swapping out transmissions

There is a previous thread here about the automatic transmission in my '88 BII.

I just bought another BII, '85 with a manual transmission(I bought it for some of the suspension parts and brush guard bumpers).

Does anyone here have experience swapping the automatic for the manual? It has a hydraulic clutch, so there shouldn't be much in the way of linkage problems.

Any known compatibility issues? The engine in the 85 is shot, it's a 2.8 carb'd engine. Mine has the 2.9 FI.

I am learning a lot from this forum and am glad I came across it. Your help is appreciated.

Cliff

i did the swap 2.8 auto in a 2.9 manual fried the 5spd and got the other free.everything bolts up not sure about fly wheels but everything else will work fine.there were some diffs in the harness between the two nothing you should have to worry about going with the manual.

What about the full-size? I'm debating whether to switch my '88 AT for the '87 4-sp, or to just get a beefier AT....(Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.)

couldn't tell you for sure on the full sizes.if they have they same bell housing the tranny will fit,if you have the same motor the fly wheel will fit.if you do the manual don't forget the pilot bearing.clutch pedals and stuff should be pretty easy if you get all the parts from the donor.i'd also check driveshaft lengths,when you go get a trans just cut the wires from the trans at the harness,makes it easier to patch them in later.
i came across a site awhile back(figures i didn't fav it)that had kits for the od auto's that could handle whatever you could put them thru.i think i did a search on aod's but i'm not sure.
a couple things you might want to add to an auto would be the biggest cooler you can get,i used an old ac condensor with a electric fan on it,and an external filter.think it was $40 from jegs plumbs right in and takes a fl1a oil filter.i spin a new one on when i change my oil.

From what I can tell, the Clutch Mechanisms were different between '87 and '88. I did some side-by-side comparisons, and it looks like they changed the location of the clutch pedal "stuff" between the years. (And the '87 was a sealed kit, so if any part went bad, you had to get a whole new she-bang.)

The wiring harnesses seem to be the same. I checked those already. I'm really sitting on the fence on this, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do. (The AOD Unit was broken by my Great Ford Shop Rookie-who broke the starter bolt dog-ear and told me it was cross-threaded when he got to it....:pissed-off:) So, that tranny caused me to lose starters about twice a year...if not three times!

So my choices are to get another AOD, a beefier AOD, or something MT, and after driving one, I like the sound of it.

doesn't crap like that just pi$$ you off?
does one clutch have the internal slave cylinder and the other doesn't?or one mechanical and one hydrylic?
personally i like the mt better,sometimes a pain in traffic but seems like it's got way more benefits than a auto,especially push starting,gearing down,better control of your shifts.no trans fluid to cool.
you'd probably come out the same going either way if you think about it.
and even if you blow a clutch every few years it's still cheaper than an aod.
well good luck either way.

The 88 is Auto, so it doesn't have any mechanism at all, the one from the '87 has an external, but I don't it would fit where the 88 would need it. (So I'd probably have to shell out for another Pedal Assembly if I decide I want a Manual. I liked the 4-sd, but I think I'd prefer a 5-sp...any thoughts?)