Still some little issues to work out, mainly i have to get a longer shifter rod (needs to be about 4-5 inches longer), and some other stuff. but the car runs and drives well, im uploading a video of it driving.

Tomorrow I'll post some pics of the drivetrain/adapter plate, and in a little while I'll post up some stuff when I get the console all done..

Im really tired and Im gonna go drive the car some more!!

Not the easiest project in the world, but very possible..

unavailable still processing.Really i'll take that Q gutted out if i have to.

Video, quick burst in 1st and 2nd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDlEURNzCBU

Quote, originally posted by elwesso »

accidentally deleted my post... Video, quick burst in 1st and 2nd http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDlEURNzCBU

same issue

4.08 VLSD, NICO 8-way ECU, full exhaust with custom headers,
Tokico Blues with Eibach springs, Stillen FSTB, 20mm RSB

Quote, originally posted by elwesso »

jeez dude be patient

Hahaha NO!!! I want 5-speed!!!

I though the video was up that's why you posted.

I=FAIL for patience.

Good going. Now on to a 6 speed.

Discover the power of the button!

For the record, I can lug this thing at 500 RPM going 10MPH in 5th gear going up hill and it doesnt lug, love the VH. The short throw shifter has NO play it and it feels like the bolt on a rifle..

No tunnel modifications required, however my trans is sitting a little lower in the back and appropriate shims were added to the center bearing.

I had some pre-mufflers (resonators) where the stock ones are, decided to take them out so it was a little louder... Sounds MEAN.

Drivers side exhaust (precat deleted)

Passenger side exhaust.

Closeup of slave cylinder and also a nice shot of the adapter plate

Starter and exhaust clearance, as you can see the pre-cat would have not even come close to clearing!

This shot you can see everything, you can see how we lowered the transmission a little less than an inch so that it would clear the tunnel..

Bottom view directly under the transmisison. the bolts on the very bottom hold the factory dust shield and lower brackets on

Driveshaft (ooooh, shiney!!)

Master Cylinder where cruise control used to be (sorry its so messy looking)

its straight forward to remove the trans.

...and your starter needs a heat shield.

It seems like anytime anyone mentioned swapping a Q for a manual transmission everyone yelled "illegal!". Very tight. Very nice, Wes.

Quote, originally posted by elwesso »

Yeah it was an RB25... I dont like counting that since it wasnt the VH45

Indeed, and that one looked to have been gutted. Yours appears to have -everything- still in tact. I can't wait to see this in PA. I think everyone here has been waiting years for someone to pull off a VH45 manual. The sound of the VH makes me SO happy.

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!!

AWESOME! 1/4 and 0-60 estimates?

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?

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?

Quote, originally posted by elwesso »

I dont really see why you'd want a 6 speed, the gears for this are perfect.. The VH has so much torque adding a gear would just be adding a shift. 3rd gear is intense on the highway... For the record, I can lug this thing at 500 RPM going 10MPH in 5th gear going up hill and it doesnt lug, love the VH. The short throw shifter has NO play it and it feels like the bolt on a rifle.. No tunnel modifications required, however my trans is sitting a little lower in the back and appropriate shims were added to the center bearing.

Did you ever come to a final conclusion on whether you have a stock rear gear or not?

Stock '94-'96 Q45 4AT:
1: 2.569
2: 1.479
3: 1.000
4: 0.694

Z32 5MT:
1: 3.214
2: 1.925
3: 1.302
4: 1.000
5: 0.752

Here's a nice tool for comparing gearing data:
http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html
It's a 4x4 calculator, so plug in a 1 in one of the transfer case ranges and leave the doubler fields (step 3) empty.

Quote, originally posted by PBfrEAk »

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

Quote, originally posted by BadQ45t »

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)

Quote, originally posted by mcheddadi »

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...

Quote, originally posted by qsiguy »

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.

Quote, originally posted by maxnix »

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!!!

Wes installed more gear in his car via the trans....11.36 Starting ratio

Anytime you get lose to 12 to 1 thats about optimum for a street car.

I forgot his first geat for the auto? about 2.50? If so

he had about 8.85 ratio before....

thats numerically not exact because the torque convertor does mutiply gear as well.

My Q has a numeric ratio of around 12 to 1.....4.37 times the 2.75 first gear so Wes is not far off from this gar ratio.

He said it felt fast...........same ting I have been saying........these cars need gear and although he did not do it in the rear he did it in the trans which is even better because he still has a good highway gear.

As far as the ujoints are concerned I would not be concerned about them unless there is a vbration........drive it and enjoy it.......I might be inclined to check the angles with an angle finder from stock atutomatic to the stick juts to see what you did...

The 1310 joint although not the gorrila joint a 1350 series is its more than needed for these little engines.

They are self lubricating so I am not sure what the angle has to do with anything...

Good job and I hope you dont have any wheel hop...thats going to be interesting and after you work out the bugs I would be curious about speedshifting and how that works out.

Also I would be up for a drag race at the local drag strip...be interesting comparison with both cars having the same starting line advantage

Good job guys and I hope yo enjoy it!

I have a little vibration I need to get rid of, i think shimming the carrier bearing should take care of it.

But thanks for making me do one more thing to my car (add a 5 speed) or at least a double clutch tranny or paddle shifters with the TCU that goes to it.

you are THE man!

P.