driving it feels like a normal modern truck. if you ever drove an old truck you know that lumbering, cumbersome feeling, that wallow and sway in the turns. this feels like driving a modern vehicle that you just start and go. I dont want to say uninvolving or underwhelming, more like just how you would treat a daily driver, without a second thought. the efi and overdrive helps this, and I spend a lot of time on ride height and interior comfort too.
my favorite thing is driving around, if it ran on thumbs up I would never spend money on gas. my least favorite thing is the steering/radiator area of the front clip, if there was a rack and pinion setup all that could be avoided.
look at my profile, I have pictures of my trucks in the gallery. they all are built like you describe, stock looking but s10 swapped and lower. check out the green 49 with the whitewalls especially.
IMG_5254 by
Joe Doh, on Flickr
keep in mind with 4" tall cab mounts (3" mounts 1" bushing) the bed floor will need raised about 1.5 inches, and then I put wood on top of that. you could mount the body higher and take care of that too though. if you didnt tub the rear wheels you will want to swap the rear axle for a wider one, or use spacers and be careful with backspace.
my advice still is: mounting the body can be done in a long weekend. you dont need a mounting kit but some people like them because they have instructions and take away some of the chaos of planning. bolt on kits sell like hotcakes too, but I feel they are misleading because everything else will need some form of cutting or welding. on that note, lately I enjoy using ext cab s10 because they are more available and shortening the frame doesnt take long enough to be a big deal, you can get the wheelbase more exact that way too. but again, it takes cutting and welding. everything else beyond mounting the body will take months, at least.