frifox

for past few days i've been deep on internet and this forum looking for an answer, and couldnt find one... either my google-fu skills are failing me or i was just not looking in the right places. anyways, here's the deal,

i know exactly what i'll be ending up with, Nissan S14 with SR20DET engine. now, how to get there is a different matter. options are to buy S14 with manual tranny (those go for $3.5k - $6k here depending on miles and how clean the body is) and then simply upgrade to SR20DET (can get full swap for $1.8k - $2.5k). other option is to get S14 with auto tranny (those are $2.2k - 4k, also depending on the car's condition) and then do auto-to-5speed conversion with SR20DET.

with some math it seems that it would be cheaper to get S14 with auto and then do auto-to-5speed & SR20DET upgrade at the same time, roughly ending up with spending $4k - $5k for all which is about a $1k+ cheaper than getting manual and then doing SR20DET upgrade some time later.

problem is that i have no idea how hard/expensive is and what it takes to do an stock-auto => 5speed/sr20det conversion. thats why i'm here for some advice in your opinion, would it worth the money & time/labor getting a cheaper auto and then moving to 5speed/sr20det? if it does, how much cheaper it would be?

thanks for the answers! getting s14 was my dream for ages and since financially its a reality now i cant wait to get down to business my poor FWD dodge stratus is one-leg into its grave from all that drifting (technically 'powersliding') for past 4 years, lol

drift freaq

Ah get the auto, you get over half the 5 speed swap parts with your SR20 clip especially if you buy a s14 SR because it will come with the right speed sensor unless you happen to buy a very early s14 which would be OBDI.

Your SR clip might even come with the driveshaft as well. At which point all you would to do is get a main clutch line, clutch and brake pedal, or cut your auto brake pedal .

Plus Auto cars are usually cleaner than the 5 speed ones. People beat on 5 speed cars more.

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HYPNOTIK

Get the auto. My last 3 cars started life as auto's and got swapped. +1 about autos being cleaner too. Another bonus is if you're not very comfortable working on cars it will give you a chance to get acquainted with the S-Chassis, very easy to work on.

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dOMEmE

i agree with them, get the auto... my s13 was auto and sent it to the shop to get a SR swap and they did the 5 speed swap as well because its included on the clip anyway.

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Ceepo

I did my 5 speed swap when i did my sr swap to my car, i just had to get a clutch master/slave, clutch pedal, driveshaft, and i got a braided stainless steel clutch line it was super easy

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DALAZ_68

i actually have an Sr bellhousing im gonna sell soon that im not using since i only need the gear box assembly for my CA...lol

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frifox

thanks everybody for the feedback... after doing more research it seems like auto => 5speed-SR20DET really is the best choice here

would a right-hand-drive front clip work without problems when swapping into left-hand-drive?

now the other roadblock i'm hearing about all over are the problems with getting sr's legalized. hopefully i'll get away with it since my friend lives in the area where they STILL don't do emission testing and are very shallow on the laws (mid-oregon). with some luck seems like i'll be able to get it legalized since he already have done similar with other cars that otherwise got refused in the neighboring city (Portland, OR). and even then if things don't work out, i'll just register it with stock engine, do the swap, and then just take my chances