Ignorant Newbie with a few questions

[mneubecker]

Hi All,

My name is Mark and I've been mostly lurking for awhile and find this site to be extremely informational. I live outside of Kansas City (not very far from lil red).

I have a 66 stepside longbed (230 or 250) and want to turn it into a daily driver in the next couple of years. I've replaced most of the typical rust spots and will be working on the rest of the rust, getting a paint job, etc.

I've determined some of the bigger projects I want to do but fear that without some guidance and by doing them one job at a time, I might not do them in the right order and end up costing myself time or more importantly, money.

This was my Grandfather's truck and he was a farmer so it was great for his needs. I live and work in the city so better MPG is a huge concern of mine. I want to try and stay original but will also be making changes for safety (disk brakes, shoulder harness, new master cyl) and convenience (a/c, auto transmission, move gas tank under the bed).

My specific questions concern the order of projects for headers, automatic, gear switch, gas tank relocation and disk brakes. For example, if I don't get expert advice I will start with let's say the headers. I'll get them for a 66 manual, install them, think i'm fine until I go to add an automatic (or fuel tank) and discover that i'll not only be installing the automatic but doing extra work because of the headers. Another example - I will upgrade the gears and then later when I go to upgrade the brakes, I'll find out that I could have just picked up a specific axle at a junk yard that would have the correct gears and disk brakes installed.

Can anyone recommend how to avoid doing things now that will fill me with rage and an empty bank account later? Can these projects be timed in a way to decrease the likelihood of disaster? I will have a gazillion questions later on but answers to these will keep me busy for a long time.

Thanks