Transmission swap

[theOmni]

Hello, everyone! First time posting on this very useful forum (I have been reading posts and stuff before fromt he shadows)

I'm 17 years old, and I got my driving license about 4 or 5 months ago. I drive a 1990 Toyota Camry which is an automatic, and I was hoping sawp the transmission with a manual trans.
I just had a few questions: To know if it's really worth doing what Im doing (I've never driven a manual before, and I don't want to waste $7,000+ with a car), and my main question is about how much will changing the transmission cost on average?

Thanks.

[idmetro]

Omni;
Welcome to AF! First suggestion: learn to drive a manual before you make your decision. You might not care for it as much as you think you will. Not sure what you do to earn your cash but unless it's herding cats or some other wickedly frustrating job I'd say you would be better off shopping for a car with a manual trans and forget about the conversion. It will take more time effort and $$$ than a 1990 Camry is worth on the open market. Now if you want to do it strictly for the education then I would suggest getting a "donor" car that had a bad body/engine but was a manual trans setup as you will need the transmission, clutch and brake pedal setups, drive axles, mounts and probably the ECM at the minimum. I'm sure it has been done and you might be able to find more information using the search function on the forum. As for me I'd just get a manual car if that is what you really want.

[theOmni]

I really appreciate the time you spent helping me out. I asked a friend regarding this, he told me that auto shops do this for about $200 to $400.

Instead of buying a car for about $7,000, I'd like to extend my use over my Camry for a fraction of that price.

[idmetro]

Omni;
Perhaps I misunderstood your question. I understood you wanted to explore changing your car from an automatic transmission to a manual transmission: correct? You understand that an automatic and a manual transmission are not directly interchangeable; right?
From your latest post I get the impression that what you are referring to is simply replacing the automatic transmission in your car as a way of extending the cars useful life. This makes far more sense to me. I think your friends $$ estimate to have a shop do the work is a bit low unless he is talking strictly about the labor involved. I'd suggest calling around to get a feel for what the cost is in your area.

[Daniel M. Dreifus]

Originally Posted by theOmni

Hello, everyone! First time posting on this very useful forum (I have been reading posts and stuff before fromt he shadows)

I'm 17 years old, and I got my driving license about 4 or 5 months ago. I drive a 1990 Toyota Camry which is an automatic, and I was hoping sawp the transmission with a manual trans.
Thanks.

=====================
Be sure to check out this page:

http://www.tt-cc.com/ratko/swap/index.html


to see photos and a detailed description of parts, methods, and costs necessary to change from automatic to manual transmission.

Proves if you're sufficiently determined, it can be done.

He used a lot of salvage yard parts to keep costs down.

Seems to me it would be simpler to sell the automatic and buy the manual.