[rgunlock]

Thanks for checking back in and for the advice Marcus. The guy who rebuilt my SM465 showed me that the input shaft was pretty badly worn and I'm thinking my clutch problems were the throwout bearing not moving smoothly on it. I don't really expect that once this restore is done, the truck will really be done so I'm sure I'll have opportunities to change things if I stick with the manual setup for now.

I appreciate the encouragement bilfman! It will still be a while before the fish are trembling as I still have all the bodywork and paint left. Then of course, I have to figure out how to rewire the truck and get the interior of the cab back together - that one has me worried!