new and need some advice on a 72

[Brutz]

Hey guys, this is my first time posting here, so I hope that I'm posting in the right place. I recently bought an old 72 long bed chevy from my brother. This thing sat in his driveway for six years without even being started! I took it did a compression check and number 7 is dead. So I have planned so far to fix the engine and what not first and the body is kind of on the end of the plan. So I plan on getting a re-manufactured long block a re-manufactured transmission, an edelbrock carb , new intake manifold, and new exhaust manifolds . so here is the problem I am brand new to all of this, I have a haynes manual and will be using that for the most part, so I am curious with the conversion of a stock carb to a brand new one, what will be some road blocks that I will encounter with that? Will the stock air cleaner work, or will I be needing some sort of adapter? I have also been told I should cut it down to a short bed, is that a good idea? or should I leave that area alone? I really want to do everything with this truck because I enjoy doing this sort of thing, and this truck is kind of an heirloom, I just hated seeing the thing sit for six years. The last question I have is, the paint and a lot of the underside is rusting, what is the best/cheapest way to keep it from rusting further? Also if you have any suggestions on what else I should be doing I would appreciate any and all comments. Sorry for the long post. Thanks guys.