thanks for all the comments guys!!!!
PBfrEAk wrote:Wow...beautiful.
Now do you have a thread with pics of the swap itself yet? I'd love to see those.
What Tranny did you mate to the VH? I assume this was a custom adapter plate...but was it fabbed up by you or someone else?
If there is another thread with this stuff lemme know haha...I didn't even know you were doing this!!
About all the pics I have are the ones I posted, theres really not much to it we pretty much bolted everything together. Plate was made by me (im going to do another run soon).. Using a Z32 N/A transmission..
ended up using a Z32 brake pedal and a pathfinder clutch pedal. Used the pathy pedal because it juts way farther over than the Z32 pedal, so only minor mods were needed.. Put the pathfinder pedal arm into the Z32 pedal bracket (since I already had a Z32 pedal assembly with the master cylinder and holes drilled for the Z32 pedal)
Z32 on the left, pathfinder on the right
BadQ45t wrote:Post up another video in the daylight just showing the install of the shifter, that alone will get me up to youtube..just to see that stick where the slushbox shifer normally sits.
Give me a couple weeks to finish the shifter, it looks pretty jacked up right now, just because im still working out some minor wiring things to get the cruise and the drive positioner to work.. Also, the Z32 shifter arm is way too short for the Q so a custom one woudl need to be made (the shifter arm needs to be able 4inches longer to sit flush with the trim)
mcheddadi wrote:
AWESOME! 1/4 and 0-60 estimates?
Ill rock your M5, how's that sound? 0-60 and 1/4 mile times may be skewed since I dont like powershifting manual trannies... Ill post more videos once I have the correct speedo gear in...
qsiguy wrote:Congrats Wes. Looks like fun.
Questions:Do you have a bill of materials yet?
What's the estimated total cost to this point?
How much does your installer want to do it again or what would he estimate a typical shop would charge to do this job if parts were supplied by the owner?
I dont know what the final damage is going to be, all I know is I paid way less than it would have cost me to screw around with the AT.. Even though my level 10 trans still shifted fine, it was in sorry shape..
I have all my receipts and if you're interested, I'll email them to you. Im not going to post up what I paid for this swap because I paid WAYYYYYY less than this guy would ever dream about doing it for again..
Also, the money is not really a big issue as far as the parts go, the labor to get this done right is astronomical. I'll let JP chime in to how much time he put into this, but I'd wager close to 100 hours over the course of 2 weeks, maybe more? I figure Im going to put another 4-6 hours into making everything perfect with the shifter and wiring.. Figure how much time an average shop takes to do a 5 speed swap on a Z32 and double or triple the amount of time because so many things have to be custom fabricated.
JP did an absolutely fabulous job with fabricating everything... I told him to not worry about shifter console and wiring because I can do that stuff myself, and I was antsy to get the car back!!! ..
Heres the bottom line, and I know JP would agree with me. This swap cannot be done by anyone and your typical shop will not have the skills or patience to do this..
Id say if you wanted to do this, plan on it costing anywhere from 3000-5000.
maxnix wrote:I do wonder with collapse original mototrmounts and an addtional 1" deflection on the 3rd motor (transmission) mount how long the U joint on the driveshft will last? Wonder if the OEM coupling might have been better?
This is precisely the samce reason FWD cars use CV adn not U joints on the half shafts. Greater deflection there, but principal is still the same. maybe the only way to do it right is to cut and weld a larger cavity into the transmission tunnel to maintain correct alignment?
Motor mounts were in good shape, and have about 6 years, 60k miles on them, along with the trans mount..
I anticipate the U joints to be fine, not to mention mine are rebuildable 1310 U joints unlike the factory. Ive had an aftermarket driveshaft on my car for the last 3 years or so, and it had that front U joint instead of the flex coupling. my driveshaft was done by powertrain industries (but lengthened by a local shop for the swap)
From what I understand its desirable to have a little bit of angle in the driveshaft because it keeps the U joints lubricated..
Like I said before, this isnt for everyone!!!
Keith, I still have the 3.54 gear in my car.
ALSO, note that I havent even began to think about installing an E brake!!!