[blykins]

Tim, I sent you an email back. For some reason I thought you already had a Toploader, so you'll have to ignore some of the things I said.

The T5 does not have an integral shifter, and you change it at will. The shifter location is extremely close to the rear position of a TKO 500/600, so there's no issue there either. However, the T5 isn't exactly a stout transmission and if you plan to have any power at all, I'd bypass it.

The 289 shifter position can be achieved with a Toploader or a TKO 500/600. The TKO trannies have multiple shifter locations. The only downside that is if you use the front/mid locations, it's an extra $$$ option to have the shifter placed there.

As I stated in the email, if you're going to be taking road trips or are thinking about a lower rear gear ratio, I'd go with an overdrive.

You'll need to plan about what kind of driving that you're going to be doing the most and then buy the transmission to fit those needs.

If you want to shoot me some more thoughts, details, etc., I'll be more than happy to walk through more of this with you. Let me know what the powerplant will be also.