[dsraven]

before you decide what your plan will be take a good hard look at the usual rusty spots on the truck. above the window, around/above the rain gutter, around the hinge pillars and door hinge areas, the floor, the front and rear cab mounts, the rear cab corners, the inner cowl, the steps and rockers anything that they sell a replacement panel or repair panel for is a suspect area. these trucks have a cowl vent that goes into an air plenum reaching across the truck from side to side in front of the windshield, down each side to a kick panel vent and then exiting through a drain hole at the bottom of the inner cowls. since this is a rain and leaf/debris catcher, and the drain is a small hole at the bottom, the drain plugs up. the rain water and ice builds up until it spills out through the kick panel vents and out onto the floor. from there it exits out the hinge pillars and/or step and starts the rust process or rotting the pillars, floor, cab mounts under the floor and front fender lower rear mount. if you want some pics of what to look for just pm me your email address and I can send you some pics of mine.
I say this because my old 57 was in really rough shape and that is the reason for doing the frame and floor/firewall swap with a gmc envoy from the 2000's. this meant that the floor repairs, cab mounts, firewall mods, etc were not required. it also meant the suspension/brakes were upgraded to 4 wheel discs (12") all around with a "top hat" style park brake, a fuel tank with built in pump and fuel system lines etc were already in place, if you get the right unit (trailblazer SS) it will come with a 6L LS engine and auto O/D trans. rear suspension is a 4 link with coils or air bags, front suspension is struts with lowering struts available, stabilizer bars already set up, firewall mounted brake booster (ok, not really appealing to the eye but comes with the package and is bolted to a plate that is bolted to the firewall) and pedal set (integral as a unit with the drive by wire accell pedal as well), power rack and pinion, floor mounted cable style shifter, floor mounted hand brake, complete carpet set to fit the floor well, seats with integral belts, console, etc etc. a frame swap is not for the faint of heart or for those who are only good for short projects though. doing some of the rust repairs isn't either. the trailblazer/envoy/rainier/saab swap will be a tad wide track width for the T/F truck though so if big dish wheels are what you like then maybe not for you. just a thought.