Good looking truck, Jerry! Nice ride!!..

That's killer!! I'd love to have something like that.

While I would normally consider it blasphemy, swapping in an auto isn't hard. A friend of mine had a '95 S10 with a hot rodded 4.3 V6 in college that we swapped from a 5 spd to a TCI 700R4. My wife's granddad had a mint '92 S10 that he bought new. I've told him to just let me know if he decides to let it go.

Actually swapping in an auto would be somewhat difficult. The bellhousing would line up, but it would require a different rear mount, probably some fabrication to the crossmember the rear mount attaches to, and a different length driveshaft. It would require a new flexplate, and a converter with at least a 3500 stall speed. I could use a TH350, TH400, or 700R4. It would cost about $2K-$2500 for a transmission suitable for racing. It would also require a transmission oil cooler and a shifter. Add in all the little bits and pieces and the total cost would be around $6K. That would probably allow me to race it again, but it wouldn't be much fun on the street due to the loss of the manual shift/clutch.

Racing is not much fun right now due to CV, the only dragstrip nearby is on a reservation, and they have a lot of crazy restrictions, and have raised their prices because of it. The track is also not open every weekend like it used to be, making it more crowded than it used to be. You're very lucky to get in 3 runs for your $35.

I'll wait and see if this CV mess ever ends before making any decisions. I have no plans to sell the truck. With a few modifications it would make a great street driven hot rod, while maintaining the manual transmission/clutch.