How do you convert a 1978 Chevy Camaro automatic to a manual shift?

Answer 1

just put a manual valve body in it

You are going to need a number of parts to do it right. You will need a manual transmission, clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, thrust bearing for the front of the yoke, flywheel, shifter, bell housing with clutch fork, transmission hump extension to house the shifter, shift boot, linkage to steering column, "z" bar linkage to clutch pedal, clutch linkage boot, clutch pedal, narrow brake pedal, clutch bumper, starter cutout switch for clutch, steering column switch to change the timing of the backup light operation. You will need to adjust the wiring under your dash somewhat to get the clutch starter cutout switch operational.

The yoke on the front of your drive shaft will need to be changed to a yoke that matches the splines in the manual transmission that you are swapping to. The length of your drive shaft needs to be checked to make sure there is the proper play to allow for suspension flex. you do not want the drive shaft to push the yoke into the transmission and break something when you hit a big speed bump.

I'm assuming your car (1978 Camaro) was a floor shift to start with and you will be using a manual transmission with a floor shifter. dont forget you will need the pedals for the thing as well.