68 Firebird auto/69 Firebird manual....direct swap??

[Josue]

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This might be a stupid question, but I'll ask it anyway...

My parents are in the market for a first gen Firebird convertible. I've been their point man on finding a car, since they're not too internet savvy! My mother can't drive a manual car, so I've only been showing them cars with automatics. Even though it'll be a car for my dad, they still want her to be able to drive it if she wants.

Now, they already have a 68 Firebird coupe with a 2sp powerglide. The plan is for me to buy it off them next summer. I'd like a manual car anyway (planned on a TKO500, but a muncie 4sp will work for the time being), so what's to stop us from buying a 4sp convertible for them, and swapping everything from one car to the other? Seems to be a win-win!

Is it as easy as I'm picturing it? Transmissions, pedal assemblies, shifters, consoles, linkages, switches...it should all be interchangeable, right? Or, am I missing something?

Pickings are slim this time of year for one that checks all their boxes, so I'm thinking of expanding the search to include manual cars in hopes of finding "the one". I found a nice 69 4sp Convertible in NC that we're thinking about pursuing, but I'd like to know what all is involved in this swap before pulling the trigger. Dad says he'd rather just leave it 4sp and not mess with it (he thinks it's some GIANT project), but I know the manual would get old to him/them, and the car would be auto before long.

[Skip Fix]

No problem doing the swap just time.

Pedals, adding the Z bar mount in the frame and drilling a hole in the firewall for the clutch linkage and swapping consoles possibly.

The frame bracket for the Z bar if bolted on is easy-my 79 Camaro I converted and had the holes in the frame just needed tapping or self tapping bolts. Getting a straight shot at them was a little hard but doable.Some cars have a welded bracket.

[chpr1972]

It is a easy job if you have done it before like Skip Fix says. If you are a back yard mechanic and mechanically inclined it is a time consuming easy job. As far as I know in those years all crankshafts were drilled for pilot bushings. Check your car and see if the hole for the clutch cross shaft is drilled in your 68 block I would do it. If there is NO hole in the block for the clutch cross shaft to ride on it can still be done with a hydraulic clutch kit. You will need a floor jack or transmission jack and another set of hands to put the automatic up but the muncie can be put up by your self if you are reasonably strong. If you have NEVER installed a clutch in a car and installed a transmission before it can get complicated. The clutch disc must be aligned perfectly up with the pilot bushing BEFORE the manual trans will go in. The torque converter must be rolled back until it is seated in pump right or you will ruin the automatic trans pump. Once installed the converter to flex plate should have about 1/4 inch between them then the torque converter can be pulled forward and bolted in place. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU EVER USE THE BOLTS TO PULL THE TRANSMISSIONS [MANUAL OR AUTOMATIC] IN PLACE!!!! You will break something expensive!!!