man's best friend

The wife and I have been going 'round and 'round about my '89 Ramcharger; 318/TBI/truck 4-speed. The old Bus has 170,000 miles, rust up to the rockers (it was a southern truck the first part of it's life hence the reason it's not rotted all the way to the glass being a now upstate NY truck), and a myriad of minor issues that don't bother me, but irritates the hell out of others. You'll notice that I call the old girl a truck because that's what she is. The backseat spends most of it's time in the upright position. This truck has hauled more trailers, brought home more dead vehicles, stripped out more parts, hauled more engines, pushed around more no starts, ripped through more feet of snow, made more cross country trips and generally been whipped the **** of all the while being the most loyal vehicle I've ever had . I have no problems getting in the truck and driving to MN where my wife's parents are, about a 2500 mile round trip, on a moments notice with doing nothing more than making sure it's full of oil and coolant. I put her through her paces, ask her for all I can ask her, and she just keeps coming back for more and more. This, my friends, is man's best friend. A loyal truck, getting along in years, but still willing to give more years of service. And you thought that ol' huntin' dog was.
The wife would like to see an "update" on the old Bus. IE something newer
with less problems. When I point out the cost of a new"er" Cummins 3500 (with 6-speed, natch) 4x4, 4 real doors, the wife wants to know why I want a truck that big. Ummm, let's see. I've told myself that the Bus is the last half ton platform I'll own. For all the work she does, it's still a half ton, and doing only half the work something with more suspension can do. Four full doors to replace the backseat, (I DO use it on occasion), a Cummins (hey, the new Hemi is great, but if you're buying a new"er" truck why not get the big truck engine?) So as she says this I put the bar so high that when I get around to reliving the old Bus she'll think it's a new truck...
Imagine: '89 Dodge Ramcharger 440 built with gobs of torque, keeping the
4-speed. I do this because the wife can't drive stick, won't let me teach her,
and this way she won't be able to drive my truck. Dana 60 in the rear with,
let's say 4.10s to take the place of the 9 1/4 with 3.23s in it now. Replace the 44 up front with a 60? She rides on the factory 31X10.5 size tires now (these and A/C were the only options I can see) in Green Diamond M/T (Google it). Good ground clearance, about the right height for towing, but was thinking that going to 3/4 ton spring sets would give the suspension I want for towing and hauling, give me a little more ground clearance and open the wheel wells up for maybe a set of 35s (33s would be the biggest right now without an aftermarket lift). Brake upgrades would be a must. Maybe if I'm upgrading the spring sets go ahead and update to the 3/4 ton semi-floating high GVW axles and 8 lug pattern? Seems like a bit of overkill, but what the hell... Either way, the rear would see a SureGrip unit at the least, and if the 9 1/4 stays it'll be a TruTrack.
Remember guys, I use this as a truck, not a rock crawler, so the idea of ridiculous amounts of wheel travel don't appeal to me. She'll see what she sees right now: a lot of snow in the winter, a lot muddy fields in the spring, and dry streets in the summer. Input guys. Comments. About the truck. About the wives who don't get it when a vehicle is this loyal you DON'T get rid of it. (On the other hand she has no problems about sinking money into my Cuda, or Sport Satellite, or my '78 F250) Suggestions. Anything you'd do different in the build? Right now, off the bat, two issues I see and one is curable: the factory hydraulic clutch would have to go, hello Keisler. The other one is the lack of availability of big block 4-speed truck bellhousings.