AR-5, r-154 Anybody actually done this

Whoops! I missed that this was a lemons car, I would have left off the T56 content. :D

Man, converting to a manual transmission for those kinds of prices is going to be rough. Any kind of 833, OD or otherwise will be pricey. Just the pedals and shifter will practically bust your budget, even if you fab all the linkage.

The AR-5 would be your best bet if you can find a Colorado in a junk yard. It'll hold up fine behind a stock 318, no worries there. And you could use pretty much all junkyard parts if you can find a Colorado and a Dakota in the yard. Just need to make the spacer for the pilot bearing and have the clutch disk re-splined.

I love my manual transmissions, but man for a lemons car a manual transmission conversion on a Mopar is a stretch.