"Building" an older 9300?

We need a truck on the farm to haul a 36 foot live bottom silage trailer, and later down the road a 30-ish foot dump trailer and a milk tank that will be used daily year around. So we need something that will start well in -20 degree weather. Truck will be used in the field in soft conditions.

We have a budget of about $25,000 for the truck. I see many 9300/9370 for a decent price under 10k that have a big cam with a 9 speed, some with and some without a wet kit. Ive been doing alot of research but still have questions.

A newer reman N14 will bolt right in place of the big cam, and a wiring harness can be purchased for a little under $1,000 to make it match up with the truck. Radiator and lines will need replacing as well as accelerator. A 9 speed transmission (depending on model of tranny) can be converted to a 13 speed for fairly cheap, but will it hold up? We would like to run the N14 to upper 400 hp because we need that extra horse in the field and hills. 18 speed is more ideal, but more expensive. How about the rear ends, will they last? Most trucks I have looked at have a power divider, but can you make them full locker too?

So my question is....am I crazy? Should we just try and find a truck that is already set up like this for that price or can this build be done? Most trucks I see are just about what we want but is always lacking something. And we are not experienced in purchasing trucks so we are not exactly sure what to look for or what surprise issues we may find when we get a truck.

Thanks

 

Thanks for the response. We have a guy here that does double framing and your right I've seen some trucks that are already double framed and the rust really does do some damage in between.

I can't believe some of the prices of the trucks we find. I called on one truck from a dealer that didn't have a price. All brakes have been replaced, under 400k miles on a 95 kenworth t800 new paint wet kit red top n14 wanted $37k for it. Definitely a sharp truck, but for the year seems high priced. He told me anything needing addressing has been addressed.

 

Claims it's original. Truck looks it too. Had a sister truck he had just sold with similar mileage