[dsraven]

decide what you want the truck to do and then ask around again. once you know what you want the truck to do that will rule out some ideas or manufacturers because of the range of ride height from bottom to top end. look at the geometry of the front ends as you decide what to do. a front end like a mustangII set up will work fine but if you plan to drop it in the weeds and then have a taller ride height then the stress on the front end becomes much more and the wheel lean is greater because of the short control arms and the difference in length between the upper and lower control arms. the tires will lean in like crazy in the weeds if it is aligned to have the tires vertical at ride height. also the bigger the difference between down and up the bigger the potential for toe in changes.
if you go for air ride then bank on a several grand just for the "air controls". then add for the compressors, tanks, solenoid valves, lines, fittings, bags, level indicators, guages, and the brain unit to run it all. talk to some guys who have air ride, check the accuair website for ball park pricing etc. the touchpad kit itself is about $3000.

cutting off the original frame and grafting in a clip sounds easy and looks not too bad unless you are the guy doing it. it is always good to have the donor car as a complete unit before the clip is cut out because then the ride height, control arm and frame angles etc can be copied so when installed into your truck it will be able to be aligned properly. maybe the money spent on a scotts (or whatever) IFS kit front end would be worth it then if you can bolt it in yourself, saving cash on welders etc. a really low truck means a bunch of frame and body work out back as well.
so, if you lop the front off and weld in a clip, then you lop the rear off and weld in a big c notch, really the only part of the frame that is old is the part under the cab. maybe it would be better to have a whole new frame without all the cutting and welding and costs incurred to say, at the end of the day, that you spent nearly as much as a custom frame but you ended up with a bunch of parts grafted together. grab a diagram of the frame on these trucks, it is nearly flat from front to rear except for a bump over the rear end and a slope in the front. not that big of a deal to fab up if you have the shop, time, tooling etc.
check out the CanadianHotrods site, they fab a whole frame with OEM corvette underpinnings. maybe get some ideas from there.the US dollar is equal to 1.34 Canadian right now, so good for you south boys to buy from us north boys at the moment

here is a quote from kabwe (on this site) who is talking about the 55-59 trucks. responding to the same question, basically.

"Mustang 2 units - they are cool but at the lower end of the aftermarket kits and it's what I could afford.
Flatout Engineering's cross remember - This would be my choice if I could do it again.

Jim Meyer, No Limit Engineering, Scotts hotrod, TCI, Progressive Automotive and Heidts Superide are really nice unit if you have the money.


so, like I said, decide what you want and then ask around. how much can you do yourself, welding etc. what do you have for tools to get the job done correctly and accurately, what do you have for space to work in, etc etc. do a work up before a tear down. plan on a complete rebuild of a clip if you go that way. control arm bushings,ball joints, brakes, tie rods and centre links etc etc. below is a pic of the TCI mustangII in my 57. looks easy but there are lots of things to consider. it is definately good to research before you pull out the grinder or torch. also included a frame diagram for you.