[mr48chev]

I'd suggest ordering catalogs from LmC Brothers and some of the other suppliers even if you may never order a part although at some time we all have to order parts from the truck goodie vendors. The LMC catalog has nice blow up drawings of how the parts go in relation to each other that help with the brain going dead at assembly time once in a while plus their listings show what fits what year pretty easily. Brothers has great photos of the items they sell that are good to make sure you have what you need.

Suspension choice between stock I beam, dropped I beam or independent is determined by several things. How you want the truck to look be it traditional or hot lick latest tricky slicky, stock, near stock or something in between.

It also depends on how and how far you plan on driving the truck. If a really long road trip is a hundred miles or so one way the stock setup should be fine. In 1977 I towed a 16 ft Uhaul behind my 48 from Texas to Washington state with the stock I beam axle. I wouldn't attempt that again but in those days cross country trips with the stock suspension wasn't a big deal. The cross country trip might have been but the suspension used wasn't. The round trip down and back four years later with the Camaro subframe was a lot easier on me though. No trailer but being able to cruise at 70+ for hours on end with one hand lightly on the wheel instead of "driving" every mile made things a lot easier.
This time around though the truck is getting an aftermarket Mustang II style crossmember with tube A arms that I will upgrade the ball joints on to Moog ball joints. 11 inch disk brakes and power rack. The truck is going to set pretty low with a static drop and no air bags. It will also make an extended road trip to Texas in March of 2013 right after I retire to visit the inlaws and hit some rod runs and shows.