Steering:
When I bought the truck it was all over the road. Bump steer like crazy. Probably 4-5in of play in the wheel, seriously! I had to drive 55 on the way back from buying it to keep it on the road. Originally I was going to take it to a custom shop to address the steering, but balking at a $1000+ bill to go through the front end, I decided to try a few things myself first.
The sloppy steering came from the steering box. Originally I thought the gears may be worn and looked for a new box. Rebuilding the box would only address the seals and not the gears. So I went to auto zone to see if they had remanufactured boxes they could order. NOPE. Then I did a search for the part on car-parts.com, nothing within 75 miles. So I went online and happened upon a post that said there is an adjustment screw on the steering box. These fixes never work, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Turned the screw and... all the slope is gone. Old cars are so awesome. So I fixed the slope for FREE.
Tightening the box made it drive much better, but it still had some bump steer. It was much more manageable because the steering wouldn't jump over the entire slop before I could bring the truck back under control anymore. I ordered a $50 steering stabilizer and bolted it on. Huge difference. Truck tracks much better and I can take turns without slowing to a crawl. It isn't completely fixed, but the bumper steer isn't nearly as noticeable anymore. To fix the rest I think I need to get it aligned and, worst case, replace the tie rods for around $150.
Engine:
I bought the 351 Windsor rated at 400hp/430lb-ft. Brand new, in crate for $2500, long block. I bought all the supporting parts for around $600:
-New distributor
-140 amp alternator
-alternator bracket
-mechanical pump
-ignition wires
-water pump
-Edelbrock rebuild kit
-C4 shift kit
-pulley kit
-Edelbrock intake
-180F thermostat
-Misc hardware and parts
From the look of it, I think the engine mounts are the same as the 302 that is in there now and I'm hoping the old fan aligns with the shroud. I'm think I won't even have to mess with the drive shaft if I stay with the C4 for now. I eventually want to go with a AOD, but I think I'm going to save that for another time. I'm going to rebuild the Edelbrock performer carb and see how it does before moving to something else. I've got my eye on the Holley Sniper EFI, but it doesn't come out until later in the year.
The custom shop guy said the headers should work from the 302, so I'm going to clean them and give them a coat of exhaust paint or maybe wrap them (I don't plan to be out in the rain much with this truck.)
So the next major expense will be getting exhaust put on it once the engine is in and cross my fingers the Edelbrock carb is enough, 600CFM.
Paint:
I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but the top of the passenger side bed was painted flat black by a previous owner. Supposedly they were in the process of making a rat rod. I'm glad they stopped there. I went to a local body shop that works with single stage paint and got a quote to get that portion resprayed with color matched paint. Only $350, which I thought was a steal.