I understand your pain. A manual trans 240 is much nicer to drive in my opinion. If you are comfortable with big car projects than this is a
bolt on changeover. Since you plan on removing the trans anyway you
will have started the project. You are going to need a comprehensive
parts list of all the parts the manual car has. From the pedal assembly
to the flywheel, pilot bearing and at least the front half of the drive
shaft you have a lot of parts to install. I think it's worth it to me.
I like the manual cars a lot better. An automatic car changed over to
manual will actually be quicker because most autos have 3.73 rear
and factory manual cars use mostly 3.31 and 3.54. Wish you well. Between
all the help here and a Haynes manual or Bentley you can do it.

In defense of the automatic trannys I must say that they are very long
lived when well taken care of. No auto is going to survive sand. It shouldn't be that big a deal to get a rebuilt or even a good used one. My mother's
90 wagon has 250k miles on the original auto and it's just fine.

Wish you well in your decision, it would be nice to have another manual car
on the road. Be aware that it is a labor intensive change and the more work
you can do the better.


Dave 82 242ti 280k mi