78 LWB 2wd to 4wdDuramax Conversion

[MrGreen]

I cant sleep and figured I should finally get the opinions of the experts on my idea, so try and stay with me on this.

I have a 1978 Chevrolet Silverado big 10 with a little over 52k ALL ORIGINAL miles. My neighbor through my entire life, bought it brand new in 1978, and had it garaged for all of its life. When he pasted away a few years ago he gave the truck to me because i helped him out a lot, he didnt have any kids, and I always thought it was such a cool truck. In the will he wrote a note that read, "and for my 1978 Chevrolet, my most prized possesion, i leave to Dawson, my neighbors son. I know he will take care of it, have fun with it, or use the money from the sale to enjoy his life..." Now you tell me, whether you like the squarebody or not, you just got a truck youre keeping for LIFE!!!

The pro's: low mileage, everything works (pretty much, one gas tank is dirty), great paint, tons of fun to cruise in

The con's: cant haul, not practical for longer drives, lacks modern ammenities

So my thought was to upgrade it to something i would actually use. With this being said, I need a 4x4 truck. I would also like something that i can take out on longer trips or to go do some camping with my soon-to-be-wife... Something that can tow a boat, or a camper, and something that people still turn their heads at. So i came to the conclusion that i needed a diesel, preferably sticking with the bowtie themes. So a duramax with an allison transmission. Also, changing the 2wd to 4wd wasnt going to be easy, and finding a way to join all of the different modern luxuries and running it through the older system was dang near impossible.

In concluson, I am looking for a newer (05-11) Duramax truck, 4wd, non dually preferably, that has been in a rollover, or something where it still runs and drives but has severe BODY damage. My plan is to strip the new truck of all body panels, cut the frame down a bit. rework the body mounts and maybe do some trimming on a test fit truck, then have my old truck installed on top with all the newer interior ammenities hidden out of view.

The ultimate goal is to have the truck look exactly the same, but bigger, and with more power and a much more manageable, comfortable drive...

I know thats a lot to read, so thanks for getting this far. Your help/opinion/comments would be greatly appreciated...

Not sure how to post pics of my truck, so if you wanna see him, PM me.

Looking forward to getting an actual rendering soon!