Manual.I am going to spend more then 8k as I still have plenty of time to save another couple thousand. I would prefer a v8 but was unsure how much kw I could get out of it without running into to many problems such as splitting blocks etc. And wasnt sure how it will cost to get decent power out of one

There are dart blocks available if you want to go the V8 path but like others have said thats big money. Also got to factor in a gearbox and clutch that will take the power and i cant see you getting much change out of $5k for that.