Is anyone doing anything with 2-2.5 trucks?

Last year I p***ed on a chance to buy a 51 chevy mobile home toter and have been kicking myself ever since. Since we live in a large farming area, I see quite a few of the old grain trucks either parked by the barns, or being used on a limited basis. Has any bought one of these things and cut the frame enough to make it feasible to run around town in? I'm not going to rat the thing up, my plans are for some shiny paint and A/C to make it a more usable vehicle, just a little on the different side.

 

Easy to swap one to a late frame if it's wide enough the wheels don't stick way out. I was toying with doing that with my '93 1-ton dually, the cab is rotty anyhow and it would be nice to jazz it up with an older cab.

 

It's killing me to see 60 year old vehicles with almost no miles on them just waiting to be rescued. If I come across another one, it's coming home with me even if I have to park it in the alley cause it's to long for my driveway.

 

I'd use them in a heart beat, they are usually the same cabs as the smaller half ton trucks but with bigger fender openings. As an example, this truck.
I needed a cab for one of my projects, found this 41 Chevy,within my budget, 250 miles away. It was a 1-1/2, 2 ton truck, and the odometer reading 49,000 miles. This truck was a runner for under a grand.
I bought it, brought it home and before I could cut it apart, a friend of mine wrecked his Isuzu Trooper SUV, giving me what was left. I put two and two together to create a sweet driving, low budget machine. Ended up with small block Chevy for power, 4 wheel disc brakes, power steering, and torsion bars up front.
If you p*** it up you will regret it.

 

In rural America, they are plentiful and not worth much. Even a really nice refurbished one will rarely fetch $2500. Part of the reason is the cost of tires. You almost never find one with tires that aren't rotted off and $1000 or more for tires on a truck that isn't worth anything just kills the resale IMO.
Even if you did what you mention, you still have a gangley old truck with really low gears that will be screaming at 55.
Here, we just part them out for the good parts in common with pickups and haul the rest to s****.