I have read through the various swap post via Search, all have suggestions to varying degrees. I have a spreadsheet with 3 phases of my planned build, I am on Phase 1, with the swap slated for Phase 3. I'd like to start collecting what I can for that time. I see 2 manual options were offered for the 84', one being from what I can tell the more desirable 4:10.
My main goal is economy first, I am keeping the Duke, freshening the suspension but enjoy a manual and would like to take advantage of my work/upgrades that a manual would offer. Is there a thread I am missing that has a checklist of needed items? I am aware a donor car is highly recommended, but I have nowhere to store such. Now finding one in a junk yard is possible, having a checklist of what to procure would make this much easier.
I know it would have been easier to find a manual car to begin with, but this car was all original, had great provenance, the engine swapped during the recall campaign and was $1200 not to mention I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing what exactly has been done to a car by doing the work myself. This car will remain in the family, I plan to gift it to my son when he turns 16, so the cost in my opinion is justified. Much cheaper than a note or someone else's Craigslist headache.
I see 2 manual options were offered for the 84', one being from what I can tell the more desirable 4:10.
My main goal is economy first, I am keeping the Duke, freshening the suspension but enjoy a manual and would like to take advantage of my work/upgrades that a manual would offer.
For economy, the 4.10 4-speed IS NOT the transmission you'd want. Get a 5-speed manual from any year - the Dukes came hitched to Isuzu trannys. Get the Isuzu and all the related parts - flywheel, clutch, axles, cables, pedals, shifter etc.
I did an auto to 5-speed in my Indy (used a Getrag because my SD4 has more horsepower). See about 1/2 way down page. Not a 100% writeup, but gives you an idea on what's involved. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/F...3/HTML/000077-3.html
Spoke with the Fiero Factory, they have almost all you need for swap for $1500. I am going to assume this could be done junkyard shopping for half? For reference the charge about $2500 for a turn key swap, "almost" worth it for the convenience alone but crazy stupid money to put into a daily driver, or Fiero for that matter.
Plus the satisfaction of doing it yourself. I have some time before I get to this stage, so I'll keep researching to get the best deal on parts.
I'm in the middle of a manual to auto swap so I could hook you up with a steel clutch pedal, master cylinder, adjustable banjo and rebuilt slave cylinder with the MR2 swap. This slave is from a muncie 4 speed out of an 85 GT so I'm not sure what other trans it fits although I think they're the same as the Izusu slave. PM me if you're interested.
If you go from the automatic to the 4:10 4-speed, your fuel economy will diminish greatly and will overwork the engine. The automatic actually has better gearing than the 4:10. The advise to drop in the Isuzu or Getrag would be best. Other than transmission, slave and throwout bearing, shifter and cables, all else is the same.
Spoke with the Fiero Factory, they have almost all you need for swap for $1500. I am going to assume this could be done junkyard shopping for half? For reference the charge about $2500 for a turn key swap, "almost" worth it for the convenience alone but crazy stupid money to put into a daily driver, or Fiero for that matter.
You must be new to the hobby? $2,500 is nothing. It's easy to spend that much without even trying. I went from an auto to a six speed. I'm embarrassed to tell you how much that cost.
I have the 4:10 gears on my Indy and the suck big time. IMHO 4:10 gears should only be on trucks. In a car, they try and trick you into thinking you have more power than you do, because you get off the line quicker, but the trick doesn't last long when you hit the redline in first gear and you are going a whopping 10 mph.
I wouldn't say new, like the $11K I put in my 71' Yamaha R5 two stroke or the 20+ other "odd" cars, trucks and SUV's I've owned. I meant silly on the surface by investing that in car still not worth barely $2500 when done. Except maybe to us.....
Like I said, I rather do it myself, not only to save, but to have sweat equity.
I found a local 4 speed from a 86' V6, will it fit/work? They're asking $175, tested good, 30 day warranty 121K miles. They think they have the whole car, hopefully I can snag a few trim pieces.
Seems a bit pricey. The Isuzu 5 speed from the 85-88 Duke would be a much better choice. Jeremy at thethe Fiero Factory should have something in stock. He is just across the Alabama line from you. Overall ratio for the 4 speed is 2.96, for the 5 speed it is 2.48, the gearing in the lower gears is also better matched to the Duke's power band. Get the proper tranny, not the place to save a few bucks as it will affect the long term operating cost of the vehicle.
$650 for a Fiero transmission? Is it New Old Stock? No wonder they have redirected their business toward other vehicles.
It would be a good choice to go with Rodney's master and slave. If the car hasn't been sitting too long and you can get underneath it, you could pull the fluid line for use and to familiarize yourself with how it's routed and attached to the body. If unsuccessful, The Fiero Store has the 87-88 Generation 2 clutch fluid line for about the same price as your transmission. Again, pricey, but it's the only source of new.
BTW, be sure to get the ECM. Your automatic ECM won't run the manual setup.
$650 for a Fiero transmission? Is it New Old Stock? No wonder they have redirected their business toward other vehicles.
It would be a good choice to go with Rodney's master and slave. If the car hasn't been sitting too long and you can get underneath it, you could pull the fluid line for use and to familiarize yourself with how it's routed and attached to the body. If unsuccessful, The Fiero Store has the 87-88 Generation 2 clutch fluid line for about the same price as your transmission. Again, pricey, but it's the only source of new.
BTW, be sure to get the ECM. Your automatic ECM won't run the manual setup.
Not sure but I thought that was pretty high for a used unit, even if it has low mileage.
BTW, be sure to get the ECM. Your automatic ECM won't run the manual setup.
Other way around. ECM doesn't control anything on a manual transmission, so he can use what he has. It's when you're swapping manual to auto that you need the automatic's ECM to control the torque convertor lockup function.
[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 02-15-2014).]
Doesn't the automatic ECM look for input from the transmission? Would it have any effect if it wasn't getting that info? Aren't the lookup tables different in the manual and auto ECM? Never owned an auto, so I don't know how they're wired.
Doesn't the automatic ECM look for input from the transmission? Would it have any effect if it wasn't getting that info? Aren't the lookup tables different in the manual and auto ECM? Never owned an auto, so I don't know how they're wired.
Nope. ECM controls the automatic's TCC based on engine inputs.
