A powerglide and a spare (at least although I know someone will come along and say they have used the same PG for a decade and never changed the oil but I know racers lie) at least 3 converters to get it right, and then a converter and two good spares, a quality cooler and all the associated crap and the automatic isn't cheaper. The stick isn't as simple to tune or drive as a pop up toaster. But it certainly isn't any more expensive when you finally learn the clutch builders are liars. And they are still lying for the most part.