Well, for all it's worth, it makes me feel less of a dummy when you guys tell me how not-simple it really is. As I once wrote, father-in-law put a Perkins tractor engine in a Ford F250 that had a 5 spd (4x4, by the way), and he never told me much in the way of center alignment and distance. He did have help of a machinist, so he was likely the key.
Which was another reason I went with the Isuzu conversion, as I checked, and it looked like the whole thing should fit in relatively easy. In the case of a 2wd, I think it would be much easier to start with a motor/transmission already mated, as long as they physically fit in there. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />