hey it better to buy a same manual car. probably will be cheaper and then ull have two haha wouldnt do it man, i was thinking to do it to mine but to much work have to cut the floor for the clutch and it will not be the same as factory one. think about it.

 

Seems you posted a reply to the 1st post of the thread without seeing what I've done so far.

I've got $500 invested in the car. No cutting of the floor or anything. Mechanically manual swap is done, collars work great. Shop has the car now, working out electronics.

Some people have no ***** and no will. think about it

 

wow, this is a pretty sweet little project you have here

 

 

Well I drove her home!

Here's what was written from the shop that did the work:

"Removed customer splices on trans wiring. (my auto shifter connector splices) Removed auto trans relay & replaced with jumper wire to accommodate manual trans application. Traced wiring to find that "unknown" plug was reverse light switch. Didn't work, tested lights, found reverse light switch is bad. Road test vehicle: trans is noisy, balljoints are loose/noisy from conversion."

I can replace the reverse light switch to fix that. The transmission is a little noisy, don't know what to think on that yet, if it should last long or not. 200K mile tranny, but it works. Hey that used clutch works fine. The rattling noise that they thought was the balljoints, I believe, is a rubber thing that needs to be swapped on 1 of my struts (my car and donor car pieces were different, I remember now only 1 of the 2 got swapped on the strut assemblies). I'm gonna be checking on that and the balljoints, problem fixed before the car is driven around don't worry.

 

Looks like I need more custom parts, just 2 big flat washers to use on top of the strut towers (instead of stock pieces that are dished down). I guess just a difference between the shocks/struts from the different car, and the car's body itself where those mount up to. That should fix the suspension rattle. I'll get the washers in the morning and then take it for an alignment. Then it should be good to go be inspected.

 

I changed the plugs and oil. It's running even rougher now, almost like only 3 cylinders sometimes. Everythings back on tight, don't believe I damaged a wire. I'll look into doing the plug wires/cap/rotor.

I got two 3"X3"X1/4" plates, drilled holes in the middle, used them on top of the struts (instead of the stock dished piece). Struts are now on there tight, possible noise from balljoint collars still though. I'm gonna take those off again, weld them all the way around.

Issues:
-Buzzing fuel pump. May die soon, may just work and buzz.
-1 CV boot bad
-used flywheel has some teeth ground away along the edge, sometimes when you go to start the starter motor just grinds, turn the crank a little with a wrench and try again it'll work. Park down on hills or back up driveway, compression start is the alternative. Can be fixed someday when doing a clutch job.
-the reverse light switch that needs replaced

I'll get a website up eventually but I'm busy RIGHT now.

 

Congrats man

 

Turbotaj site down, sorry no "walkthrough" page will happen.

I've got all the pics, and I can answer any questions anyone ever has in the future. tajmjacobs2@hotmail.com to reach me

Basically my balljoint collars were just a bandaid that allowed (completely shot) shocks and struts of the WRONG model to work on my car. On top of that it needed a new flywheel. A LOT of $ and labor needed still, time to call it quits, I go through many many cars sometimes you just have to call it quits.

The buyer was given the full scoop on the swap, where all parts came from, exactly what is needed to fix it perfect. All down on paper, pictures.Sadly just a mexican buying a cheap car, flew in and I gave it to him at the airport. Got $800, moved up to a '97 Cavalier for $700 (just minor issues soon fixed) boo-ya I'd say that was a good 9-year tradeup, just cheap daily driver for the time being. (even if a Cavalier goes against everything I stand for, it was just a good car deal for a dd car period)