lasercowboy;48447 wrote Manual is the only real non-negotiable, as I just can't stand the autos. In that vein - does anyone have experience of doing the auto-manual conversion?
AFAIK there's a number of people on this board who've done the swap in 240s (my tinkering has been mostly confined to 140s). Some have taken the extra step and gone to either a 5-speed manual from the Tremec T5 family, or a Toyota Supra 5 speed. Those conversions are of course more fiddly than a straight swap to an OE Volvo transmission.
Berry Motor Group and VolDat in Melbourne stock good quality used Volvo parts at reasonable prices, which includes OE Volvo 5 speed gearboxes suitable for conversions. Depending on your level of mechanical aptitude and your tool collection, IMO it should be possible to comfortably do the conversion to OE Volvo yourself over a weekend for under $1.5K. That's presuming you have all the bits you need before you start, and you're putting some fresh parts in critical places.
There are a number of variables on which bits to choose which depend on what year model you're putting the manual 'box into - e.g. what FI system is in there, etc as these dictate flywheel choices and speedo drive options.
On your shopping list / donor car picking list should be (errors and omissions excepted)
- flywheel (to suit the engine in your car, note some B230s have LH.24 with a tone ring on the flywheel)
- new flywheel bots (why take risks?)
- clutch
- manual pedal box
- spigot bearing
- <strike> clutch cable (IIRC 240s are cable) </strike> (UPDATE:
@Bennigee has corrected me on this point - they are in fact hydraulic, so you'll need master and slave cylinders, plus the lines)
- bellhousing, clutch fork and new thrust bearing
- you may need the forward section of the tailshaft (it's a 2-pice tailshaft) if you're going from an overdrive-equipped auto to a 4-speed manual, or a 3-speed auto to a 5 speed manual
- wiring harness, overdrive relay, etc
- interior trim, shift boot, etc.
- transmission mount and crossmember maybe (not sure if these are different in 240s between auto and manuals - I do know the 140s are different between M40, M41 and BW35).
