Auto to Manual How much work

[tparker]

What does it take to swap an auto to manual, other than the obvious? Does anything need to be cut up? Is it reversible? Not sure if I want to do it, but I'm in a  dreaming mode at the moment.

[ec_co]

Tunnel hump changed to the 4spd hump, 4spd pedal assembly, z-bar and linkages, welding the frame mount for the ball stud, the a833 itself ($1700+), shifter/shift mechanism/rods/boot/trim ring ($950 new). Brewers has this all in a kit too. If you have a column shifter, either changing to a manual column or changing the collar.

Lots of potential work and expense

[pschlosser]

The hardest part for many is the clutch pedal.  Once your past that (installed, or lying on the bench) the rest is pretty straight forward.  Yes, there is some sheet metal changes, but the clutch pedal is sabot in the gears.

[dodj]

There's a few parts to change/add alright but it all pretty easy work. Similar to your question, I did the auto to manual swap in a way that was easy to go back and forth between the two. I cut out the auto tunnel area and attached the 4sp hump with sealant and screws. When I went back to auto for a summer while rebuilding the 4sp, i unscrewed the hump and reattached the auto tunnel piece. Later went back to the 4 gear. Has since stayed that way. Driving an auto Challenger after having fun with a 4 gear was...well...less fun.

[71GranCoupe]

A crankshaft with the end machined out for the pilot shaft is needed unless you cut off the pilot shaft and use the funky bearing on an auto crank.

[MoparLeo]

Couple of thou by the time you finish. Everything needs replaced. Contact a company thyat sells the parts to find out exactly waht you need. Otherwise you will just get s lot of ballpark guesses. Not cheap. More stuff than you think.

[torredcuda]

Cut hole in floor and weld in four speed shifter hump, weld z-bar bracket on frame rail, the rest is bolt in. If your crank is not drilled for the pilot bushing you can either use an undersize one or use the newer style bearing, you may need to cut about 1/4" off the pilot shaft to prevent it from bottoming out in the crankshaft hole.

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: Other than welding the linkage bracket into the marked spot on the frame, cutting out the floor to match the hump and glueing it in it's all just nuts and bolts and every piece is available. Checking for pilot shaft clearance in the cranks is something to remember for sure. Last one I did we just ordered everything from Passon, it ended up being $10k CDN including the rebuilt 18 spline and dual disc clutch. As well as being more enjoyable to drive I like the lack of automatic fluid leaks from a car that sits more than it runs.

[gzig5]

An option to the Z-bar bracketry and linkage is going with a hydraulic throw-out bearing.  I think that requires you to use a diaphragm type clutch instead of a Borg and Beck style, at least that is what I was told by McLeod.  Provides a different problem to solve with the master to pedal connection.

[tparker]

Awesome, thanks for all the replies. So there is some cutting and welding involved. Sounds like it isn't too drastic. I admit this was driven by really wanting that pistol grip shifter, LOL. But I have been looking in to one of the overdrive units, which also are very expensive and at least a few seem to require some modifications, if only by hammer. But if I am going that route, why not look into the manual option.

@MoparLeo great point about it being more expensive than it might seem. But if that was a concern, I probably wouldn't have "restored" the car in the first place. LOL. Not only did I need more parts than I figured, I bought may parts multiple times and plenty of wrong parts. All part of the experience. 

None of this will happen any time soon, but it's good to start understand what are my options and how much work if I decide to do this

[Racer57]

An option to the Z-bar bracketry and linkage is going with a hydraulic throw-out bearing.  I think that requires you to use a diaphragm type clutch instead of a Borg and Beck style, at least that is what I was told by McLeod.  Provides a different problem to solve with the master to pedal connection.

I installed a hyd clutch setup that I bought from Silver Sport. They only use diaphragm clutches.

[HP2]

Did this in my Challenger. As others have pointed out, it wasn't really too tough to do. Changing the tunnel is the only cutting required. If you do this carefully and do the cut out in one piece, you could make it somewhat reversible in the future. Cutting the sheet metal tunnel over the torsion bar cross member is an area you need to be very careful on. Wouldn't want to cut that frame member or additional welding repair will be needed.

[GoMangoBoys]

We also converted our 70 Challenger to a 4 speed.  Others have covered the details well enough.  All in all, it really wasn't hard.  One thing not mentioned here was the brackets for the console (if you're using one).  Our car had not brackets at all.  Once we installed the 4 speed hump, we had to figure out where the console brackets went.  There should be a thread on this forum where others uploaded pictures showing measurements of the bracket locations.

[rmchrgr]

An option to the Z-bar bracketry and linkage is going with a hydraulic throw-out bearing.  I think that requires you to use a diaphragm type clutch instead of a Borg and Beck style, at least that is what I was told by McLeod.  Provides a different problem to solve with the master to pedal connection.

That's what I did on my old '68 Coronet specifically because I didn't want to deal with the Z-bar and linkage. Worked great. I'm doing the same thing with my '72 Challenger but going with a Hemi overdrive gearset from Passon instead of a 23 spline unit.

Diaphragm clutch was fine for me. Coupled with the hydraulic throwout bearing it has a nice, linear feel. Maybe it's your manly-man clutch but it does the job. No more over center spring.

For the pilot, I ended up cutting the tip of the input shaft about 5/8"-3/4". Forget trying to drill the crank. Pilot bearing works.

For the pedal, I'm using the MalWood set up which converts your automatic pedal to manual shift. I bought their T.O. bearing as well. 

I got most of the other parts from Brewers. They are a great vendor and have everything you need. Don't forget the pedal support bracket and firewall brace.

Cutting the sheet metal tunnel over the torsion bar cross member is an area you need to be very careful on.

Drill a row of holes along the outer edges of the cross member from underneath as a guide.

[dodj]

I admit this was driven by really wanting that pistol grip shifter, LOL.

Google Autogrip?....it would be cheapest for you to just add the pistol grip to your auto tranny....
Back on CC.c the username was Quapman..the guy that built'em. Not sure if he is still in the business or maybe he even lurks on this forum?