STICKER SHOCK!! Converting 68 B Body Auto to manual - NOT!!!

[dave's not here]

WOW. Just wow. I know things aren't as cheap as they used to be...but 4-5 grand for manual
kit? And the car still has to be cannibalized? Even a donor Chrysler 4 speed is no small feat to install. Lesson learned. Not saying thats it's absolutely not "worth it". But wow. Anyone else remember feeling this way when they first thought to swap?

 

[70chall440]

Not really, just depends on what path you take and what if anything you already have. Like everything, you can do it cheaper but have to look for deals, swap meets, etc. Unfortunately all the investors and purists have convinced the world that anything Mopar is "special" and thus worth top dollar and thus cars that would have been scraped back in the day are now being restored or rebuilt thus restricting the used parts market. There was a time when you could go to salvage yards and get most of the stuff you need but those days are long gone.

 

[Sahara]

I paid right around $10k Canadian or about $7.5k in U.S. money for all new or rebuilt to new condition parts to convert my ‘70 Coronet from auto to four speed.

 

[Kern Dog]

The answer to "Is it worth it" depends on many factors.
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...-5-speed-conversion-in-a-1970-charger.209725/

There you go. 38 pages of my installation including some help from great forum members.

If you have to forego a necessary medical procedure to afford this, I'd say it isn't worth it. If the cost of the swap takes a huge bite from your cash reserves, I'd pass.

For me, I don't care to leave any money to anyone. I have no kids to support nor to bequeath my assets. If I slide into the finish line dead even on debts to assets, I'm fine with that!

 

[Sam69sat]

You can do it a lot cheaper finding used stuff but it takes a lot of time and luck hunting parts. Some parts you'll probably have to rebuild/refresh. I would guess you could do it for $2000 if you work at it and it might take a year hunting parts.

a833 b body trans used $450-700 if you're lucky it'll come with shift rods and levers
bellhousing or scattershield $350 - 550
hurst shift mechanism $75-150
b body 4 speed clutch/brake pedals $250-300
4 speed tunnel hump $150
probably another $600-800 for clutch, flywheel, zbar, rods, etc

 

[rolling_Thunder]

It is possible to do it a lot cheaper... but it takes time and patience. I have noticed parts prices have been going up over the last few years... I sourced everything to do my 4-speed swap in my 64 Polara and the prices were approximately listed below.

23 spline slipyoke 4-speed w/shifter (no lever) = $350
11" factory Bellhousing = $125
Flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate = $50
4-speed hump = $135
4-speed pedals = $200
Z-bar, rods, pivots = $100

So for about $1000 I have the major parts - but keep in mind these all are used and need to be checked, cleaned, painted, etc - I figure at least another $100-$150 for 4-speed gaskets, paint, resurfacing flywheel, etc... Factor in another several hundred for a clutch as this will be going behind a blown 440 so I won't be trusting an unknown used clutch.

So under $2000 total sounds reasonable if you're willing to shop and be patient.

 

[gkent]

These days if you can find a trans for under $1000 - 23 spline or otherwise - you're doing good. And you're WAY off on your flywheel/clutch/pressure plate cost - I wouldn't trust stuff I just paid $50 for !!

Here are my estimates:
23 spline slipyoke 4-speed w/shifter (no lever) = $850 - 1500
11" factory Bellhousing = $125
Flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate (new) = $800+
4-speed hump = $135
4-speed pedals = $200
Z-bar, rods, pivots = $100

I think $3000 would be a reasonable budget for a basically "stock" setup.

 

[gkent]

Or just buy this, scavenge what you need and flip the rest. You could probably break even !!

https://reading.craigslist.org/cto/d/shenandoah-1967-plymouth-sattalite/7415425007.html

 

[Sam69sat]

Where are you guys finding $125 b body bellhousings? Please buy them and i'll pay you $250.

 

[rmchrgr]

Didn't care what the price was, worth every single penny. Car is sooo much more fun to drive now. Life is too short to drive an automatic.

For parts I pieced it together from a bunch of different sources. I bought a rebuilt 23-spline unit from Passon at Carlisle, was $1,000. Found a bellhousing from another vendor there too, was a couple hundred, maybe $250? Refurbished pedal set from a member here was $275. Most of the other parts I got from Brewers like the floor hump, clutch, shifter, carpet etc. The clutch was a bigger expense but nothing crazy. Flywheel was relatively inexpensive. The Hurst Competition shifter was a lot too but it was worth the money. I did go with an American Powertrain hydraulic throwout bearing kit so I didn't have to hunt down any linkage pieces. That was not a cheap kit at all at like $650 I think but I love it.

I switched to bucket seats and a console at the same time but that was peripheral stuff so I can't really say that increased the cost of the swap itself. If you do end up including that sort of thing it will add up real quick.

 

[70chall440]

The pedals were always the hard thing to find whenever I wanted to do a swap but everything else is usually available unless you have to have something very unique for whatever reason. I managed to amass a pretty decent quantity of parts over the years from deals, swap meets, word-of-mouth deals, etc.

All this said, I just received the SST TKX for my 71 Charger which was almost $5K BUT it included everything but the pedals (which I have). I have a 23 spline for the car but wanted the 5 speed. I agree that $4K+ is a lot for a manual swap but if you like manuals its worth it. I have a 727 in my 70 Challenger RT and have thought about converting it many times but since my 73 Cuda has a 4 speed, the Charger will have a 5 speed and my 10 Challenger RT and 01 Viper are both 6 speeds, I think I can leave the 70 alone (for now).

 

[ChargerST]

The pedals were always the hard thing to find whenever I wanted to do a swap but everything else is usually available unless you have to have something very unique for whatever reason.

You can buy new pedals from Brewers $330 - you have to use the cage from the auto pedal though: http://www.brewersperformance.com/proddetail.php?prod=CPK-B68

 

[hunt2elk]

I converted my Bee to a 4-speed. You are in the ballpark as far as money goes, but worth every penny imo. Brewers will make up a list of absolutely everything you need, and there is a lot more than what is mentioned above. Carpet, shifter stick, ball, frame mounted ball stud bracket, backup lamp wire harness, dash mounted reverse lamp, misc. I used their list to find the best prices on each part, and I also had been buying 4-speed stuff when it came up at a decent price.

 

[F4R/T]

Kern Dog you can adopt me and leave your toys with me for proper care and use.. I’ll even rotate the tires! But I don’t want your bills !

 

[moparedtn]

Fred is a "converted" car also (previous owner did it with scrapyard stuff about 12 years ago).
He got hold of one of the "good" factory bells (now unobtanium at Brewer's) and an 11" flywheel
and such, along with a brand new Hurst Comp Plus shifter that's seriously nice.

He did his own CRUDE locating of the ball pivot bracket on the frame rail and hacking of the floor, too.
When I got the car, he told me he was $2000 into it all just for what he'd done - but I spent another
$1000 on a rebuilt 18 spline (lucky as hell there - watched FB Marketplace and snagged it) and
$150 on a resurfaced factory heavy-assed flywheel. $400 more on a RAM clutch, $100 on bits and
pieces on the missing clutch linkage stuff and then the thing worked correctly, even though the
ball pivot bracket on the frame is off a bit on location.

So, my conclusion? If you do one of these this way, using 11" setup and 18 spline, you'll be over
$3K into it with some shopping and searching.
Not for the meek, that's for sure - but it's worth it to me.

 

[YY1]

I pieced together my own kit over the course of about 3 years for around $1500.

Some parts were sourced right here on FxBO.

 

[moparedtn]

Interesting side note...
Hagerty's Valuation Tool shows a 10% premium for the same vehicle if it has a 4 speed.
I'm sure that means "factory 4 speed", but it sort of coincides with the costs we're all talking
about here (1968 GTX 440 car values shown).

 

[dave's not here]

That's interesting. As a 4 door automatic, the 68 sat is at the bottom of the collectible range. Building it wont hurt the value. Besides - fun is fun!

 

[PeteyDaMan]

I bought the entire conversion kit from Brewers. Granted, it's more expensive than collecting parts but it gave me a reconditioned 18 spline, all new pedals, brackets, clutch, linkage and every single nut, bolt, screw and spring to finish the conversion.

 

[70chall440]

Just something about having a stick. I am working on a 69 Ply Wagon with the 440 6 pack and a 4spd right now and its very cool to see that shifter coming up into the car.