A number of people-- including me-- have done 'Bulldog' conversions on 1858 repros, making the guns into 'snubbies.' The way the cylinder-pin is removed means you cannot retain the loading lever. Solutions to the need to retain the cylinder pin range from running a set-screw through the t-head of the cylinder pin to a rather inelegant after-market lever. When I did my first 'Bulldog' a few years ago I was dissatisfied with these options and sought a different solution that would look better and preserve some of the look of the un-shortened gun.
I shortened the loading-lever to barrel-length, then bored through the upper part of the lever and into the cylinder pin, then installed a spring-plunger with a cross-bar in the loading lever. This holds everything in position and I think looks much better than the options- not to mention that you don't need a screw-driver to remove the cylinder. You can see how this works in the pictures-
Anyway I thought that I would share this for the benefit of others that might be looking at doing a similar conversion.