Manual Conversion (SC400)

[jibbby]

Go Xirforever - I am your biggest fan if you can pull this off... The V160 is going to be a very nice manual tranny... They shift oh so smoothe, nice long 1rst gear and of course the six speed tranny is nice for top speeds and good gas mileage while cruising the freeway...

Your probably going to have to mate the Supra TT manual tranny differential up with the V160 because the gearing won't match up right if you still have the SC400 stock differential gearing in... The Supra TT manual Torsen LSD is a bigger differential all together that will need some custom work to properly fit on the SC4... I am sure you already know this...

GO MAN GO!!!!!!

Curious what do you project this project to cost you if you don't mind me asking?

 

[scotturnot]

I bet he going to save a boat load of cash compared to me because he is doing his own clutch set up and I am using the Quartermaster$$$$. I also bought a complete MKIV 6 speed drivetrane from clutch all the way to the rear brakes. It came as a complete rear subframe so that should simplify things. I just scored a complete used sc300 pedal set and shifter bezel and close ot boot today so that is going to help a bunch. Just One major purchase to go and that is the clutch flywheel then I'm ready to rock too!

Later,
Scott Marshall

 

[xirforever]

WDoherty: they do offer what i believe is a bolt on triple disc 3,000$ setup. No doubt it is very nice, but not what im looking for

Jibby: Yeah pretty excited! Although its about driving me crazy... im taking the opportunity to do a couple things to my car while its apart, and between this and all the other projects i find myself running errands for the past 3 weeks everyday. Its always something.... uggg. I will be running the supra LSD diff, in fact i have myself a nice 3.266 geared differential . Cost? too much, i started adding things up one day and it got a little rediculous. I figure somewhere around 6k. Tranny, diff, and axles were 4+k alone.

Hey scott, wish the best of luck to you! ill keep you updated on how things will physically fit together along with wiring. Id like to start some kind of mock up on the transmission mount (undoubtedly it wont bolt up like stock) while im waiting on the flywheel, but i dont own a cherry picker and honestly i dont have time yet to mess with it. Itll happen soon though! Will you be doing the install yourself scott?

 

[scotturnot]

WDoherty: they do offer what i believe is a bolt on triple disc 3,000$ setup. No doubt it is very nice, but not what im looking for

Jibby: Yeah pretty excited! Although its about driving me crazy... im taking the opportunity to do a couple things to my car while its apart, and between this and all the other projects i find myself running errands for the past 3 weeks everyday. Its always something.... uggg. I will be running the supra LSD diff, in fact i have myself a nice 3.266 geared differential . Cost? too much, i started adding things up one day and it got a little rediculous. I figure somewhere around 6k. Tranny, diff, and axles were 4+k alone.

Hey scott, wish the best of luck to you! ill keep you updated on how things will physically fit together along with wiring. Id like to start some kind of mock up on the transmission mount (undoubtedly it wont bolt up like stock) while im waiting on the flywheel, but i dont own a cherry picker and honestly i dont have time yet to mess with it. Itll happen soon though! Will you be doing the install yourself scott?

Yeah, all the details would be great. I am interested to see if the shifter reall comes through the tunnel in the correct location. Did you see on CL the post about the adaptor for the 154 tranny? Too late for both of us, but were going to like our 6 speeds much better.

On the install, I will be doing it myself, theres not much I pay someone else to do. GL with the swap.

Scott

 

[xirforever]

Yeah, all the details would be great. I am interested to see if the shifter reall comes through the tunnel in the correct location. Did you see on CL the post about the adaptor for the 154 tranny? Too late for both of us, but were going to like our 6 speeds much better.

On the install, I will be doing it myself, theres not much I pay someone else to do. GL with the swap.

Scott

Yeah honestly, that will be a moment of truth with the shifter, i measured both trannies and shifter area taking everything into consideration, and it should be very close. I did see the post about the adapter plates, but even if they had come out before i had bought all my v160 stuff i still would not have done it. You're right, we will enjoy the v160 much better

Glad to hear you will be doing the install!

 

[jibbby]

Xirforever - I know the Supra's and SC400's both share the same subframes, so I was wondering did the V160 tranny bolt right in or did you make some custom mods to make it fit just rignt? Like; Tap and drill fitment holes, driveshaft fitment, distances and fitment issues from Iuz-fe motor to tranny and pre mounts, rearrangement of exhaust piping, etc... I have a good idea on what's involved with the clutch assembly fitment..

Do you think you will have any possible ECU conflictions with the swap?

 

[xirforever]

jibby, you should read my posts more closely, I have not test fitted the tranny with engine in the car yet, so i cannot answer any of those questions. I will however keep you guys updated on all the important stuff like that!

I havent thought too deeply about the wiring yet, though there is only one VSS on the v160 and the 1uz engine harness needs two. Ill do some researching when im ready for that part.

 

[jibbby]

Xir - I did read the entire thread and it's a good one... I really thought maybe you would have done some closer measuring and a bit of noising around to see what your up against, or maybe I was hoping you had done some further progress since...No biggie...

Anyway, keep us all posted and good luck, I really hope it all works out well for you!!!!!....

Off topic just a bit, but I too have been contemplating this swap for some time now, but when I got to thinking about the magnatude of the swap that you are doing I thought maybe it would be alot easier and cost effective to purchase a decent manual SC300 and swap in a cheap 1uz-fe motor instead. Then get the needed adaptor, mounts, ECU, etc.. Then get an SC400 trunk hood at the yards and then call it a manual SC400... I am sure the swap upgrade to a V160 later on down the road if warranted would be much more manageable with all the hardware for a manual tranny already in place, no?...What are your thoughts on that idea? Good or Bad?

Oh, that was the reason I asked you how much you had spent so far on this project...Just a short time ago I thinking of purchasing a manual SC300 then swapping all my SC400 engine and mod crap onto that SC300, then piece together the left over SC300 afterwards and try and sell it get back some of the money spent..

 

[scotturnot]

Xir - I did read the entire thread and it's a good one... I really thought maybe you would have done some closer measuring and a bit of noising around to see what your up against, or maybe I was hoping you had done some further progress since...No biggie...

Anyway, keep us all posted and good luck, I really hope it all works out well for you!!!!!....

Off topic just a bit, but I too have been contemplating this swap for some time now, but when I got to thinking about the magnatude of the swap that you are doing I thought maybe it would be alot easier and cost effective to purchase a decent manual SC300 and swap in a cheap 1uz-fe motor instead. Then get the needed adaptor, mounts, ECU, etc.. Then get an SC400 trunk hood at the yards and then call it a manual SC400... I am sure the swap upgrade to a V160 later on down the road if warranted would be much more manageable with all the hardware for a manual tranny already in place, no?...What are your thoughts on that idea? Good or Bad?

Oh, that was the reason I asked you how much you had spent so far on this project...Just a short time ago I thinking of purchasing a manual SC300 then swapping all my SC400 engine and mod crap onto that SC300, then piece together the left over SC300 afterwards and try and sell it get back some of the money spent..

Wow Jibby, that sounds like a lot of work. I imagine by the time you do all that you might save a buck but my time is worth a lot to me because I get so little time to wrench. Then again switching all my mods to another car is a major undertaking in itself. I cant speak for xirforever but I would want to do the swap once and have it done.

Later

 

[jibbby]

Scott, Swaping in a manual tranny on an SC400 is no piece of cake either as you can see.....

I really don't think it's all that hard if you have an SC300 and SC400 sitting side by side ready to swap parts- Let's see you would need to drop in the 1uz-fe engine, swap and hook up all the exhaust, install the motor mounts and find an adapter, bolt it all up and that's about it...Oh and you need to swap the ECU's and all the wiring harnass crap....Really not more work then what Xir's doing, right? However, Puting the left over SC back together may take some time.....I don't think any money would be lost though after all is said and done. Maybe $500-$1000 for the adaptor and other misc crap, no?...

I was just thinking with the money Xir spending you could purchase a decent older SC300 for that amount and maybe have some mulla left over...However, you still don't get the V160 though...

Just thinking of different cost effective solutions and fun posibilities...

 

[scotturnot]

yeah I hear you, but baring the cost factor I don't feel the V160 swap will be that tough. Since I have the complete 6 speed subframe assembly, drive shaft, and tranny, that along with the complete pedal set and console bezel/boot. couple that with the adaptor ring I bought, and the quartermaster clutch. I don't know how tough it will be?

 

[xirforever]

Xir - I did read the entire thread and it's a good one... I really thought maybe you would have done some closer measuring and a bit of noising around to see what your up against, or maybe I was hoping you had done some further progress since...No biggie...

Anyway, keep us all posted and good luck, I really hope it all works out well for you!!!!!....

Off topic just a bit, but I too have been contemplating this swap for some time now, but when I got to thinking about the magnatude of the swap that you are doing I thought maybe it would be alot easier and cost effective to purchase a decent manual SC300 and swap in a cheap 1uz-fe motor instead. Then get the needed adaptor, mounts, ECU, etc.. Then get an SC400 trunk hood at the yards and then call it a manual SC400... I am sure the swap upgrade to a V160 later on down the road if warranted would be much more manageable with all the hardware for a manual tranny already in place, no?...What are your thoughts on that idea? Good or Bad?

Oh, that was the reason I asked you how much you had spent so far on this project...Just a short time ago I thinking of purchasing a manual SC300 then swapping all my SC400 engine and mod crap onto that SC300, then piece together the left over SC300 afterwards and try and sell it get back some of the money spent..

Hey Jibby, i wish i have had the opportunity to do some more measuring and whatnot. Right now I'm focusing on everything else that I'm trying to get finished so i can just concentrate on the transmission by itself. Also, i do not own a cherry picker. So i cant try and test fit stuff without it. So i need to barrow one again before i can do that. And before i borrow the engine picker i want to make sure everything else is done so i dont waste time with it, after all, it doesnt belong to me.

As for your plan, that just sounds like a bigger headache. I try to avoid wiring as much as possible, and i would not want to change the wiring for a different motor, but thats just me. Also, the SC400's have different options than the 300's, i believe things like auto tilt/telescoping steering wheel is one of them. Once im done, god willing, youll be able to better size up your options.

 

[xirforever]

Scott, Swaping in a manual tranny on an SC400 is no piece of cake either as you can see.....

I really don't think it's all that hard if you have an SC300 and SC400 sitting side by side ready to swap parts- Let's see you would need to drop in the 1uz-fe engine, swap and hook up all the exhaust, install the motor mounts and find an adapter, bolt it all up and that's about it...Oh and you need to swap the ECU's and all the wiring harnass crap....Really not more work then what Xir's doing, right? However, Puting the left over SC back together may take some time.....I don't think any money would be lost though after all is said and done. Maybe $500-$1000 for the adaptor and other misc crap, no?...

I was just thinking with the money Xir spending you could purchase a decent older SC300 for that amount and maybe have some mulla left over...However, you still don't get the V160 though...

Just thinking of different cost effective solutions and fun posibilities...

I donno, i really dont think youll be saving any money, the only thing i have bought that came from an sc300 is the clutch pedal assembly and brake pedal. The costs are from the supra parts, and custom parts. You would kind of just be swapping parts for no reason. Everything you need is in the sc400 except all the parts i just mentioned, which 99% arent in the SC300.

 

[xirforever]

yeah I hear you, but baring the cost factor I don't feel the V160 swap will be that tough. Since I have the complete 6 speed subframe assembly, drive shaft, and tranny, that along with the complete pedal set and console bezel/boot. couple that with the adaptor ring I bought, and the quartermaster clutch. I don't know how tough it will be?

It wont be too bad, except for wiring, transmission mounting, and driveshaft

 

[jibbby]

I hear you Xir and Scott....

Xir - I know there are some other structual differences between the SC400's and SC300's that not too many people know about and that is that the rearend spindles and holding bars are not as stout on the SC300's as they are on the SC400's...Everything is just a bit smaller and weaker on sc300's so you do have a good point...

Just throwing some thoughts out there....

 

[xirforever]

no problem jibby, brainstorming is always good.

So im pretty sure i pushed in the pilot bearing too far... so i went to go rent a pilot bearing puller from autozone and its too big to fit through the hole in the bearing. Fun stuff. My friend says he might have a smaller puller so we will see. I came to the conclusion that i pushed it in too far because the shaft only goes about 2mm into the bearing, which makes sense after you take into account the two thick metal plates being used that offset the tranny farther from the engine. Hope i can bring that sucker back out a bit.

 

[xirforever]

so i have made a little bit of progress, i did a test fit today, modified the transmission tunnel, and made measurements for the needed modifications to the transmission mounting plate. Also the clutch lines are done, clutch setup is about to be done, and im having some subframe and differential mounts made from either delrin or poly (haven't decided yet). Pictures will come later, but holy cow was that motor/tranny a PITA to get back in.....

Im still trying to decide what angle the tranny needs to be at, its hard to decide what is the most straight when there is no diff in the car... lol. I can always add spacers though when that time comes. I do know its most important to be straight with the chassis however.

Also, im almost finished with my custom tub in the rear that will be show quality, and will be the home for my sub woofer amp, and my battery (best place for the battery, as low as possible!

I have been doing other things to the body, but ill let that speak for itself when its done

Stay tuned....

 

[scotturnot]

Cant wait! I plan on starting mine soon. Did the shifter come through the stock console position?

 

[jibbby]

Sounds good Xir.....

 

[canman44]

Hey fellow lexus owner I recently bought a 92 SC400 and my biggest gripe is the lack of a manual option. Eventually I plan on doing a similar conversion. I have heard that it can be done w/ a w58 or v160. This is a very interesting thread and I have yet to read it all. Thanks for the info guys.