John, Warren:
well, depends on what you mean by huge! Not that bad if you like the
car, but your knees don't work anymore like a friend of mine who has a
1985 Westy with a 4 speed. (he was going to sell it to me, but backed
out- he's had a type 2 since 1961 and would feel lost without it, he says!)
You need the shifter, the linkage, the transaxle, starter, flywheel,
AXLES, HOSES, probably some neutral safety switch wiring. Am I
forgetting something?  A nearby donor car would be good!
Probably would be easier to just take out the engine to put all the
cooler/ hoses on easier.
Might also be a good time to look at the converter seal area, replace
the seal, maybe even rebuild the trans if in doubt. (Getting it out and
on the bench is a big portion of the work!)
I'd say, go fo it!
Al Brase
Vanagons

John Rodgers wrote:

> Warren, not to be discouraging, but that is a huge undertaking - at
> least from all I have read on this list. You really want to think it
> through before you start.
>
> Sorry, I drive a manual tranny GL, so can't realy help, except to say
> give it some serious thought before you start. Mya not be worth the
> effort.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver
>
> Warren Lail wrote:
>
>> Hi gang,
>>
>> I recently sold Long John, my 87 GL, which had a good automatic
>> transmission that I really enjoyed.  So I'm thinking
>> about pulling the manual tranny out of Billy Bones and putting an
>> automatic in its place.  Any thoughts on this issue?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Warren Lail
>> 88 Westy "Billy Bones"
>>
>>
>>
>