I bought an ED GLI from the Auctions for $1200 inc all the buyers fee's. I thought it would be better to get a whole car to rape for all the parts i need, that way i don't miss out on something i need.

115,000 kms on the clock, service history in the Ford Book.
5 spd manual, Factory Manual delivery
Has all the gear i need, inc the manual ECU!
Charged up the battery, fired her up, and the 4.0lt is running very nicly.

I was advised by a few wrecking yards everything i needed would cost me $1500ish inc the ECU a few mths ago when my auto started playing up and i was weighing up my options. I can't wait to get the new engine & 5spd in, but gotta get that mighty boy finished first. I almost finished assembly of the f8b 800cc engine for it tonight, i just need to finish the new key for the crank & engine is ready to drop back in. Then i can get it engineered & start playing with my Ford.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

I have a nl fairlane ghia which i converted to manual 3 years ago running el xr6 manual ecu no dramas!

Ok guys, update time.

I have all the gear in my EB, the new I6 with all new seals & Hi Vol oil pump, the 5spd, and the manual ecu.

Had a few issues getting it all into the car, for a start, don't put the rocker cover on before you fit the engine & box, else like i had to, you need to remove the engine mounts, crane it into possy, then fit mounts to sub frame and wiggle engine while on crane to line up the bolts. That was so much fun.

Repairing the peddle box, once removed, i used a hammer, couple of F clamps & my mig welder. Welds turned out pretty messy, i shoulda been using gas instead of gasless for this job, but it's welded pretty strong, just looks crap. Had to beat the bent backing plate of the clutch support rod with a hammer, then clamp it to the rest of peddle box with F clamps, then weld away. With peddle fit to the box, it operates fine, but peddle height is slightly out, can be adjusted by clutch cable somewhat. In the car, under foot, the peddle operates fine.

It's been a couple of wks since the car has run, so the battery is flat after a couple of times trying to get it started, getting charged up right as i type up this post. When i hit the key, the engine cranked over but wouldn't start. Checked for spark, it's there. Pulled fuel lines from rail & reg, not a drop. Over half a tank of petrol. I can hear the fuel pump relay click as it should after a moment from when you switch ignition on. But i can't hear the pump trying to pump fuel when the engine is cranking. Going to see what happens with a charged up battery, if it's still not pumping, i'll try swapping the pump from the ED in to see what happens.

I've got a few pics of the peddle boxes side by side to see the diff between factory manual and auto. I'm also running the factory manual gearbox wiring loom, i'll post up the part number later incase ppl wanna buy it instead of playing with their auto loom, when they are using the manual ecu.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

i already had an ecu, but a mate wanted one, he found one tho.
i havnt had any error codes in it

I WOULD LIKE TO THANKS VOXACE.

this is a great doco, and has helped massivly.

as my car is now a manual yay yay yay. (i just finished my fisrt drive in it).

if you could put in some higher res pics, in esp revolving around the wiring, it would be a bit better.

all i need to do now is adjust the clutch a bit as the pressure point is at the floor.

in summery thak you very very much.

Congrats dude, enjoy the 5-speed!
I'll check to see if I still have the original photos too.

Definatly a great doco VOXACE. Makes the job easier when you can read about it before you dive on into it!

I charged up my beast, but the was still no fuel @ the rail, so i run a makeshift circuit from the bottom of the fuel pump relay to the pump, and i then had fuel. Wiring was damaged somewhere, so i've made a perminate bypass and it's all running. I took the car for a shakedown run around the block a few times last night, it's defected so i shouldn't even do that but i thought it's safer to have something happen around the block than half way to vic roads should something happen, heaven forbid it.

Anyway, shakedown run went 90% smooth, but i've got a new gremlin in my wiring, causing the smartlock light to come on every now and then but the car keeps running fine. Tommorow morning i'm heading down to Vic roads to get the defect lifted & rego details changed to reflect new engine & the 5spd. Then i can tell my insurance company & take it for a good drive.

I must admit, first ( short ) drive of the EB with the 5spd in it, it feel's like a totally differant car, will take a bit of getting used to. But it's nice to change gears, i especially enjoy driving my mighty boy because it's a 4spd man, and my torana is a manual as well. Panel Van, well i'll probably make it a fully manualised Th700, as it's going to be a tow car.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

Well I just put my pedal box in...and totally forgot about reinforcing it so looks like when it breaks I am going to get it reinforced...Is it possible to reinforce the firewall while the pedal box is in? I cbfed pulling the dashboard out and back in again...took me long enough the first time.

Anyways I thought I'd put in a step by step guide of what I did to successfully change the auto pedal box to the manual pedal box in an EL. Started off with removing things i didn't have to, got stuck and asked Adrian who guided me through msn for the correct procedure. Sorry but I didn't have enough time to stop and take pictures...had a time limit before the sun set.

You first need to lower the steering wheel and remove the retaining bolts of the bottom half of the pedal box. To make things easier you could take the whole cluster, radio, climate control and clock surround off...the big piece...so that you can see the 2 nuts that hold the steering wheel up. There are 3 nuts that can be found above the floor on the firewall around the brake stick/mechanism thingy that is pinned to the brake pedal. Remove those nuts...but don't push on the brake or else something moves in the engine bay...never really figured out what it held back in the engine bay...probably the booster. Anyways remove the pin that holds the brake pad to the brake mechanism (wtf is it called?), if you have a brake sensor for the cruise control, then remove that as well. Once the pedal is free from the pole thingy undo 2 bolts that are on the drivers side above where the kick panel should be, it holds up some unit with a bunch of wires.

When that is removed you can remove the 2 nuts that hold up the steering wheel. I used a 1/2 socket to remove them...but not sure if that was the right one since the socket didn't fit into the nut all the way, even though its one of them long sockets. Anyways remove that and you will find the steering wheel can be dropped.

Well that part is done, now to remove the dashboard HOORAY!!! It is an easy task...but tedious I say.


There are 9 bolts in total that hold up the dashboard, 2 being in one of the b**ch places. These bolts I think require a 10 or a 12mm socket...you'll figure it out when you get to it.

First you have to remove 2 retaining screws that hold down the plastic cover that runs along the bottom of the windscreen that covers the tweeters (if you have tweeters). For those who don't know what I am talking about it's the plastic trim that runs from one A-Pillar to the other side along the bottom of the windscreen. There are 2 screws on either side. Undo those and try not to scratch the windscreen. Once undone you pry the front until it pops up leaving a small gap along the whole top of the dash, don't try and pry it off all the way, since it is slid in. When it pops up you can pull it horizontally away from the windscreen and it should come out easily...did for me. There is one wire plug that needs to be unplugged in the centre while you remove the cover.

When that is removed you can see 5 bolts, undo those and put them aside. There is also a smaller bolt, usually painted green, that also needs to be removed...it is the earth and needs to be removed so that it doesn't snap when you attempt to pull the dashboard out. There are 2 more plugs that I found wedged behind the dash, you can see them if you look from the outside in. Unplug the two plugs.

The other 4 bolts run along the bottom of the dashboard. One on each side of the kick panels and 2 behind the radio surround

Before you remove the bolts behind the radio surround, undo the 2 screws that hold the dashboard and the transmission surround together...should be one on either side. These screws should be removed or else you'll be breaking and tearing the joint apart.

Now to find the 2 annoying bolts you'd have to basically lie down. It is behind and underneath the metal structure that holds the head unit up. Best way for me to see it was to look through a rectangular hole on either side of the structure. It should be just before the Transmission tunnel. Once you found them get them undone and try not to lose the bolt under the carpet...really annoying to get out later. So have a magnet on a stick ready or something.

The final 2 are much much easier to get to. Just remove the kick panels on either side and the bolts are on the vertical near the door but face towards the rear. You won't miss it.

Once all those bolts are done you can remove the dashboard as one piece...it is heavy, as I found, so another person heaving it with you on either side is preferable...or else you'll be running from one side to the other trying to get it off and one side at a time. When you take out the dash you have to lift it up first and then pull it away from the windscreen. You will need to unplug some wires when you remove the dashboard, don't want any snapping on you.

Now you can either A...remove the whole dash from the veeehiiical, or you can just tilt the whole dash forward like I did...though I did it in the most awkward way now I have an ugly bent plastic on the drivers side centre console thingy where it joins to the bottom of the dashboard.

Anywho when you have done one or the other, you can see 3 bolts in a straight line on the drivers side. Those are the last 3 bolts that hold up the pedal box. When you removed that you can remove the pedal box. If you have it tilted forward...it may be a bit harder then without a friggen dashboard in the way, but if I managed to get the pedal box out, then I'm sure anyone else can.

Once the auto pedal box is removed...you got to put the manual one in. When everything is in its place for the pedal box...you are going to have a heap of fun putting it all back together.

Here is a run down on putting things together. Do up the 3 bolts that you last removed, then maneouver the dashboard (preferably with a help of someone else) back into place so everything fits nice and snug. Tighten up the 9 bolts, 5 along the top of the dash, one on either side of the kick panels and 2 behind the radio surround. Raise the steering wheel and tighten up the nuts temporarily to hold it up, then put the 2 bolts above the kick panel surround back on and the 3 nuts that are around the brake mechanism thingy. When those 5 nuts and bolts are tight, tighten up the 2 nuts holding up the steering wheel. Put all surrounds and panels back to where they came from and TA DA you are now fertig (German for finish).

Sorry about the long essay...I am sure it would have been easier with pictures...pictures do tell a thousand words. Anyways have fun whoever is doing this. It is an easy task...though very time consuming.

BTW it took me 4 hours to get the dash out with a bit of help of my friend, though it took me about 2 hours to put it back in, by myself the next day.

Hope that helps anyone who wants to do a conversion for their EF/EL (if they are the same). I am sure this is the same for EA-EDs?

phong =P~

Not a bad write up phongus!

In my EB, and this probably applies for the later models as well, it's much much easier*** to just go into the engine bay, remove the one bolt that holds the steering column into the intermediate shaft, then undo the 6 screws that hold the steering column base to the firewall, once those are undone, unplug the wiring for the column then you remove the 2 bolts holding the column upto the dash, they are 13mm BTW & remove it from vehicle. I would then sugest removing your brake peddle, ( not just unhooking it from the booster )makes getting the box out much easier. Then with the rest of teh dash removed as you described, you can remove the peddle box, start with all the bottom bolts, then remove the top 3 last.

Rotate the peddle box to the left ( anti clockwise ) and it should come out easier ( thru where the steering column normally is ). Fit the manual peddle box to the car in a smiliar fashion as to how you removed the auto one, without peddles, and with the spot for the clutch peddle facing towards the floor pan. Slide it in, rotate it clockwise, then line it up for the top 3 bolts, do them up. Then get the dash held back in place, fit up the brake & clutch peddles, and go about the rest of the re-assembly as needed.

As for reinforcing the peddle box, i take it you mean welding it up better than factory?

Cheers

ToranaGuy


*** IIRC there is a warning sticker saying something about do such & such or damage to steering column bearing could result. If playing with your car such as we have been in this thread, PLEASE TAKE CARE & i can't & won't be held liable if you do something stupid trying to follow what i've written up. Your spinning the spanners, your responsible, simple really.

good write up, i will go hook my reverse lights up seeing alted didnt do it right, like everythign else, thanx voxace again

Anyone got a part number on the spigot baring?

That's something i didn't bother to write down. If you ring up a joint like Repco or Bursons they can get the bearing for you, or drop in there to get a " quote ", then you get the number printed up & can compare the price to places like CBC bearings.

Cheers

ToranaGuy

Just walk into a Bursons or Repco and ask for the bearing. Its a normally stocked item and is like $6 to $8.

The geuinine item from CBC is about $15, and the same bearing from Ford is $30.

Question for Voxace, in your guide you use a 6.8k resistor but recommend the usage of a 7k one if you can find one.

Well theyre pretty much impossible to find, but wouldnt a 6.8k and a 200ohm in series be the same thing?

6.8k should work fine. The auto neutral range is from 6.5k-7.6k. 7k is generally used as a roundabout figure.
(Sorry to cut in Dave)