Does anyone have any information on switching a 3.0 cl to a manual tranny, or if it is possible to swap a 3.2 type s engine in to a 1997 3.0 cl without incurring enormous costs. basically is the chasis and engine mounts the same on both cars?

 

its probably the same

but your best bet is to just sell it and get a manual type S

 

I'd agree with simply buying a manual version. It's most likely possible, but I haven't heard of anyone trying it so there may be complications that could leave you without a car for a long time. There will most likely be wiring issues you have to deal with and the mount may be different ('92-'95 Civic automatics have 1 different mount from manual versions). If you've got the money and can afford to put the car on jackstands for a while, it would be an interesting project though. If you could find and purchase a complete wrecked Type S to pick for parts, you'll probably be able to do it.

 

It really isn't that hard... All of the same crap as a 4 Cylinder Auto to manual conversion... And the blocks of ALL the J series engines are the same outer dimensions, so you could drop in the 3.5L from the Pilot, if you wanted to... You'd need the tranny, ECU, Engine wiring harness, Coil Packs, Clutch slave and master cylinders, flywheel, axles, Clutch pedal, clutch hydraulic hose.... I'm sure I'm forgetting something... So to sum up, not difficult, but definitely a time consuming project. My recommendation for a better finished product is to buy a CL-S...