Finally got around to converting my VL n/a auto to manual, c. 4 years after buying the gearbox! So far so good - have the old gearbox on the floor; just a couple of connectors to go. Following the wiki notes. Couple of observations: 1. undoing the tailshaft bolts. What I did with these was to leave the rear axle on terra firma, with the tailshaft rotated so that two of the nuts were vertically above each other. Then stuck a 14mm ring spanner on the *bolt* end, then pushed on the other end with a jack until it came loose. Once those two are done, jack up one side of the rear axle (unless you have LSD, in which case lift both) and turn the tailshaft over until the two nuts on the other side are in the right position, then repeat. 2. yep, getting those two top bellhousing-engine bolts is a **** of a job. I ended up having to (as suggested) disconnect the exhaust before the cat to let the gearbox/engine drop down enough to see the bolts and then get them off. Used literally every extension I had (3/8 and 1/2!) to create one very long extension c. 2 ft long. The LH one is the more difficult. I tried getting this one out with a 14mm ring spanner but just couldn't get the leverage needed. 3. two things mentioned in the Gregorys manual but not in the notes before removing the gearbox: a. disconnect the dip stick tube from the gearbox (10mm retainer bolt) b. disconnect brackets holding the two tubes for the oil cooler. c. once you have the gearbox down, there's two electrical connectors on the LH side to be removed. Only bummer is that I tipped over the container with the drained ATF right near the end and have a lake of ATF under the car Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by OldF@rt 2. yep, getting those two top bellhousing-engine bolts is a **** of a job. I ended up having to (as suggested) disconnect the exhaust before the cat to let the gearbox/engine drop down enough to see the bolts and then get them off. Used literally every extension I had (3/8 and 1/2!) to create one very long extension c. 2 ft long. The LH one is the more difficult. I tried getting this one out with a 14mm ring spanner but just couldn't get the leverage needed. try ratchet spanners, worked a treat for me Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

First a hint - if you want to put a 27mm socket on the front of the crank to turn it over/lock it, removing the fan gives you a lot more room. Removing the tranny oil cooler lines - undo two 19mm bolts on the LHS. To manouvre the lines out, remove the clips holding the two of them together and get them out separately; the hard part is getting them past the engine mounts. Flex plate came off dead easy with a rattle gun, nice surprise, for once. Then came (shudder) the dreaded auto spigot bearing. c. 2 hours before I tackled it I smothered it with penetrating oil. Tried the grease method (with a 14mm 3/8 socket that fitted like a glove) - didn't budge. Tried belting the side in with a centre punch, then using a cold chisel. Same result. Tried twisting it out with vice grips around the perimeter - you guessed it. Ended up taking to it with a die grinder, taking into account warnings about not cutting too far and cutting into the crank. So I made sure I didn't cut too thin. BUT... as they say, assumption is the mother of all f***ups. I assumed that the auto bush was a similar depth to the manual one, so cut back that far into the opening. Eventually made it thin enough in one place that I could get a cold chisel into the side, and belt it with a hammer to get it to rotate out. Good news - out it came. Bad news - it turned out to be much shallower than I thought and I'd ground out behind it into the crank interior! MORAL - if you have to grind the b*stard out, don't grind in from the back of the bearing more than c. 1cm. Got advice on whether I'd f***ed the crank so that it didn't have enough surface left to support the manual bush properly. Turns out that the manual bush is not under much load, so in the short term at least I could probably get away with it, but might stuff the gearbox input bearings later. Gearbox place recommended I use some stuff available from Repco called "Liquid Steel" or "Devcon" (sp?) to build up the interior again to get a firmer foundation and grind back into shape, or just put the bush in while the stuff is setting. Unfortunately Repco had closed by then... (Incidentally, apparently the worst case would be to drill out the back of the crank to a larger diameter and make up a special bush.) Also fitted the clutch master cylinder (dead easy). I was missing a couple of clutch pedal bits, but the wrecker had a complete manual pedal box so I bought that. Unfortunately my crank problem has probably cost me a day in completing the job. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

i found drilling the auto spigot bush out to be the best bet if it doesnt slide out with grease... I drill 3-4 holes then a couple of swift hits and it went gimp and it slipped out... G/L with it mate

one which stuff-all happened, as I was filling in my three filings in the crank with liquid steel, and having to wait 16 hours after each. Took a couple of attempts to get the stuff to stay in place. Bought a few things - washers for the new bellhousing-engine bolts, a new accelerator cable (might as well do that at the same time) etc etc. Tomorrow morning I should be starting grinding down the liquid steel and work will resume in earnest!

Finally back to some real work. The Liquid Steel was easier than expected to cut back (I used a grinder bit in a dremel), and the manual spigot bush went in quite easily. (Advice I got from gearbox expert was to just gently tap it in; I used a small hammer, with light taps around the periphery, then using a socket as a drift for the final bit.) Then fitted the sandwich plate and flywheel (later back from machining); both quite straightforward. Put on the latter with the proper MT bolts from Nissan, put thread locker on them (an equivalent of Loctite 277) and did them up initially with a rattle gun, then bracing the crank and finishing them off with my torque wrench. Back to the pedal box. What a pr*ck of a job! Found an extra bolt compared with the notes: I make it the two nuts either side of the brake master cylinder hole (the one closest to the steering column being an absolute pr*ck - didn't have room to get a 1/2inch socket in there; had to use a 1/4inch socket with a long extension and a 1/2 inch adaptor), two holding the steering column up, one holding the box up and one holding the box on the steering column. Easiest way of getting the last-named off was to move the steering column down, then use a long series of extensions in from the top to undo it. All nuts are 13mm. So undid all the nuts and the box came out, right? Wrong; I couldn't get the thing around the steering column. Ended up removing the lower dash mouldings either side, which allowed me to drop the steering column a bit further down which gave me just enough room to get the b*stard out. I strongly advise anyone changing the pedal box to do this from the start. Trying to hunt down the manual floor plate; have a few possibilities. I'm working tomorrow so no further work on the car until Thursday. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

So many people go to the trouble of removing the pedal box, when it's simply not necessary. Just swap the brake pedal, and add the clutch pedal.

Yeah, originally I was going to just fit the clutch pedal (and I cut the brake pedal down) but I needed a couple of other bits for the pedal and when I went to the wreckers for them they had a complete manual pedal box and thought st*ff it. Conversion - day 8 Back to work on the car today. Picked up clutch bolts I'd ordered from the local Nissan dealer and got a couple of extra 1/2 inch extensions. Fitted the clutch without too many dramas. Got the new pedal box in, fitted the clutch master cylinder and connected brake and clutch pedals to their cylinders. Woohoo, I've now got a three pedal Commodore! Once again, as far as I'm concerned the secret to swapping pedal boxes is to remove the lower dash mouldings, which allows you to drop the steering column lower. Got ready to fit the gearbox. Started raising same on a jack and realised (a) I didn't have the manual crossmember; what I thought was the crossmember was just the top bit with the rubber moulding in it (b) there was a hole in the side (I'd stored it with the other side out) which turned out to be where the reverse switch goes. Sure enough, couldn't lift the gearbox straight up; the starter motor "bump" on the bellhousing fouled on the transmission tunnel and my headers stopped me moving it over to the left, while I couldn't move it forward because of the drive shaft hitting the clutch spring. I'll try raising the front of the engine to tilt the back down and see if I can put the box on that way; if not I might have to remove or loosen the headers or try the anti-clockwise twist of the box. Note that this is an MF5, not an MX7. Now need to find a manual crossmember and a reverse switch... Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

great work jim and eddie. when i converted my vl to mx7 i found tunnel was too small and i had to undo engine mounts and angle motor up at the front. undoing and doing up to bellhousing bolts was easy by using two long half inch extension bars with a knuckle.

*Nearly* got the gearbox in today. Did as advised, raising the front of the engine and tilting the box on the way in. Got it on the spline, but wouldn't go all the way in (c. 1 inch to go). Assume that it was the spigot that wasn't going in. Decided to call it a day at that (going out to a boozy lunch with friends). Bought a manual x-member from local Commodore wreckers (Speeds). Couldn't find a reverse light switch for love or money, so ordered one via Nissan. A cool c. $48.50! No wonder they'd all gone from wreckers I'd rung! Meanwhile, I have a manual floor pan/boot and manual gearbox harness on their way from a wrecker in Victoria. I'll have another go at getting the box in tomorrow. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by OldF@rt Meanwhile, I have a manual floor pan/boot and manual gearbox harness on their way from a wrecker in Victoria. I'll have another go at getting the box in tomorrow. hey dude i tried wiring up my own harness, neutral works but reverse lights don't! followed the sticky on here too, so i need a manual harness aswell!, are there any more from that wreckers?

Quote: Originally Posted by phantom_t hey dude i tried wiring up my own harness, neutral works but reverse lights don't! followed the sticky on here too, so i need a manual harness aswell!, are there any more from that wreckers? Yeah, it was the problems people have getting reverse lights working that tipped the balance for me. I've ordered it from Comcar Parts in Vic, 03 9462 1988. Cost is $40. You can see their ad on page 99 of the latest issue of Just Parts. Conversion - day 10 Really, really needed a quiet day; one thing that's become obvious is that at 52 my body just isn't up to the sort of sustained hard physical work it was even ten years ago. So waited until c. 5 pm to have another go at the gearbox, and this time I got it all the way in! (Details in another post). Two lower bolts in; leaving it overnight with a jack underneath. Off to work tomorrow (these two day working weeks are really a big much ) but I may be able to get a bit more done. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Day 11 I just did up the top two bellhousing-engine bolts before going to work. Day 12 I refitted the fan then got underneath and noticed... that the clutch fork had slipped off the pivot ball as I installed the gearbox and was jammed between the ball and the pressure plate. So the gearbox was going to have to come off again. So I removed it again... Day 13 (today) things have really started happening again. First reseated the clutch fork. Then refitted the gearbox - only took forty minutes go-whoa this time; practice makes perfect! Next fitted the slave cylinder and the pipe, filled master with brake fluid then bled the system. Tightened the bleed screw and !woohoo! I had pedal pressure. Got Sue to come out and push the clutch while I looked underneath and sure enough the clutch was working! Fitted the manual crossmember (which I'd bought separately) to the gearbox, then bolted it to the body. Next the chassis stiffener. Refitted the starter motor and the canister, then back under the car to fit the two reinforcing pieces connecting the engine and bellhousing then the exhaust. Finally checked over the manual tailshaft. Turned out the boot over the cv joint is stuffed - I've gotten out five of the six bolts that hold them together while the last one is sitting overnight smothered in penetrating oil! Off to work tomorrow, so work on the car resumes on Thursday. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I found your progress quite interesting. What experience do you have with working on cars?

Quote: Originally Posted by 5spdvl Don't take this the wrong way, but I found your progress quite interesting. What experience do you have with working on cars? Quite a lot (around 30 years) but it's mostly been routine servicing. Biggest jobs before have been doing the head on the VL and later the main bearings. I also did most of the rebuild of the MF5 I'm putting in. This is by far the biggest job I've attempted so there's a lot of new ground to cover. The complexity is the main thing that's tripped me up - I didn't get the conversion as a kit and so it's been delayed a few times when I had to get particular bits in. The one really dumb thing was cutting into the crank when I didn't realise how shallow the auto spigot bearing was. Of course another factor is that I'm semi-retired, so there isn't the same urgency in getting the car running and quite often (eg yesterday) I'll only work on it for an hour or so.

Ah, that's fair enough. I went to my gf's dad's factory, threw it on the hoist and had it done in a day. Or maybe it was two days (weekend). Either way, you'll love it. Awesome mod. Shoot me a PM if you need specific help mate, been through it before. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

no offence but it seems like you have quite alot of experience working on cars but it seems like its taking a long time to get that box in. you are going to hate this but there is a much easyer way to get spigot bearings out. there is a tool you can get with a tapered thread that you screw into the bearing and just connect a grease gun to the end and pump it full of grease and it slides straight out- takes all of 30 seconds. i have found the easyest way to swap boxes on a vl is to just pull the motor and box out in one go, bold up the box on the ground and then drop the lot back in as one. it saves lieing on the ground lifting the box off your chest and having to rotate it around. it only takes about an hour 2 get the motor and box out and then 30min of stuffing around to bolt up the new manual box and then maby another hour 2 drop it all back in and another 30min to do peddal box and all the little bits and pices

Nice work OldF@rt, enjoying reading your write ups. as they say perfection takes time. can't wait to see how you feel once it is complete and running. am planning on doing mine in the next couple of weeks. just sourcing a few more bits and pieces, getting the flywheel machined and the tailshaft balanced and new uni's put in. BTW, has anyone got a set of flywheel bolts that they may want to get rid of? PM me. cheers

you can get the flywheel bolts brand new which is probably what you should do. i think u can get them from coventries or nissan

Quote: you can get the flywheel bolts brand new which is probably what you should do. i think u can get them from coventries or nissan thanks for that. will drop past coventries on the way home tonight.