so ive been told this is not that hard to do...im pretty sure my transmission is about done and last night an idea popped into my head. why not make the car standard? a standard car is more fun to drive in my opinion. i would just sell my bonne and buy a diff car but i love my car...anyways just wondering what you guys think about this and if its a crazy idea that i should just forget about.

It has been looked at and schemed about. Jimmyfloyd did the homework and probably is the most knowledgeable here. I'm sure he'll be along soon.

Hmm, to do this you would first need a standard transmission, I'm sure there are some that will fit, but I can't say for sure. Next, you will need to change your center counsel to a standard shift. This will most likely take a fair amount of custom work with all the switches and such. But I'm sure could be done. Now the hard part, installing a clutch in a car that I believe was never set up to take one. There is a lot of wires, fuses, and what not in the way. You can do anything you want, it'* just a mater of how much time and money you want to spend. I woudl love to see a write up about it.

haha. Thanks bill

Yes, I have been looking into it, and yes, it'* not an easy task, nor is it cheap.

First, you'll need to find the manual trans parts. There are a couple options, all with varying pros and cons:


88-91 Getrag 282 from Grand Prix or Cutlass Supreme
Pros of the first: Easier to get, usually cheap. Parts are not too bad. can be made to hold power.
Cons of the first: Hard to find. New parts are hard to find. Usually need to be rebuilt.

91-93 Getrag 284 from grand prix, cutlass supreme, lumina Z34
Pros: Strong trans.
Cons: Can't rebuild. hard to find due to age.

06-07 Getrag (I believe) F40 trans from a G6 GTP
Pros: Newer. Still can get new parts. Inexpensive
Cons: Limited run. 06 had issues, which is why they are cheap. Parts cost a lot, and are hard to find used. Not a lot known about this at this time

maybe another from a 00-02 non-ecotec car, but not sure.

Here is what I have collected so far:
90 Getrag 282 and parts:


92 Getrag 284 plus parts:


In total, I believe I have about $600-800 in parts right there. All used. Has taken me 2 years to find them. Have seen 3 other manual cars in the yards, but they usualy are gone before I can pull stuff.

You will need to make custom mount, modify your axles with the axles from the trans, modify your firewall and figure out how to add the pedal (GP pedal won't work) andthen have the computer programmed to remove the automatic trans stuff.

As for the center console, that'* probably one of the easier parts. you just need to mount the shifter, find/make a boot, and run the cables. No wires go to the shifter itself.

You'll also need a 98-02 V6 Camaro Flywheel and have it milled down to .84" of an inch. You'll need to get a Spec Stage 3 clutch for the 282/284 ($450/$750) inorder to handle the torque.

Those are the brief details from what I recall. My swap is on hold due to buying a house. There is a bunch of info on the net if you search right. It could probably be done inexpensively, but you're still looking at $500 min without rebuilding the trans just for parts used, and then you may be sacrificing reliability.

If you want more details, I would be glad to explain more at another time.