Alternative manual gearbox

[fla 9]

Thinking of the auto to manual conversion on my C, but seeing so many boxes available for sale makes me wonder whether its best to get the normal VR box or the Seat Leon or other available. What else would be suitable and what would be a list of required items?

 

Thanks

H

[fla 9]

Well chaps? What else would fit and what would be needed? My thoughts are rather than doing a major conversion to a standard VR box why not put in a better performance item, unless the standard box is fantastically great. Cash is the other issue - just been told by "she who must be obeyed" that we need some money for the house so i will be on a tight budget - like about £4-500 all in. A mate of a mate says he will take about £250 to help me dismantle and reinstall if it can be done in about 2 days. With that in mind, I can afford £250 for all the required hardware.

[G60Jet 1]

I dont know if it would fit but VW have just developed a new auto gearbox that better than a manual, its called the DSG or something. if your loaded, it would be a corrado first!!

 

what you need is basically the front end of a Late VR6, engine gearbox and loom, and do a complete swap selling the left over parts, if you are clever you could make a small profit, However if you are droping a second hand gearbox in, unless its only done less than 50k you'd need to get it rebuilt just to be sure.

 

Im guessing that you will need to replace the drive shafts too.

[fla 9]

Okay, looks like some trips to the scrappy nless someone knows of any good bashed (??) Cs. Budget is critical for me at present, so my £500 is really top end. How much for a box rebuild anyway?

[fla 9]

Dinkus?

[Henny 0]

a reasonable gearbox rebuild can be had for about £500... cheaper ones are available, but I wouldn't trust 'em too much to be honest... :|

[fla 9]

Mmm, so that on its own pushes me to the budget limit. Unless there is a low mileage box that someone knows about that doesnt need a rebuild. Is it only the VR box that is best suited or are there any others that will match, like a valver or G60?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah the Dinkus option is ideal. All the stuff you need (box, cables, pedal box, clutch etc) is there in one big pile. Would save you the hassle of trawling around the breakers for all those bits seperately. Dinkus' box was pretty good IIRC.

 

Your ECU might be slightly different being an Auto too, not sure. Again, Dinkus' car is ideal!

 

Think he's on holiday at the momen?

[MikeVR6 0]

The car's ECU should be the same as a manual.

Autos have their own separate ECU for the gearbox.

 

Storm's writeup will give you an idea of what's involved.

http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic. ... highlight=

As G60Jet says, look for a crashed late VR and take the front end of it.

[fla 9]

PMd Storm and he's not too far from me. He gave me a further idea of the project which seems more complex than I initially anticipated. Time is a major issue for me especially with two kids, so I may just have to use the Auto til I sell the car - dont really want to as its got beige leather, aircon and only 50k plus fsh - ie everything i want apart from the bloody auto box! And only 2 owners before me. Bit of a tricky one i guess - should i sell and buy a manual or hold on and do the conversion in a few years? Ideas welcomed.

[bcstudent 0]

I could have sworn there's another thread almost identical to this one....

[fla 9]

Yep, rather than sidetrack this thread I've put another one regarding what to do re selling & buying another in the General Car Chat section.

[fla 9]

OK so what would be a reasonable budget to get a conversion done under the two scenarios:

1. I provide the gearbox and ancillaries

2. I hand the car over and get them to supply and install everything

 

In both instances I should be able to recover a bit by selling all the auto stuff.

 

TIA

 

H

[MikeVR6 0]

Difficult to estimate. You need to work it out in man hours, then add a few hours for head scratching as I'm sure there'll be problems. Then multiply those hours by the hourly rate the mechanic charges.

 

If Storm is handy to you, you could ask him nicely to act as an advisor to the mechanic. To cut down on head scratching time. (add £40 for good bottle of whiskey) :)