Hi there,
Yes sorry for the late reply, but I did convert it to manual . Had bought another car just for the 5 speed but al the smaller bits definitely came in handy, ie pedal box, reverse light harness, speed cable etc.
The car is now really fun to drive. Especially from the robots, you can really launch her, with a bit of sideways action.
All in all definitely worth the conversion, from a Sunday morning cruiser to Saturday niter bruiser.