Thanks for the replies.
Hank - The clutch and clutch cover I have are relatively new (couple thousand miles). Even though they're not heavy duty or performance they should work - for a while anyway.
Hoyt - Great info on the bushing/bearing issue. Hadn't thought of that, I'll keep my eyes open for a 54 tranny. My intent in the longer picture is to go with an open drive train and a later transmission. Can only spend so much money at a time, so for now it's the closed drive shaft and a 53/54 transmission.
