auto to standard? is it possible?

[cutlassguy]

has anyone ever converted a cutlass/regal/monte/gp from automatic to a standard? ive often wondered what it would take and if i could do a few mods here and there for a pedal, etc and take a trans and all necessary crap from a 80's camero/firebird. all ive ever seen is shift-kit after shift-kit... and im almost positive they never made ANY standard cuttys.

 

[307 Regal]

Standard as in manual transmission? Yea it can be done. It's a pretty common question on here. Some of the earlier g-bodies were offered with a manual transmission ('78-'80) and there are plenty of guys here who have made the conversion. I've heard of f-body trans swaps. Not sure what bellhousing they used but I know some of them use the f-body pedals. Some companies are actually making g-body clutch pedal assemblies.
http://mandmspeed.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 50f74f2654

On a side note it's funny how many different threads I'm talking to you on at the same time.

 

[cutlassguy]

kool, ive always been pretty sure its do-able, just havent seen any yet. i just started coming on this site a couple days ago so ive been typing up a storm lol i love having like minded people to shoot the sh*t with about these cars. ive loved them since i started driving and the most i get outa my friends is "wow you really like these old ones eh? your always driving one.." i once had a friends 13 yr old daughter in the car just to give her a ride a few blocks to her friends, then she says with attitube "why would you drive such an old boat, i dont know if i even wanna be seen in this" i almost punched her in the face that was a minty 83 regal all prettied up, no rust, most people drooled over i hate her to this day lol

 

[Bonnewagon]

Not only has it been done, it has been done many different ways. This particular swap is a Saginaw 4 speed with a 2nd gen "F" body console and it is in my 83' Bonneville wagon. Donor car pedals and linkage was an 81' Malibu wagon, trans from a swap meet, console from a 77' Firebird, 301 V-8 from a 79' Firebird, 301 manual flywheel from a junkyard, 68' OHC6 bell housing from a swap meet, new clutch and hardware. There are plenty of other swaps guys did even nicer than mine.

 

[pontiacgp]

Mark, you are too modest, yours is one of the nicest I have seen, including mine. You have yours looking like it was made for that car and there is nothing nicer than that...

 

[cutlassguy]

I FULLY agree, that looks slick buddy!! how did you figure out what parts would work for your car, or was there alot of fab work done? id love to try this on one of mine! theres a hump in the floor for the fender im pretty sure id have to hack something into that for the pedal. trannys arent my specialty aside from changing one out, so id need a hand on the tech stuff. either way tho im going to attempt this sooner or later, preferably on a beater one and if it all goes well i'll just transfer it over to one of my more complete ones. can you find a picture of a cutlass thats switched over?

 

[81Regal]

Some of the 78-80 Cutlasses had a 5 speed manual transmission but it's not very strong.

 

[cutlassguy]

would something like that have everything i would need to convert mine? would i need a different drive shaft or could i just switch the transmission, add the linkages and pedal and go. when i do it im going to build a custom console out of wood and fibreglass and do something cool to cover it so im not too worried about whatever ends up coming through the floor.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Thank's Steve, but I wish I could paint the outside as nice as yours. I suck at body work. And you got the Firebird hydraulic clutch pedal to fit so there's another good option for a swap. Cutlassguy I am pretty sure the generic A/G body manual pedal set up will fit every G body without any fuss. GM is good like that. In fact the Malibu pedals and linkage fit my Bonneville exactly. The Pontiac bell housing/clutch fork/push rod that needed to have the floor massaged on the Malibu for clearance, fit better on the Bonneville like it was expected to be there. Several guys on here have used really sharp looking consoles from G bodies and even imports. I just used the Firebird console because I had one handy. I did have to fab some mounts, but not a big deal.

 

[pontiacgp]

for the driveshaft I had mine cut 3" and rebalanced with new u-joints for $135 and only thought about it after I could have had a new tube for just the cost of the tube which isn't much..I'm getting a new tube this winter cause I'm changing the rear for a 1310 series u-joint to match my rear end

thanks for the compliment on the paint Mark but it's got it's bad spots.. 😳