Should I get into this much trouble?

[Storm Chaser]

Been beating myself to death over this, so what do you guys think? Kinda long, but bear with me and give your opinion...

Those who know me from the 88-98 side of the board know I have a pretty big frame-up crew build going on (on hold until spring). That project the old lady knows is long-term and ongoing. I also recently bought a beat up 76 with a flatbed to use as a daily and a parts/junk/wood hauler. I bought it knowing the engine was bad, so I put another one in. It was then that I found out the tranny was also shot. No problem, I've got one of those too...

Now I knew the floors were in poor shape, but I didn't realize how bad- I went to remove the crossmember, and found the cab sitting directly on top of the frame. I also found that with the lack of cab bushings and rusted away floor supports, someone welded in some box steel that sits right on the cab perches- welded up with no cusion- crappy welds, but no way to jack the cab to get to the upper crossmember bolts. Really hack and unsafe as h... well you get the point. No, I didn't look the truck over all that well, but for the price, it didn't matter for the parts that were there.

A little info on this truck- 3/4 ton, full floating rear axle, flatbed (which I need), new carpet, driver side fender smashed, needs idler arm replaced, but good parts include- glass, grille and rest of front clip, unhacked wiring, 99 percent of front suspension... a whole lot of good that still makes it a good buy.

On to the dillema...

I just came across an 86 2wd crew cab- it's a complete cab on a rolling frame. Cab and doors are in great shape. Parts missing- bed, rear bumper, entire front clip, engine & tranny, steering box and column, and brake booster and master cylinder. Price was VERY attractive, so I threw down the cash. My original plan was to use everything off of my 76 (except the clip) and put on this crew. I do have access to a hood and rad support for 81-87, so a couple of junkyard fenders would round this out and get it on the road.

Sounds easy until...

I came across another 2wd crew cab rolling frame, again, at a decent price. Add to that- My buddy has a decent 86 complete cab (standard cab), and I have long toyed with putting a standard cab on a crew frame to run a 12 foot flatbed on. Same buddy works at a steel plant and said he'd get the metal and help build the bed. And of course, being the Chevy lover I am, I have enough engines/transmissions to go around. I had posted a question about helping a buddy put an older nose on a newer cab, so what I learned there would aid me in using the 76's clip on this (aside from needing a new driver side fender). I also may be able to score a mid 80's Suburban on the cheap to use as parts.

So, what do you guys think? Should I go for it and build both of these trucks at once? Neither one will be show queens- just a couple of work trucks that would end up being pretty useful for me and my future plans in life. I'd have 95% of the parts on hand to do it, and they'd both go together pretty quickly.

One more piece of advice needed- how do I sell this to the old lady?