what would you do - hypothetically of course lol (engine swap)

[neverwinter]

hey all,

my progress has slowed a lot on my 63 C10 for a couple reasons. the most important of which is that my wife is due Mon Oct 24th with our second child - our first boy! - and so obv that takes utmost priority. I havent jumped into taking the stock crossmember out of the 63 as of yet because i'd hate to leave the project in various stages of disassembly.

anyway the second consideration is: to replace the engine or not. I have been reading that doing the crossmember swap is much easier to do with the engine out. If thats the case it seems silly to take the tired 283 out and drop it back in. The 283 needs exhaust as it is and could prob benefit from a carb and an intake. it has about 85k miles on it. A rebuild seems silly when the GM 260 is 1600 shipped and drop in.

my intention was to get a cool old truck i could drive as-is. that idea went bye bye when i learned all the brakes etc were shot. The engine bucks and coughs and stalls but when i had it running i did get up to 50 mph or so. so now that i spent another 1k on the new wheels tires, crossmember, etc etc part of me is thinking that for another 2k id have a great old style truck with a new engine, better rear axle ratio from the 79, disks in front, better suspension, and nearly brand new Tq Thrust wheels and tires.

i can find the cash to do it. just not sure how wise it is. thing is i want a truck that i can cruise hiway comfortable (not 100 mph but i want to be safe at 60-70). id like to keep my manual 4 speed but wonder if the old manual trans would be a detriment to the engine or the top speed?

any thoughts?>