I drive a 1978 ford f-250 with a v8 400 7.5L engine it has an automatic transmission and i was wondering if i could have some advice on pros and cons of getting a standard tranny?

 

What are you looking for with a transmission change ? BTW the C-6 is one of the best auto trans Ford ever made

 

Which engine do you have? The 400 is not a 7.5. The 7.5 is a 460. Completely different engines.

If you have a 460, swapping to a manual won't be a walk in the park. IIRC, Ford didn't offer a manual until the ZF S5 in 1987 for the 460(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). That's not to say it can't be done. The 400 and the 460 have the same bellhousing bolt pattern, even though one is a "big block" and the other is a "small block". Therefore, you can use either the T18, T19, or NP435. If you can find a donor truck that has everything you'll need, your job will be a lot easier.

Some things that will need to be swapped:
-Steering Column
-Pedal assembly
-Transmission cross member
-If it's 4wd, you have to deal with the transfer case too
-Transmission tunnel cover (you'll have to cut the auto cover out, or make a hole for the shift lever)
-Driveshafts
-Plus some others that I'm sure I'm forgetting

If you have a 460, don't mind fabbing, and have a creative mind, you could go with a ZF transmission out of a 80's truck. The fifth gear is an overdrive, so you can squeeze a little more mpg out of your truck. With the ZF transmission, you'll have to fab a cross member, find a location for the clutch master cylinder, and figure out the linkage. The ZF has a hydraulic clutch with an external slave cylinder, so there's no linkage all the way down to the clutch. The clutch pedal attaches to a rod that goes into the clutch master cylinder, similar to how the brakes do.


There's some food for thought
Jameson

 

Is your truck 2wd or 4wd ?