i dont want to scare you with what im about to say, but nowhere and no one has spoken about the only real problem you might run into.
so i have just recently swapped out auto to 5 speed. totally happy with it. shorter gears would have been awesome but i am thinking of going with forced induction at a later point. (over here in san antonio there a green 4door turbo, i want to see if i can build something faster than him) it took two and a half days to complete, all by myself. following the many guides out there and having a repair manual and the experience of pulling my own stuff out of the donor car gave some really good insight. but only one thing was never mentioned or talked about by anyone. i have looked and searched and asked with no avail.
everything (if correct parts are installed) will fit perfect, the most frustrating was connecting the clutch line to the clutch master cylinder, that f***ing pin, dont lose the o-ring(you will know what i am talking about later).
so now you have all the outside stuff done and now you want to install the clutch pedal. there are two bolts from the cylinder that got through the pedal then there is a third, get upside down and look up(ill have pics for you tomorrow) up there where its hard to see goes a screw that holds the pedal in place.
on a factory 5 speed car there is a bracket that comes down to the pedal and holds everything in place.
as for my 99 lx ulev there is no bracket so i have to construct my own bracket,(for now i have some rope holding it in place)
i say watch out for this because at first i thought i could rough it with just the two bolts. nope the fire wall will bend with the pressure of the line and your leg, then you wont be able to shift into any gear.
before you install any of parts for the swap open and clean out everything and check everything is in working order. i mean literally open and clean everything. line, clutch cylinder, tranny.
if your mechanic can not call (stuff) by its proper name or explain exactly what it is, language barrier is understandable to a degree, find someone else.
if your looking for a zippier drive go with a shorter geared tranny.