Love the pre muscle era mopars! I have upgraded my 55 with a 440 / 727, ford 8.8 (4wheel disc brakes!) Rusty hope disc brake conversion and home brewed 12v conversion. I dont know much about the 40's era but I would suspect with some ingenuity you could do the same. BB truck headers fit mine well with a few mods, the explorer 8.8 is a great differential, the same width as the original and is relatively easy to install. Mine uses stock front suspension but I have seen a couple with Volare front sub frames.
Good luck and keep us posted!
