[MagicRat]

There were many thousands of those trucks sold with a 305 and an auto. See if you can find a wrecking yard truck and swipe the transmission cross member, shift linkage and engine mounts. An automatic shift steering column would help. As for performance, to start, make sure you have at least a factory 4 bbl carb and intake manifold, and that everything is tuned and adjusted properly. (A performance aluminum intake is even better) A swap is a good time to install headers and a dual exhaust. If you want more power, its time to look for a camshaft and better cylinder heads, and for that effort you may as well swap in a 350.