I'd leave the tranny till it broke... Get a Edelbrock performer intake with one of there carbs or a holley and a set of headers first. That will wake that motor up a bit..

 

The NP435 is almost the same as the t18/19, but a little better tranny. 1st gear is a little lower. You need to get one out of a two wheel drive truck or the output shaft will be wrong. You can use one out of a 4x4 if it had a divorced transfer case (all 77 and earlier 3/4 ton 4x4's). The np 435 has an aluminum cover on the top, which saves a little weight. I just installed one in my 69 Bronco, world of difference. One piece of advice: hanging the clutch pedal can be a real bitch, you have to pull the steering column to get the pedal box out and back in. Be sure and replace all of the bushings and such while your there.

 

yea ive decided to buy the truck, $1700 for a beautiful truck in nice condition

im going to leave the automatic in there until she breaks down he said the only problem is the safety switch is out on it, but nothing majorly mechanical