changing the transmission of an fr-s from automatic to manual.

[Asphaltfrs1]

The first thing I would suggest, is to obviously not give him a dime til he hands over the keys and some sort of document stating that the car is fully paid for and yours.
Then I would sell it for profit and buy a manual.

[feldy]

This thread

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

Sounds like someone jumped the gun and bought an auto but now wants a manual *wink*

This is the most likely explanation, although I have no idea why he wouldn't just cancel the order and switch to a 6MT and wait a little longer. :shrug:

[xwd]

I don't believe the story for a second.

I think the OP bought an auto or has one on order and now wants a manual.

People do auto to manual swaps in old Subarus because it's relatively cheap to do with junkyard parts. New car? Sell it and buy a manual, take the hit because it will be less than the cost to swap it from auto to manual.

[blackfireball5]

Unless the reason he wants to convert it to a MT from an AT is because he cant sell it. Stolen? Probably not but just saying...

[MmmHamSandwich]

You better make sure that car has no liens before you front the cash my friend. For as much as you are saving you may want to pay a lawyer to review things and make sure it is legit, unless you just really have a loaded and generous friend.

[Spaceywilly]

Originally Posted by dwx

I don't believe the story for a second.

I think the OP bought an auto or has one on order and now wants a manual.

People do auto to manual swaps in old Subarus because it's relatively cheap to do with junkyard parts. New car? Sell it and buy a manual, take the hit because it will be less than the cost to swap it from auto to manual.

The only way it makes sense is that there's some reason he can't sell the car legitimately. Most likely it's stolen. Otherwise it makes a lot more sense to just sell the car and buy a manual. MT swap on this car without a junkyard donor car is going to be a very long expensive process.

[eriktherod]

Stolen or rich friend?

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by just86

one dont simply change transmission, what a dumb idea

Why is it a dumb idea? I agree it is in this case but your statement is pretty generalized.

My current race car shell was an automatic. It cost $300 complete, driveline swap from the damaged chassis was easy and inexpensive and a lot easier than finding a cheap manual transmission non-running car.

I'm doing an auto to manual conversion on a 97 240SX SE right now also, it was an auto that sold for 3k LESS just because it wasn't a manual. It was purchased because it was a single owner car with 66k miles on it, swap in the manual and SR20DET and massively increase it's value.

It's not always a dumb idea.

[ahausheer]

The real questions are, do you want to buy a stolen car, do you want to get scammed out of all your money, or, is your friend the worst person with money in the word?

[d1ck]

An auto to manual swap is most definetly do-able and not a colossal undertaking. It seems like a lot of people here are afraid of taking on any type of project with their cars. The thing is though, you've got to be prepared. No one has done this yet, so you would have to figure out what is required. Beware, this is no small task so if you are afraid to dive in, either grow a set or don't bother. Here's a list of parts / tasks off the top of my head which may be required:
Transmission (duh)
Flywheel
Clutch
Clutch Master Cylinder / Slave Cylinder / Lines / Reservoir
Clutch Pedal / Switch / Drill Holes for Pedal Bracket
Shifter / Bushings / Brackets
Transmission / Engine & Transmission Wiring Harness
ECU
Possibly a full body harness (The Mazda Protege was like this)
Brake Pedal / Bracket
Driveshaft
Final Drive (Not sure if autos have same FD)
Transmission Mount

You're still going to have things left over like the shift paddles and trans sport mode button.

Like I said before you would be the first person to do this so no one really knows at this point what's required. This list is by no means 100% complete, nor is everything on it necessarily required. Should be a decent guide to get you started should you decide to take on such a project.

[enjoi23]

ok guys heres the story. THIS IS A SERIOUS THREAD IM NOT MAKING ANY JOKES OR TROLLING. My friend had gotten a g37s, but the g37s was experiencing problems so he traded it in at a dealership and ended up having to pay about 7,000 for the automatic fr-s. Long story short, he crashed it, but it wasn't his fault(the other guy ran a red light and hit him). Thank god he had warranty and Toyota(or scion) is shipping a new one to him in October. He told me the crash kindof made him not want the car anymore and there is nothing he can do about it since he already bought it,which is why he wants to sell it to me, since I was planning on getting a whiteout but in manual. and he wouldn't screw me over over something like this, I've known this kid for about 5 years now. grew up together

and yes I know the transmission conversion will be hell, but how much would it cost? it might be worth it if the fr-s is cheap enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

[enjoi23]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

Stolen or rich friend?

rich friend

[enjoi23]

Originally Posted by Justin.b

It depends on the cost of the parts, but it's going to be a bit expensive since you can't pick up a suitable transmission anywhere but a dealer. Same for the pedal parts. You may also need to change the ECU. Of course, the paddle shifters will become useless - maybe you could change them into radio controls.

In the end, it could cost enough to make this not such a great deal if you do the work yourself. If you have it done by someone else, you end up above the cost of a new car with a 6spd. You're also going to hurt the resale value and void your warranty.

My recommendation is to just buy the car and drive it as-is. Or if you're set entirely on a 6mt, then buy one instead of trying to make one from an auto. If you still want a manual, you can still sell this one for more than you paid for the next 2 years or so.

-Justin

thanks bud, I might end up selling this one for a little more and buying a manual