~SC~
10-06-2005, 09:11 PM
Day 1:
1:00pm pst
Today I'm deciding to get the manual brake pedal in, and have all the holes drilled for the clutch pedal and master cylinder. This is pretty much the hardest part in the conversion process. I've purchased an angle drill and bit holder for a little over $30.00 from Orchard supply. Try not to scratch these items or damage the package, because you can return them afterwards :thefinger . I also purchased a large hole drill bit that's 1 and 1/4 inch; this is to drill the large hole for the master cylinder to go in.
I started on the brake pedal first since that's a bit easier than the clutch pedal. All you have to do it replace the brake pedal itself, and not the entire pedal and base assembly. OH! Make sure you remove the front driver seat, because it's almost impossible to remove the parts being that the bolts are so high up. You don't want to break your neck :sad: . Have a work light on the side too. There's a 14mm bolt, and a 14mm nut that goes over the bolt. These hold the brake pedal in place. It's really hard to get to this nut and bolt. You need a to remove the speed sensor black box, because it gets in the way. There's also a whilte control box opposite from the speed box; you'll see as you get underneath the dash. Remove that as well because it'll give you more room to losen the bolt and nut from the brake pedal. You also have to remove a stop pin and spring from the brake pedal. That's the easy part. It was a pain in the ass to get to the main nut and bolt to remove the brake pedal. There was barely any leverage, and the nut was so damn tight. After removing the brake pedal and replacing it with the manual pedal, just use reverse instructions. It's much easier for some reason to get the pedal back on.
It took me about an hour to do the brake pedal.
Now my next plan is to drill out the holes for the clutch pedal. Now the clutch pedal you definitely need the entire assembly, pedal and base. Underneath the dash you'll see some pre-drilled markings for the clutch pedal. This is when the the angle drill comes into play. Even with the angle drill it was still a pain in the ass to drill the holes. Again, there was not much leverage; you have to hold the drill and push the angle drill with your other hand. I did manage to get the 2 holes punched. The hardest hole was the center hole, where the clutch master cylinder goes through. I used the 1 and 1/4 hole drill bit and it was not easy at all. Luckily, the pre-drilled markings were pretty thin so I did manage to get the big hole done as well. The next part I did was fit the clutch master cylinder from under the hood. You'll see the holes clearly; it's right next to the brake master cylinder. It went through the large hole perfectly, and so did the studs as well. I had a bit of time left and decided to test fit the entire clutch pedal assembly also. It turns out that the 2 holes where the studs go through from the clutch master cylinder was too small. The clutch pedal assembly has to go through these 2 holes first underneath the dash, and then the master connects with it from under the hood. That's when I stoped working on the car. I will have to purchase a larger drill bit tomorrow to drill out the holes even larger. After that the clutch pedal should go in fine from underneath the dash.
Process stopped approx 4:30pm pst.
Working on the clutch pedal and punching the holes took me roughly 2 in a half hours. I scratched up my hands pretty good :wtf: . That's how difficult the process was. I don't mean to discourage anyone from doing the swap, but be prepared to spend some time on the clutch pedal and brake pedal. It's really a pain in the ass, but not to the point where you should sell your auto and purchase a manual :nuts: . Try not to have your mechanic do the work for you, because he'll charge grip :doh: Do it yourself. You'll save tons on money just on this part of the swap.
I should be spending another good hr. in a half tomorrow to finish up on the clutch pedal, plus placing all the control boxes back in place from underneath the dash as well as the driver seat back on.
After this part is completed, everything else should be pretty easy/mechanic friendly. This is when I have to wait for my buddy to give me the go, and I'll head over to his shop on a Saturday after he closes for the day. We'll be working from 6:30 pm until probably about 10pm. From what I can see, I should be able to finish the complete swap by Sunday. I will then have to remove the entire exhaust system in order to remove the entire drive shaft. I'll be replacing it with a 5spd manual driveshaft from the sc300. Then out comes the auto tranny and lines. I'll also have to remove the entire center console in order to remove the auto shifter and everything else below it. I will also have to punch a hole in the trans tunnel large enough so that the manual shifter will go right through. Other than that, just some simple 3 wire plug and play for the speed sensor, and to modify 2 wires for the reverse light, I should be good to go.
Mainly I just want to get people to think about this swap. I find that there are many out there who's done this particular swap, but refuses to help others. It's like a secret they don't want to share or something. This auto to manual sc300 swap has been talked about many times from different threads, but never did anyone talk much about the entire process. I hate it when people try to discourage others, and tell them to sell their auto and purchase a manual instead. That's a good point, but only if the swap is simply rediculous, but it's not! What's more funny is the fact that these people either own a manual already, or know nothing about the 5spd swap :rl: . In any case, so here's your chance to learn :ylsuper: .
See you tomorrow :beer: .
1:00pm pst
Today I'm deciding to get the manual brake pedal in, and have all the holes drilled for the clutch pedal and master cylinder. This is pretty much the hardest part in the conversion process. I've purchased an angle drill and bit holder for a little over $30.00 from Orchard supply. Try not to scratch these items or damage the package, because you can return them afterwards :thefinger . I also purchased a large hole drill bit that's 1 and 1/4 inch; this is to drill the large hole for the master cylinder to go in.
I started on the brake pedal first since that's a bit easier than the clutch pedal. All you have to do it replace the brake pedal itself, and not the entire pedal and base assembly. OH! Make sure you remove the front driver seat, because it's almost impossible to remove the parts being that the bolts are so high up. You don't want to break your neck :sad: . Have a work light on the side too. There's a 14mm bolt, and a 14mm nut that goes over the bolt. These hold the brake pedal in place. It's really hard to get to this nut and bolt. You need a to remove the speed sensor black box, because it gets in the way. There's also a whilte control box opposite from the speed box; you'll see as you get underneath the dash. Remove that as well because it'll give you more room to losen the bolt and nut from the brake pedal. You also have to remove a stop pin and spring from the brake pedal. That's the easy part. It was a pain in the ass to get to the main nut and bolt to remove the brake pedal. There was barely any leverage, and the nut was so damn tight. After removing the brake pedal and replacing it with the manual pedal, just use reverse instructions. It's much easier for some reason to get the pedal back on.
It took me about an hour to do the brake pedal.
Now my next plan is to drill out the holes for the clutch pedal. Now the clutch pedal you definitely need the entire assembly, pedal and base. Underneath the dash you'll see some pre-drilled markings for the clutch pedal. This is when the the angle drill comes into play. Even with the angle drill it was still a pain in the ass to drill the holes. Again, there was not much leverage; you have to hold the drill and push the angle drill with your other hand. I did manage to get the 2 holes punched. The hardest hole was the center hole, where the clutch master cylinder goes through. I used the 1 and 1/4 hole drill bit and it was not easy at all. Luckily, the pre-drilled markings were pretty thin so I did manage to get the big hole done as well. The next part I did was fit the clutch master cylinder from under the hood. You'll see the holes clearly; it's right next to the brake master cylinder. It went through the large hole perfectly, and so did the studs as well. I had a bit of time left and decided to test fit the entire clutch pedal assembly also. It turns out that the 2 holes where the studs go through from the clutch master cylinder was too small. The clutch pedal assembly has to go through these 2 holes first underneath the dash, and then the master connects with it from under the hood. That's when I stoped working on the car. I will have to purchase a larger drill bit tomorrow to drill out the holes even larger. After that the clutch pedal should go in fine from underneath the dash.
Process stopped approx 4:30pm pst.
Working on the clutch pedal and punching the holes took me roughly 2 in a half hours. I scratched up my hands pretty good :wtf: . That's how difficult the process was. I don't mean to discourage anyone from doing the swap, but be prepared to spend some time on the clutch pedal and brake pedal. It's really a pain in the ass, but not to the point where you should sell your auto and purchase a manual :nuts: . Try not to have your mechanic do the work for you, because he'll charge grip :doh: Do it yourself. You'll save tons on money just on this part of the swap.
I should be spending another good hr. in a half tomorrow to finish up on the clutch pedal, plus placing all the control boxes back in place from underneath the dash as well as the driver seat back on.
After this part is completed, everything else should be pretty easy/mechanic friendly. This is when I have to wait for my buddy to give me the go, and I'll head over to his shop on a Saturday after he closes for the day. We'll be working from 6:30 pm until probably about 10pm. From what I can see, I should be able to finish the complete swap by Sunday. I will then have to remove the entire exhaust system in order to remove the entire drive shaft. I'll be replacing it with a 5spd manual driveshaft from the sc300. Then out comes the auto tranny and lines. I'll also have to remove the entire center console in order to remove the auto shifter and everything else below it. I will also have to punch a hole in the trans tunnel large enough so that the manual shifter will go right through. Other than that, just some simple 3 wire plug and play for the speed sensor, and to modify 2 wires for the reverse light, I should be good to go.
Mainly I just want to get people to think about this swap. I find that there are many out there who's done this particular swap, but refuses to help others. It's like a secret they don't want to share or something. This auto to manual sc300 swap has been talked about many times from different threads, but never did anyone talk much about the entire process. I hate it when people try to discourage others, and tell them to sell their auto and purchase a manual instead. That's a good point, but only if the swap is simply rediculous, but it's not! What's more funny is the fact that these people either own a manual already, or know nothing about the 5spd swap :rl: . In any case, so here's your chance to learn :ylsuper: .
See you tomorrow :beer: .