Please help Auto vs Manuel

This is my first post and I was wondering if someone could help me. I am looking at buying a 1992 mkIII Supra Turbo. It is very clean but it is an automatic. Has anyone performed a conversion from an auto to a 5spd. I know there are two types of manuels used for the mkIII depending if its a 7M-gte or a 7M-ge, but I'm not sure how much of a process it would be to swap it out. Also is there any pros to haveing an auto vs a manuel (not like being able to eat and talk on your cell phone and drive) but performance related. Someone was telling me the auto's can hold their boost through shifts. (Btw is the auto a 4 or 5 spd). If you have any info please help. Thanks

I just realized i spelled Manual wrong 3 times

Reading is fundimental, These are from this forum alone. No biggie on the manual though. lol :p
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=174266
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=172178
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=160152

what about any pros to having an auto... what kind of performance differences am i going to notice. Also do you know if it is a 4 or 5 speed.

4 speed, not many differances between the two besides the fact that auto's are for women, girly men, or drag cars running single digit times. The auto can hold some power, not near as much as the R-154 but it'll be plenty good for most people.

would you recommend waiting for a 5spd. It seems hard to find a late 3 gen. turbo in good condition in a 5spd. By the way i would not be doing the sway myself. I really appreciate your help

*swap*

I'd definetly buy it if the price is right, 92's are hard to get ahold of. You can always swap out the trans no problem, everything is bolt in. If you had to pay someone to do the swap then that changes it alittle, most shops will charge a pretty penny even for such an easy thing. I think you should try and tackle the swap, it's not at all complicated once you get everything you need lined up.

I''m a little confused on how to do the swap, do you know of any websites that explain it in detail.

Like I've said in the other posts, the best way to learn something like this is if you start wrenching on it, a walkthrough can help some if you get stuck but you don't need it. Everything is completely bolt-in, take something off, you put something in its place. I'm sure if you follow the link to supraforums there will be one there, if not just search SF real quick and it shouldn't be hard to find, I'll try and find you one.

Thanks I really appreciate it.

I am blue booking the supra to make an offer. The supra has a "new" 7M-GTE engine. Would this increase/ decrease or not effect the value of the car. Also when I am factoring in the miles on the car, does it matter if the miles are on the car or the engine only (for blue booking purposes)? Thanks for the help!

Honestly, everything is worth exactly what your willing to pay for it, but KBB is usually a good example of market value on most cars. He's probably going to want more money because he had to buy a new engine for it so figure he paid about $1K, plus it's a 92 meaning it's rare so up the price alittle more. Don't pay some outragious price just because it's a 92, but don't except to get it for near the same price as a 87-88. I just checked KBB and it looks about right for what I would think it's worth, between $4-6K depending on the condition of it. Compare this to being able to find any earlier year turbo for $2-3K and it's really only the type of buy for a MKIII lover/enthusiast, unless you can jew him down that is. :p

Ok, the supra im looking at is burning a little rich. The mechanic said it could be a few things> either the mass air flow sensor on the intake itself, the Throttle positioning sensor, or one or both the O2 sensors. When I drive the car I feel a slight jerking motion in the higher rpm's, also it idles slightly rough. Have you ever heard heard of a problem like this with this year or engine. The engine is an attarco engine. It passed smog (in california) below the averages. Except it burns a little rich, do to the air flow reading problem. Any info would help

It could be the AFM, pull the codes to find out, if it's electrical it will show up there. If it's idling rough also then most likely it's not the O2 sensor, the sensor doesn't do squat when the car is idling and running WOT (wide open throttle). Most likely the usual tune up stuff that most people forget to do when they sell the car, plugs, wires, fuel filter, air filter, that stuff. What is an attarco engine by the way, some engine dealing/rebuilding company I assume? Also the MKIII runs pig rich naturally, probably not as rich as you describe but definetly more than most.

From what i understand an Attarco engine (not sure about the spelling) is an engine from Japan with 30-50 thousand miles on it. From what everyone says it is cheaper for them to buy a new engine than to fix the ones they have to pass their strict smog tests (something like biannual). My biggest concern is the price of the mass air flow sensor. Do you have any idea the price of one of these? It is the Karman-Vortech type I believe I dont know if that effects the price. Also I know this car is not "that" fast stock but it felt a little sluggish to me. It was raining so I couldnt really get on it but it felt a little slow even when the turbo kicked in, I guess why I'm concerned is I am coming from a 2.2L Camery and I thought I would feel more of a difference. Would the sensor problem be causing the car to run "slower" than it should? I know the turbo has tons of back pressure with the stock exhaust but still 235hp vs. 130hp...

Pull the codes first and let me know what it reads, you might not even need a AFM. 235 vs. 130 is alittle different than it sounds, your going from say a 2300lb car to a 3600lb car, the camery is also geared low for quick pickup and whatnot. Depending on what kind of work you can do buying a used JDM engine may be cheaper than a rebuild. A full rebuild will cost just under $1K while a used JDM engine and trans will run about $600-700. The rebuild will be better in the long run but a low milage engine with a HG retorque will last a long time. If you don't tear the head and the block apart and you only replace the HG then the job will only run $200-300.

Well, I went to test drive the car again (because last time it was raining) and it felt a lot more like what I expected. The feeling of a turbo kicking in is unlike anything else. But the guy was asking 6grand for the car, and I dont feel it is worth that much since it need a little work. It would be nice to have a 92' though, nice features. O well maybe it wasnt meant to be but thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. That is one reason I want to get a mk3, all the owners are like a community ... I have a feeling when I find the right one I'll have more questions for you. Thanks again

No problems man, owning the car is like belonging to a tight-knit community if you know where to go. It's unlike 99% of other cars out there, camaro guys don't wave at each other when they pass another camaro, I've only had 2 owners not wave back at me if we passed and that's only because they don't know what there in control of.