a few years ago I had a 2000 firebird LS1, bolt ons and cam (auto) ran mid 12's at 113mph with 2.1 60'

I want to trade my mazdaspeed 6 in for a Regular Cab short box truck. while im leaning towards a silverado, i would consider others. I would love a 4.8 rcsb with a 5 speed (i enjoy shifting, but also love the sound when a v8 makes when mated to a manual) Within a 350 mile radius there is only one truck, i dont feel like going 350 miles to look at it.

finding a RCSB truck with a v8 seems like a pretty tough task even without the manual option! There is an 04 hemi ram rcsb for $10,900 with 26,000 miles. If i get a 4.8 or 5.3 im pretty sure id end up swapping a LQ4 in with L92 heads and a hot cam ... should I just shop for a LQ4 equipped truck, or are they going to be to heavy to get out of their own way?

(i never plan on towing more then 3500 lbs and very rare occasion anyhow) this truck would mostly be for cruising and light duty chores