how hard for a novice to change a auto 340 to manual can it be do n what would i need

(I can hear boos and hisses from the back of the room)

Why not start with a manual? Saves a lot of messing about. Have all the manuals been destroyed now and there are only auto ones left?

Yes it could be done, you'd need a lot of parts though. How novice are you? Care to expand on your spannercraft?

^ what he said.
If you want a manual, best not start with an auto.
Its a lot of work indeed.

No!
There are precious few Variomatic ones left but lots of manuals around. The hassle and work alone should be enough to put you off anyway.

As the chief design engineer at DAF said when Volvo started to fit manual gearboxes to the 340s, "This in my mind is sacriledge." Obviously he would have felt strongly because he had designed the "DAF 77" to be built around the Variomatic, but marketing/demand/economics saw Volvo making the understandable decision to do what they did.

can definatly be done, but you have to alter everything from flywheel to gearbox.

but like the guys above, plenty of manual's left so starting there saves a manual 340 where you're gonna need all the parts from anyway

Re the variomatic discussion: the P900 (prototype fot the DAF 77/Volvo 343) was designed by DAF to be fitted with either a manual gearbox (a Ford unit) or the new steel belt Transmatic CVT. It was Volvo that decided to stick with the CVT as to give the car a unique selling point. However, the Transmatic wasn't ready in time and Volvo didn't own the Van Doorne firm that made the Transmatic, so a Daf 66-like setup was fitted instead.

I bought one that had been done,the giveaway was the huuuge brake pedal they'd left in situ.