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So many nay-sayers, but how many of "them" really wrench?
OP, give it a shot.
Sounds like an interesting project if you have the time and enthusiasm.
I've converted several MOPARS both directions, much easier on them though since no ECU and vastly simplified systems.
Have fun.
Based on the responses, it seems there are more people in favor of doing it if the price is right.
Keeping tally...
- one person asked how much the Tiptronic car was to understand whether he would come out ahead
- one person who didn't read and thought he already bought the Tiptronic and told him to sell it
- three people who said go for it
- one person who's done it and said don't do it
- another asked why? (because he wants to)
- one serial poster who agreed he's crazy (per thread title) and to see other comments (which a majority said go for it, not don't do it)
- another two that said do it
- one that said a transmission will cost him $30K
I'll also say go for it if the car is under $30k as originally implied. I deduced that based on the fact that he said he presumed he could get a manual for 45-50k and that if a tip-to-manual conversion would cost him 15-20k, he would still come out ahead.
Hell, if someone can pull a Porsche out of a pond that has sat underwater in mud for years and completely rebuild it, I don't see why this topic is so controversial. If the price is right, do it.
Based on the responses, it seems there are more people in favor of doing it if the price is right.
Keeping tally...
- one person asked how much the Tiptronic car was to understand whether he would come out ahead
- one person who didn't read and thought he already bought the Tiptronic and told him to sell it
- three people who said go for it
- one person who's done it and said don't do it
- another asked why? (because he wants to)
- one serial poster who agreed he's crazy (per thread title) and to see other comments (which a majority said go for it, not don't do it)
- another two that said do it
- one that said a transmission will cost him $30K
I'll also say go for it if the car is under $30k as originally implied. I deduced that based on the fact that he said he presumed he could get a manual for 45-50k and that if a tip-to-manual conversion would cost him 15-20k, he would still come out ahead.
Hell, if someone can pull a Porsche out of a pond that has sat underwater in mud for years and completely rebuild it, I don't see why this topic is so controversial. If the price is right, do it.
+++1
An Indy in Moenchengladbach in Germany did more of conversions as you can imagine, mostly all on reimports from the States. Today his storage is the main source of cheap Tiptronic gearboxes. And here todays main obstacle starts .... there are not much manual gearboxes left on the market, and they get traded by ridiculous prices (asking price up to > $15K) for stuff with no history ....
If your motivation is to save money by buying a cheap car and converting it...I think you'll find that those savings are eaten up quickly in the cost of conversion and the inevitable headaches to follow. Not to mention the other problems you are buying with a cheap car.
If your motivation is to make a special car perfect -- that makes some sense to me. If I had a Vesuvio C2S with Tip -- it's not like I could easily find another Vesuvio with manual. Converting that otherwise rare car is something I'd very strongly consider.
I converted my C4S to RWD. It was more expensive than I planned and it was pretty involved. But it worked great and the car drives beautifully. I didn't want to sell my C4S because I'd done a lot of work to it and I had an emotional attachment to the car.
Manual conversion is more involved and more expensive than a RWD conversion, but you get my point.
So many nay-sayers, but how many of "them" really wrench?
OP, give it a shot.
Sounds like an interesting project if you have the time and enthusiasm.
I've converted several MOPARS both directions, much easier on them though since no ECU and vastly simplified systems.
Have fun.
I may not "wrench" but I've read a few descriptions and see the scope of what is entailed to pull the swap off. It's silly. I mean if there were not another manual transmission in the world.... maybe.... but there are plenty of manuals out there for the taking at all different price points and all different conditions. To 'give it a shot', not being completely sure of the end result seems like a bit of a risk... spend good money after bad, to end up with a finished product that 99% of the people looking to buy these cars would consider a molested mess.
I'm always supportive of guys wanting to tackle a project. In this case, he does not own the car yet, so why buy a car to swap transmissions when you can simply buy what you want in the first place? I think being honest could save him from making a big mistake.
going thru this conversion myself right now on a c2 964
got the box from carquip in CO - great deal on a low mile box
got most of other stuff from brian at einmalig
shop doing the work is Rennsport in Sealy, TX
When I had this swap done (2010) I bought a donor car to get the trans, pedal assembly, and all other bits and pieces. The donor car was such a beautiful car that I ended up doing the swap both ways. For awhile my wife drove the donor targa with the tiptronic swap and thought about keeping it and selling her Boxster. In the end we sold the tiptronic targa (full disclosure) through a broker to a buyer in Germany.
For the swap I bought an extra interior harness to get all the factory switches, connectors and wiring for the clutch/brake logic circuits and bought the piece of electrical harness for the six speed trans. I had the speedometers worked to get the six speed speedometer in the C2S and the tip speedometer (w/gear indicator) in the targa with the correct bezels and mileage. I bought a new six speed engine ECU to get rid of the CEL (no tiptronic status) but later learned Steve Weiner could have reprogrammed the original ECU. Today I don’t think you could tell that my car didn’t come from the factory with the manual unless you look at the options list.
I am thinking about selling my car and have offered it to a few people who have mentioned that they are looking for a C2S. Very small-sample size intuition tells me that 10% or less of people who are looking to buy a C2S would consider buying a car with a trans swap. That doesn't hurt my feelings at all. Knowing what I put into this one I would be VERY wary of buying one that I was not intimately familiar with.
I bought my Tip from a respected P Owner in SoCal. I have other vehicles that I can row through the gears. I love to let others drive my 993. I don't want to teach them how do it properly.
02-03-2021, 01:10 AM
