Dakota chassis is the only way to go, a full size truck chassis would be much too wide. WAY easier to shorten a long frame than to narrow one that is too wide!

A friend of mine put this '52 Intertrashional on a shortened extended cab Dakota frame. He kept the Dakota cab floor, firewall and dash intact, and pretty much just sat the IH where he wanted it and welded it all up. The suspension was left bone stock. Even though the dash needed some trimming on the ends, he retained the cruise control, gauges, electronics, heat and air, pretty much eveything. When he was done it was just like driving a Dakota!