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is a manual swap worth it?

sc0terdad

Active member
Joined
May 1, 2020
Location
Victoria, Bc
I am still relatively new to these forums so please go easy on me,

for the last year or so I have been looking for either a 244, 242, 780 or 740 ideally with a manual ( with the exception of a 780 since they where not sold in Canada with a manual option) with little success, I have seen a few come and go but the circumstances never quite allow, I live in Victoria bc and so traveling to the mainland can be costly.
getting to the point of this post, there are an abundance of automatic 240s here, some in fairly nice condition and I was wondering if a manual swap would be the right way to go,

I have figured I have the means to swap a m47 into a 244 listed here but I would like to know other tbrickers experiences with the project, I intend to do further performance modification on the car and eventually change the differential to a lsd of some sort regardless so the rear ratio would in best case scenario only a temporary hindrance.

Thanks.:)
 
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Depends on how you quantify worth it. It'll make a stock car a bit less boring for sure, but an M46/7 won't hold up to any real abuse or added power.
 
It's worth it, it is so much more interesting to drive. Unless you have to pay a ton of money to a shop to do it.

I think what propav8r means by added power is probably not what you mean by performance modifications. Plenty of us have used the M46 with 300 ft lbs of torque with no problems. If you want a ton of power, use a different manual box like a Tremec.
 
It's worth it, it is so much more interesting to drive. Unless you have to pay a ton of money to a shop to do it.

I think what propav8r means by added power is probably not what you mean by performance modifications. Plenty of us have used the M46 with 300 ft lbs of torque with no problems. If you want a ton of power, use a different manual box like a Tremec.

If one does go with a T5 swap then you are already half way there on parts by doing an M46/47 swap anyway.
 
Worth it yes, like others have said tho, it's easy to make a redblock make enough power to destroy the transmissions, usually just about the point they start getting fun. I won't even go to the trouble of doing m46/m47 swaps anymore. Just bite the bullet. Fyi I see you are also on the island! Join the Vancouver Island bricks page on FB there's usually a fair amount of parts for sale. The last t5 trans swap kit I bought for one of my cars I got shipped from Kelowna, I can put you in touch with a few local car guys that to parts runs to the mainland often if you find something.
 
I was originally searching for a manual wagon, but jumped on an automatic when I found the 'right' car without hesitation. I forget how much the nice complete kit I got to put an M47 in it cost (15 years ago, lol) but it wasn't much. And it took maybe a weekend day and a half to complete.

The car already had a B230FT with a manual boost controller on it, and I kept doing stuff to that, so the M47 only ended up lasting 6 or 7 months before it blew up 3rd gear. But then most of the hard work swapping a manual in was done, and it was easy to move on to a T5 trans.
 
I’ll say “yes” but with a caveat: As others have mentioned, M46/47 transmissions aren’t particularly robust. They held up fine to stock power when they were new. At this point, most of them that are reasonably-priced are 30+ years old with unknown histories. Evaluating the health of a 30-year-old transmission takes knowledge that some of us (example: me) don’t have.

If you’re lucky, an M46/47 swap will give you an NA car that’s much more fun to drive, even if the shifter feel is underwhelming by today’s standards.

If you’re unlucky (read: me), you’ll end up buying an old transmission from a trusted source and still have it blow up on the highway in your NA car on its first day out.

So what did I learn last weekend during said M47 catastrophe? If you plan on anything more than NA power, a T5 swap sounds like a great idea. Even if you’re planning on sticking with a stock NA car, a T5 isn’t a bad idea. You’ll pay more, but accept less risk and have a better shifter feel. Rolling the dice on a 30-year-old transmission could pay off, but it’s still a roll of the dice.
 
I've only driven manual volvos over the years. Automatic version were well engineered for the most part but boring. The enjoyment of driving involvement makes it worth it. Plus it makes the car like volvo intended instead of making it to a market demand.
 
If you enjoy driving, yes. I drive a NA 1983 244 with the stock trans and shifter. The feel isn't that bad. My previous daily was a 2007 Mini Cooper S. The 244 is a "vintage" car. I don't expect it to feel like a modern car. All I have is 2.25 exhaust, VX cam and a shaved head. It's fun to drive, not even remotely fast compared to modern cars, but fun.
 
Manual swap is a gateway to cam swaps. I recommend K with manual on normally aspirated redblock for more fun.
 
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