57 chev - Canadian eh!

[truck4canuk]

I have been pokeing around on the site for months - there's a lot of knowledge and good looking metal here! Some of you guys are crazy smart when it somes to working on these old beauties!!!

Early this spring I imported to Ontario Canada a southern cali 57 chev. It appears to have had at leat 20 blue paint jobs and numerous other 'partial (and sometime not proper) adjustements' done/made to it. She has a small V8 and some cool chrome work, but is definietly a bit rough...
After king pins, a little wiring, and rear brakes she was on the road for the season.
while driving, I have (with some help from good friends!) compelted the following...
- test and fix the round heater core - also got the blower working again.
- replace the wiper motor
- replace the welded (poorly) 10" with a very nice 9" ford...and replace the entire rear suspension (springs were heated and bent to lower the truck)
I have also pruchased, and will be installing front disk brakes and a proper crossmember with motor mounts (the same welder had his way with that... nasty!!)
"Ol'blue" has gone to the body shop - for at least part of the winter for straigtening, stripping, and painting. I have a couple of decisions to make and I am looking for some guidance or suggestions...

- In the engine bay, we are using the seam on the fire wall as the 'division line' were the body color (yellow) and the engine bay color (black) meet. My mechanic friend is suggesting that re-wiring is a good idea, and I agree... so do we hide the wires below the flat portion of the file wall or do we leave it relatively stock...?!? is there any benifit beyond cosmetics to moving all the wires?
Oh yeah, so if we make the wiring change, do we move the battery?!?

I consider what we are doing now to be the 'middle' step in the transformation of this truck. Once painted, and a bit safer(mounts and brakes), I will be putting logos on the truck for my business, and prepping myself mentally and financially for a more seroiusly modified stage where I hope to seriously blurr the line between street and strip...

my concerns are that I do not buy/payfor/do something now that I will have to rip out or change in the next step.

the other thing we have been batting around is steering. I really don't mind manual steering, but my wife does!
I really don't want the 'clutter' behind the front axle that I see in most of the after market kits. Is there an 'assisted' system that would retian most of the stock characteristics - and steering?