3 wheel base, panel is 108. Seems like a match. Bought the S-10 for $150 ( guy said the clutch was shot, but needed a slave cylinder) so not a lot invested. This is probably not the most ideal mating - a 6 cylinder, for example, would probably be more desireable, but it's all here and available. A few body mounts and some wiring and I could change two of the things sitting in the way to a drivable vehicle. One advantage in Missouri is, over 25 years old can be registered historic, no inspection, just buy a tag. And unlike some states, it's registered here as what it most resembles, not what the chassis is. So, no safety or emmissions concerns. So, bolt it together, buy insurance, buy a tag and it's on the road. Thoughts? I'm sure there are better donor chassis around (Dakota, etc) but nothing more available than sitting there in the way at no cost.