Hi, My sister just gave me her EL Falcon GLI, as she bought a new car. I had an EL once before a long time ago.

How much would it cost in parts to get everything needed to convert it to manual, if i go for a non-reconditioned second hand box? I installed a manual in my old BMW, so i am confident that ill be able to do all the work myself. Also will the auto tail shaft work or do i need one from a manual car?

Thanks for your advice.

The price varies from place to place. I got a complete kit for 500 dollars for my eb years ago... but i have seen them for sale from 1 grand to 2 grand.

All depends on how much u can get the 5 speed for, i got everything for 270 all up plus 100 for malwood pin then the install cost and that was it.

i paid 300 for mine. but ive seen some go for near on 2 grand for all new/recon stuff.

And you need a manual tail shaft
When mine was done, with a standard exedy clutch, you almost needed two feet to push it to the floor. So keep that inmind, the auto's i have found to be quite problem free, i ended up converting mine back. I would suggest its not worth it, after 4 weeks you are bored of it and you've got a car thats resale has been damaged, cos no one wants to buy an auto / converted to manual.

But if you gotta do it you gotta do it Hint: Keep all the old bits, dont sell them off

wrong. i have an auto tail shaft in mine and it works no problems

mines the same, adds character!

for the first part i call shennanigans, you won't get bored with it, it makes even a mundane trip down to the shops a laugh. as for re-sale, well, i would call s**t on that too, there are so few manuals around, and these cars are the right age for p platers around, you just have to find the right buyer, but i agree it will be harder than before.


as for costs, i have a detailed breakdown of how much mine cost that i will post up once i get home. i put in a new clutch, clutch cable, momo gear knob, el gt gear boot and what not, ended up costing me around the $1250 mark before the stuff i sold back off at the end.

you can do it rather cheaply if you just buy a donor car, thats what i did for my box, bought a $500 EA, then i went and got new 6 bolt flywheel and clutch, cable etc etc, and you can use the auto tailshaft.

in the end it can be cheap, or can cost a ton, depends entirerly on if you use new or second hand parts, and how much you can do yourself (its actually not that hard a job TBH)

as for getting bored with it... BWHAHAHA nuh uh never gonna happen, if you think your getting bored of it take a stocker auto for a drive, then hop back in yours, i know which one youll choose.

and to be honest, having a manual will make the sale easier, but that said finding a buyer for an E-series that actually has the coin is the hard part.

As people have mentioned, prices can vary...I actually ended up making a profit...so anything can happen. Bought a complete conversion for $550 or something. Sold auto box for $250 and manual EF ECU for $350 or something. Used the money I made for new transmission oil and payed for half of the alloy tailshaft I got now.

How ever I did replace the whole clutch assembly, put new spigot bearing in and also new thrust bearing.

All in all, for the complete conversion and upgrades...no more then $700ish. But that was due to me being a tight a**, bargain hunting, waiting for the right price for a box, traveling 6 hours up and back to pick it up and also doing the whole conversion myself with a mate.

If you get it done by a shop who supplies everything...about 2K for a good job.

phong =P~

Yeah that seems quite reasonable, i saw a changeover reconditioned 5 speed for 700, plus i imagine 300 bucks more for the other required bits and pieces. I will be looking into this in more detail soon, but just wanted to get a rough idea of what people have paid. I am not a big fan of the old 4 speed auto at all, imo it is a terrible gearbox, they seem to all get jerky very quickly and are reluctant to change down. All the cars ive had before this one (apart from my first car which was ironically an EL Falcon) have been manual, and I much prefer it, as it can make an otherwise ordinary car quite fun.

I am not really "into" fords or anything, this car has just happened to come my way, but i imagine even an EL 6 with a manual, maybe an exhaust and some firmer springs and new shocks wouldnt be to bad at all as a budget sports sedan!

you're right on that one, they are a good bit of fun and have a bit of character to them, even if they arent the fastest cars on the road.

as for costs, i got a copy of the breakdown i did of my conversion: Total cost for the item is main number and what i paid for freight was the number in brackets. my "gearbox" item contained a reco-ed ED T5, a billet quickshifter, clutch pedal, bellhousing, dust excluder and an EA flywheel. it also had a clutch, clutch cable and a couple of throwout bearings which i decided not to use

Gearbox = $635 ($135)
Strengthened manual pedal box = $40
EL GT Gear boot = $57.50 ($12.50)
BA Gear stick = $35 ($5)
Clutch Kit = $170 ($22.50)
Clutch cable = $85 ($10)
Flywheel machining = $40
Spigot bearing = $11.95
AU Momo Gear knob = $79.99
Oil = $28.93
Loctite = $9.99
Pedal Pads = $12.70
Resistors = $0.70
Heatshrink = $3
Gasket Goo = $7
Floor boot = $21
Bolts = $9
Misc = $15

Grand Total: = $1261.78 ($185)

Thanks nicco, i appreciate the time you took to provide me with that information. That is about what i was hoping for, around 1k, makes it worth doing.

Whats this about the clutch being very firm on them? Would it be much firmer than say a VS SS? Because i used to drive my mates one, and it wasnt to bad, i thought the falcon box would feel much the same?

Thanks for your hlep guys