Upgrade to 5 speed manual

[44th Miss Inf]

You can pick up NV4500s reasonable still with some shopping around. I picked up a 95 2wd one with 20k on rebuild (included paperwork from trans shop) for $350. I was offered $225 for the bell housing (which I didn’t need) so have $125 in that one.
First of Dec saw one advertised as a “98 NV3500 with t-case” that was actually an NV4500. I inquired about the trans and bought it for $400 as they had sold the transfer case already. That trans has 3-5k already on it in a buddy’s truck with no issues or noises.

They are out there for reasonable prices if you can hold out and wait