What would you do in this situation?

[Wuss]

From a financial and overall "headache" factor, what would you do?

Here's the situation, and all with an SR20 / RB20 swap in mind, which donor car would you pick?

choice 1. a s13 or POSSIBLY an s14 in excellent condition inside and out, hardly any ( if any ) reconditioning needed to the actual car. The catch is that it's an automatic, and you'd have to deal with the transmission conversion at the time of the motorswap.

choice 2. Get an s13 with a manual so you don't have to deal with an auto->manual conversion at time of swap. Catch is that the body needs to be worked on. You're probably looking at 1 or 2 body panels that need to be replaced, possibly some minor rust ( typically on the spoiler mounts ) and car would probably benefit a lot from a respray. Interior, is not to bad, just musty and a crack here and there.

Given these 2 choices, which would you rather deal with financially and stress-factor ? The automatic conversion, or working on the body?

Thanks for any input.

[Rockenreno]

I'd do choice 1, i don't think the transmission swap with the motor is too big a deal. Plus a beat up car is always a hassle to fix.

[Samabra]

I'd say go with numero uno. I have a car that is pretty beat up and **** just keeps failing on this car. I've done a complete engine swap, and just now I'm realizing that the brakes are shot, the suspension is shot, the interior wiring all needs to be reworked, and the list goes on. I'd say save yourself money and hassle and get a car in good condition. Chris

[DrNick3050]

How much would it cost to do choice number 1?

[Wuss]

From what I've researched, approx. 300 for the parts, and anywhere from 300-600 additional on the install ( i dont have the tools or time to do it myself. )

The body fix costs would be unknown, for arguements sake, lets say the same ( althought it would be probably be more ).

[lessthanjakejohn]

How much would it cost to do choice number 1?

4500-6000 depending on the accesories chosen

[Ace]

I was in your same boat. I chose number 1. I am totally happy. When you have a nice fast car that is the tops. The extra parts for the auto to manual is pretty easy to get at a wrecking yard. I can give you a list if you email me of what will be needed. Since your doing a SR swap it is very cheap and not much more labor. If you are just converting to a manual from automatic KA then it is not worth the money. E-mail me if any questions.