Hey everyone,
This is only my second thread here, and it's sort of a big one for me. About a year ago, I bought an all original '90 DX Hatch off of Craigslist with 126k on the odometer and zero rust. I love the car to death and I plan on keeping it the way it is because I love the stock look and unmolested Hondas from this era are extremely hard to come by. However, the only drawback to my purchase was the fact that it came with a 4-speed automatic. My one plan for this car is to get the automatic replaced with an OEM 5-speed manual, keeping with the stock theme. With this being said, I understand how this is not a simple task and will take a lot of work and money. I also understand that there are multiple threads here and all over the internet that cover this topic, but I am very new to cars and want to hear what you guys have to say for my situation. I considered the argument that it's not worth it, and that I should just get the same vehicle with the manual, but I haven't come across a local listing for one of these cars since I bought mine. Plus, all of the listings that are somewhat local are just not in good shape. I want to source all of the parts for the swap and have a shop professionally do the conversion. I understand that this will cost me significantly more money than just doing it myself, but I don't have the mechanical experience and don't want the process being botched. I'm having the most trouble making a list of all of the parts that I will need to get for the swap. Can anyone out there help me with compiling a list?

- Thank you!

 

Almost 14 years ago I manual swapped the 90 DX Sedan that I still daily drive today. The writeup I wrote for it is here (with a parts list), but the pictures aren't loading. I also did a writeup on swapping the pedal cluster over, which is here.

I'd say if you're not going to do it yourself, it will be cost prohibitive unless you just love THIS particular car. If you've got enough money to throw at a shop to do the work, you could probably find a clean shell in a dry state and have it transported to you for cheaper.

 

I am looking into this as well for my crx

 

I actually just found out that a friend of mine swapped the automatic transmission in his Lexus IS300 out for a manual, after talking to him he said he would be more than happy to help me out with. I found a $500 91' hatchback parts car that I think would make a good donor car. Only thing is it's an Si. I'm pretty sure that the 5-speed in the Si is the same one that would've came with the DX, but besides that would all the parts be compatible?

 

The transmissions are not the same - the transmission from the Si will have shorter gear ratios than the DX. All the parts will be compatible except for the wiring harness. You'll need to run your own wires for the reverse lights.

 

Would running new wires for the reverse lights be difficult?

 

No, not very difficult. On the auto chassis, the reverse light switch is at the auto shifter console in the cabin. On the manual chassis, the switch is on the top of the transmission. You'll just need to run wires from the switch on the transmission to the harness in the cabin center console.

 

Every ef owner should have at least two ef’s
If one breaks down you have a ride to get parts
helps a ton with diagnosis
just buy a manual chassis