I dont know Jamie and never dealt with him but from the tone of his posts he is a true gentleman and someone that I will look to do business with in the future.
I have been collecting parts, information and pricing on two automatic to manual conversions over the past year. A 76 Corvette and a 1956 Dodge. I have a good idea of what things cost to do this swap yourself without buying a kit.
If you were going to use another 5 speed like a TKO and had to replace your bellhousing, clutch, driveshaft, install a hyd clutch setup, speedometer cable, crossmember, wiring, etc it will cost you about $2000. (I will share my T56 conversion spereadsheet with my research, prices an sources with anyone who wants it) plus $2200 for a TKO transmission. (maybe go with a T45 for about $1600 or so). So a bolt in swap that fits, does not require cutting, preserves original looks and can take high HP applications for the same cost is a GREAT deal.
It is a fact of life, manufacturing in expensive in the US and quality does not come cheap.
Here is an idea for Jamie............ go ahead and find a Chineese or Indian manufacturer and commission inexpensive knockoff and offer a second tier option. This way you can sell two, the first one when the customer wants to do it cheap, and a second one when they decide to do it right.
