1972 GMC Sierra Grande

[Rake72]

I have my dad's '72 in my garage and I'm finally to the point where I can have some work done to it (blew the sb400 in 2002). I'm in talks with some local guys regarding the motor situation, but when I look any farther I kind of get overwhelmed due to my lack of automotive knowledge, so I have a few quick questions for you guys:

My truck has the split rims on it, which I'd like to replace eventually with some nice wheels. My wheels now are 8-bolt, which isn't too big of a deal, but the rear axle extends so far past the back wheel, it will look ridiculous to have some shiny chrome with a big ol' rusty axle in the center. Any suggestions?

Also, this truck is largely rust-free except for the bed, which is in bad shape. In your experiences, is a replacement bed hard to find?

Thanks for the help guys. I hope to learn a lot from this forum.

Rake