There is a time in everybodies life when they have to chose between a manual and an automatic. It seems to me that mostly older people are using the auto and that might be because they get tired of the shifting. Now I know there are many advantages to an auto in a 4x4 and I don't want this to become an argument about age, but the one thing that stands out in my mind is that you don't see too many 25 year old automatics that have not been rebuilt at least once. The durability of a manual and the low cost to rebuild or maintain, for me, far out ways the other qualities of an auto. So putting in a SM465 instead of a turbo 400 was a simple question. I didn't want to have to deal with the cooler, the torque converter, shift linkage, or any other thing that has to do with auto's. Besides when you have a low enough crawl ratio with a manual you should not have to shift when wheelin'. So let's not hurt anyones feels with which one is better and just side with me