I changed my Cuda from an auto to a manual back in about 1996 (I also did an Aspen in about the same time frame). Unfortunately, that was a long time ago and I don't remember all the little details. The first one I did was the Cuda, and I basically cobbled together a bunch of pieces that were supposed to be from a Cuda. It worked, but not very well. Then I found a 4 speed Aspen in the junk yard, and grabbed all the parts from it, and converted the Aspen. There was a night-and-day difference between the ease of the conversion, the way it worked mechanically, and the finished product - the Aspens clutch was much smoother, everything fit correctly, and it looked like it belonged. Fortunately, I found a 4 speed Cuda that was being parted out shortly after that, and grabbed all the correct parts and re-did the Cuda right.

If you can, try to get the bellhousing, Z bar, petals, clutch rod and clutch fork all from the same car - that way you know they were all matched up at one time and will work together. These were the parts that I had tried to cobble together from different sources on my Cuda, and they just didn't want to play nice with each other (I probably had a mixture of big block, small block, and non-Cuda parts). Or at least be very careful to get the correct parts if you have to get them from different sources - I didn't have any idea what part numbers I was looking for, so getting a list of correct part numbers would be very beneficial.

I don't know where you're located in the Twin Cities, but I'm about 5 miles East of the big 3M complex off of I-94, in Lake Elmo. If you need a hand or have any questions while doing the conversion, let me know - I'd be glad to help out.