Pontiac 350 in 1973 Chevy Stepside with 3spd manual
 

I'm looking at buying a 1973 Chevrolet shortbox stepside with a junk inline six-cylinder. The truck has a 3-speed manual transmission. I have a 1971 Pontiac 350 out of a LeMans that I would like to install. I have a TCI adapter plate that I know works for automatics, but I don't know if it will bolt to the manual. I also need to know if I can just buy a flexplate and clutch setup for the Pontiac that will work with this trans.
If all else fails there's a company here that sells rebuilt 4L60s for $650. Would a stock rebuilt 4L or 200R4 handle a 350P at 300HP? The reason I want this truck is that it's from Texas and is rust free and in good shape, for $1000, and the old stepsides are just awesome. I'm planning on doing the Pontiac swap and driving it 1200 miles back to Iowa haha( I guess I'll never learn. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Jim

Here's a link to the thread on my '63 C10. This might give you some info on an auto conversion (4L80E in my case), but should be a similar process for a manual trans.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=627335

With a manual trans, can't you just use a Pontiac bellhousing and bolt it right up, rather than mess with an adapter?

Importsmasher

The trans will bolt right up to a Pontiac bell housing. and you don't have a "flex plate" with a manual trans.