Thrust Bearing- Abnormal Wear
I re-read whole thread,, this is a pieced together car,, and I think you need to make sure that crankshaft has been drilled for a manual trans,,.
Could we please see pix of the end of the trans imput shaft,, and the crankshaft flywheel flange with pilot bearing ... ??? thnx
Does your trans go into the crank, like this ?? , here's a similar dicussion
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=274784