well, that seemed like a decent small block, so with an auto--it might go good---ready to sell the 4 speed stuff?
anyways---back to the topic, hole saws are cheap and so are cut off wheels, let your imagination run wild. do you have the wood grain trim on the dash? take off the trim and hole saw behind it. same with the door bracing---once the panels are on, one would never know.---see what im talking about here? it seems futile to do it holding a few scraps, but it all adds up.
--chad