There are bunches of cable-operated floor shifters, both original equipment and aftermarket, that could be installed quickly and easily, at a lot less effort and expense than doing an engine swap. If the engine you're currently running has a carburetor and a distributor, why go to the effort and expense of changing to a fuel injected engine with a computer, and probably a computer-controlled transmission as well? It would probably take an experienced hotrodder a very short time to solve the column shift problem you're having, but the floor shift is most likely the simplest, most hassle-free method of solving the shifter problem.
Jerry
