Who does 5 speed swaps?

[Huskymaniac]

I am looking at a local 1992 LSi with low miles. I am wondering if a 5 speed swap would be worth it. I don't have the skills for a job like that. Who out there does this sort of thing? OT? Nate? Is YT back in the game?

If I go with a WRX tranny that mates up with the 3.545 rear diff (assuming I can find one), what is the ballpark cost in parts and labor?

[Conn SVX]

Priceless. It changes the whole car. Was told around $3,000 doing labor yourself .
It all depends on where you get the parts and how much a tranny cost you

[SVX92-97]

you could probably buy another svx with a five speed already installed for less money than that. I never had the pleasure to drive one with a stick, just look at one that wouldnt move

[kjoyes]

smallcar.com will install one for you for 6000.00 if that is a option.

[Sean486]

I believe Young Tom will still do them on a limited basis. SVXFiles will do them. Nate will do them. There happen to be a lot of low cost 5 speed swaps on Craigslist right now. one in Easton PA, one near Scranton PA, one in South NJ,One in North NJ need new clutch. We Have red one outside of Allentown on the forum for sale as well. Most need paint, but a lot more people do paint than do swaps.

[bishop]

I got to drive one with a standard forester 5spd and was absolutely amazed at how much better it drove, I dont care if you have 4.44's with a valvebody job, nothing beats the manual.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Sean486

We Have red one outside of Allentown on the forum for sale as well. Most need paint, but a lot more people do paint than do swaps.

*** waves *** It's still for sale...

[TomsSVX]

Originally Posted by Sean486

I believe Young Tom will still do them on a limited basis. SVXFiles will do them. Nate will do them. There happen to be a lot of low cost 5 speed swaps on Craigslist right now. one in Easton PA, one near Scranton PA, one in South NJ,One in North NJ need new clutch. We Have red one outside of Allentown on the forum for sale as well. Most need paint, but a lot more people do paint than do swaps.

+1... Buy one already swapped and have the body work done. Unless you really want to do it to your current car... But it will cost more to do the swap than to buy a swapped car and fix it up.

Tom

[Conn SVX]

The big pluses to buying one swapped is you can drive it first and see how it feels, all the bugs have been worked out, you can test to see if everything works. A lot of trial and error when doing it. From what I read it is not just an easy switch. I bought mine done, the PO did a terrific job. Feels factory looks factory. Though about doing my current 92 SVX with 78,000 miles on it .After seeing the conversion instructions and pricing parts, buying it done was a no brainier.
Oh and runs like its on steroids.

[Huskymaniac]

Fair enough. The one I was looking at locally had something like 78K miles on it and looked to be in good shape. I think he is asking something like $2800 for it. Seemed like a good candidate for a swap. Assuming I could get it for $2500, adding a swap would bring me up to $5000-5500.

The one in central NJ, http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/3818056427.html has what seems to be a nice swap in it. I like that it is one of the higher geared WRX trannies. It also has the higher capacity MAF and injectors and LAN's chip. He said it runs well and got an average of 25MPG, city and highway combined. That's pretty good.

But it does need a full paint job, an A/C compressor and charge and the driver's door lock un-seized. Wouldn't a full paint job plus the other stoff bring that $2500 price up to the same total, roughly?

Would anyone in Jersey be able to take a quick look at this for me before I get serious and take the drive down? Tom?

There is also one here in upstate NY, http://albany.craigslist.org/bar/3820440681.html

It is a 1997 but has $160K miles on it. I can't tell how good the paint is. But the biggest concern of all is that it is OBD2 which means the CEL is on with that swap. I would need to figure out a way to turn it off by sending a dummy signal to the ECU.

[Tim]

I could go test drive if it's on the weekend. It's roughly about an hour from me.

[Conn SVX]

Yes paint ( even a decent job ) will be $2,000.. ( excellent could be 4,000) one thing to think about ,you can pick a new color too. AC Is a $500 job. I would start shopping wrecking yards for a WRX. IF YOU. Can get the parts and a working Tranny ( WRX or not ) for under $2,000 I would be worth it. Me I would go with the already converted still. You can find 100 body shops that can paint a WRX , but not may that will convert one.
Don't forget if you do it with something other than the WRX you need to change the rear gears. So a 5 speed Tranny from an other that is $200 cheaper will cost extra for the rear gears, plus the labor. Have you found someone to do the swap?
https://touch.ebay.com/tablet/search...sion&rd=search

[Huskymaniac]

That would be great Tim. But don't go out of your way. If you happen to be near it and have the time, great.

Here is another option for an AWD car with a manual:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1993-...item257ed384b1

[Huskymaniac]

And here is an option that Benebob is sure to approve of:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FLORI...item20d3cbbc32

[WYOSVX]

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

It is a 1997 but has $160K miles on it. I can't tell how good the paint is. But the biggest concern of all is that it is OBD2 which means the CEL is on with that swap. I would need to figure out a way to turn it off by sending a dummy signal to the ECU.

Had my '97 swapped about 1.5 years ago w/'05 WRX 5 speed, done in Bozeman, MT. Could not figure out how to send a dummy signal. Tim, who did the swap, tried a few things. He stopped, both of us thinking it was going to be a lot of extra time/money. As far as I know, others who have tried have failed, too. I consider him to be highly qualified; it was his 2nd swap, he has lots of SVX experience and works with two others who have more.

Pre-swapped is a good idea, IMO.