Reading what other people have done, and what they think of it is a great way to learn, but when it comes to the front suspension on a 1949-52 Chevrolet, it gets to be a mess fairly quickly. There are numerous options, and everyone thinks that the way they did it is best, and all other ways are terrible.
Some of the options, and the plusses and minuses of them are:
Rebuilding the stock suspension: Good because everything fits already. No engineering involved. It's useable if you want to use airbags later. Disc brakes are also an option. This same suspension design was was used on Corvettes from 1953 to 1962. Negative because it's an old design, parts can be difficult to find, and if you want to add power steering, the comnponents to do it are extremely hard to find and expensive.
Does THIS look like something I want the suspension from?
Mustang II: Positives are that it is a newer design, power steering is very easy and relatively cheap, and very easy air bags if you want. Negatives are the high price of the kit, You have to be careful who you get your kit from (some of the kits are poorly engineered and downright dangerous), The stigma of knowing that your front suspension is actually the same suspension that was originally designed for the Ford Pinto.
Yummy!
Jaguar: Positives are that it is actually darned near a bolt in, easy power steering, and the suspensions aren't too hard to find in a boneyard. Negatives are that finding replacement parts can be difficult and pricey.
Firebird/Camaro: Positives are that parts are cheap and easy to find, and no other direction makes V8 installation easier. The negatives are that you have to stub the whole frame- you actually replace the frame from the firewall forward with the frame from the donor car. When you do that, you're then faced with the fun of trying to bolt your old sheetmetal and radiator to a completely different frame. Something else that I see as a negative is that you lose the underfloor mounted master cylinder, and the old style "stab pedals" for the brake and clutch, as well as the cool oldskool hand operated parking brake on the dash.
So, I weighed all of these thoughts against what I want to do with the car. I will almost certainly upgrade to disc brakes in the front at a later date. I may want to use airbags at a later date, and I at least want to lower the front a bit for now. I'm not 100% decided on what engine I want to use, but I know I don't want to go with the one that's in it already. Power steering isn't a hot button for me- if manual steering is in good shape, it's fine, and I'm not going to have steering that isn't in good shape.
The winner, after much thought, is the stock suspension, with any and all needed repairs made. There's nothing more traditional than that. And, if I'm at a car show, and some jackweed starts asking "did you use the Mustang II or Jaguar front suspension?" I'll just tell him I used a Corvette front end.
Engine. Wow, lots of options, here. Of course, I could put ANYTHING in it, but, since I'm building this as a traditional kustom, there are a few standouts. The ones that are tickling my brain as of May and June are:
Buick Nailhead
348 Chevy
Olds Rocket
Caddy 390
3rd generation Chevy 6 cylinder
2nd generation Chevy 6 cylinder
283 or 327 Chevy in traditional dress
Why an engine change? The 216 6 cylinder in the car runs pretty decently, why would I switch to a newer 6 cylinder when the old one runs well? The answer is easy. The first generation Chevy 6 cylinder engines were designed, built and used in a totally different era. Keep in mind, that when my car was made, our interstate system was still a dream. Sustained high speed vehicle operation just wasn't happening. The oiling system in my engine is what is known as a partial pressure system. There is an oil pump, and it pumps oil to the top of the engine, but the bottom end is lubricated by a dipper on the crankshaft that splashes oil on the moving parts down low. This was fine in its' day, but I'm going to want to get my car out on the highway. The shows I want to go to do NOT welcome cars on trailers. You gotta drive 'em in. So, I want an engine that can handle 60-70 mph easily, and the 216 isn't going to fill that bill.
In fact, the entire driveline will have to go. Not just the engine, but the transmission and rear axle. Again, these parts are victims of being designed for a different era. The car has a closed driveline (torque tube) with a very low rear axle ratio (4.11:1)
A 4.11 rear is great for the dragstrip, but with stock sized tires, going 70 mph calculates out to an engine speed of about 3400 rpm! This car is going to be a kustom. A true leadsled. It's going to be a cruiser, not a racer. A lover, not a fighter. Changing gears in the rear is an option, but the torque tube rear is notoroiusly weak, and more difficult to work on than newer rears. The transmission is fine, but to mate it to a newer engine, and also to the different style rear axle would require a lot of engineering and specialized custom parts. It's just not practical in any sense of the word. So, it will be getting a different engine, transmission and rear end, but what exactly it will get remains to be decided.
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