Just thought I would comment. Years ago I had a 55.2 with a very warm 396 in it. It was mounted at the front of the engine and at the bell housing with stock truck mounts. I had a Muncie 4 speed car tranny in it without a rear cross member. The truck had the stock 3.9 gears with 11x31 offroad tires on it. It was driven hard on many occasions. I never had any problems with the trans. I am not saying that it is not possible to break the trans off from the bell housing, just that it will take more torque and horse power than most trucks will be equiped with.
