New here , 58 under bed tank questions and more

[OrrieG]

I'm with Ogre, get it running and use it while you decide to what you want to do with it. I got mine in 76, added 4wd axles and transfer in 85 and took it off the road in 2000 for a 12 month body work project. 15 years later time and money conspired to keep me from driving it. These have a nasty habit of getting taken apart and sitting frustrating the owner unless the funds are adequate and available. I think Dad would rather have you driving it and upgrading as you go than sitting in parts making you mad every time you walk by the tarp.

[_Ogre]

most of these trucks running down the road still have the gas tank behind the seat
no real reason to change the either unless your up for the challenge

once you start tearing into the suspension you'll need to rebuild springs and bushings
the king pins and bushings are shot, that's guaranteed, not to mention drag link and tie rod ends
once you start moving suspension stuff then you get into new steering column and rewiring the column
''while i'm at it'' pretty soon you have the truck in 1000 pieces all over the garage, basement and any outbuildings you may have

as is you most likely need a new mc, brake lines, hoses, wheel cylinders and shoes
and that's just to get it to stop safely, then you move on to the go parts
get it running/stopping/moving as is and use it

[JimDirt]

Yea , i understand , the column was in the mix (tilt) because the steering box is shot , it was shot in the 70's , and i am sure it has not gotten better with age , so i figured if i had to replace it to drive it safely , then i might as well do the column at the same time , just was not sure if there was a "upgraded" box or not , the tank is more of a fitment issue with me , my dad was 5'2" , i am 5'10" and it just seems cramped to me , so i was going to change the seat for comfort reasons (bad back) , and get the tank out of the way and have more than 15 gallons , so i can actually drive more than 100 miles without needing to find a station , most of the places i will be driving the truck to (to go riding and such) are 80+ miles each way , so i was wanting about 20-22 gallons , to feel comfortable with not needing to stop for gas all the time

So for me , the Tank ,Column , Box , and Seat , and windshield are mandatory changes needed , not excluding the entire brake system , and getting the engine in working order , these to me were the "priorities" , i just figured lowering it , would be easier than i am finding out , and i could have knocked that out while i had the truck in the air doing the tank and brakes.....

I will make this the priority for now , and then when i can get a better work space figured out , and getting another welder , then i can worry about the more extensive work that i would need to do to get it where i want , my plan for now , was not to do a frame up redo , so that was not my intentions , at least not right now , just to get the major things keeping it off the road done , and doing a few add-ons to personalize it more for my needs , even if i had the money to , i would not bag it , i am not into that , just get it more where a street truck/daily summer driver should be , functional but at least lower than stock , to me its just too high (besides lower would make loading the bikes easier).................. , thanks for the help so far , i appreciate the info from everyone who has offered their input ,i am used to muscle cars that i used to build during the 70's/80's , this is a different thing , especially where the budget is concerned , as that was not a issue then