proud new owner!

[golana]

well guys and gals, i just bought a 1998 toyota corolla LE limited edition! im super stoked!

i bought it threw work. i work at a bodyshop. we had this corolla come in, it was going to be a writeoff, but my boss snagged it before anyone could do anything about it. it has some decent rear end damage, but it doesnt affect the drive at all. just crunched in the trunk a bit. needs a new trunk lid, passenger side tail light and bumper. and then i have to push the passenger rear trunk area back about 3" haha! but its totally fixable, and i can do it all for free! my brother has most of the parts i need already, and for the trunk lid, i can go to pick n pull and grab one for 40$.

now, i paid 700$ for this car! its an awesome deal! it has just under 280,000km on the clock, doesnt burn a drop of oil, its automatic though so eventually im going to want to swap it out. how hard it is to swap from auto to manual?

well guys, ill be getting some pictures probably tomorrow when i start to work on it!

take care guys!

[Crowbar911]

Nice grab!

take some before and after pics.

I think its pretty involved for the tranny swap, but Buurin has done it, so he should be able to give you some help with that.

[golana]

thats alright about the tranny swap... i hate freaking autos so bad... i need to have a manual again haha

[iskate631]

backs pretty banged up, but nothing unfixable. rest looks pretty good! how is the interior

[GaryGoatse]

I heard it was very difficult to do a trany swap because you need to find a new computer and run all the linkage. I've never done one myself but my co-workers at my auto shop say its not worth it and would be cheaper and easier to just buy a new corolla that is already manual (i was asking the same question you are). If you end up doing it though i would like to see some how to pictures

[golana]

well, this weekend my bro and i went to pick n pull, and grabbed me a new trunk lid. i got it installed, and started hammering the back end straight again! ive now got the trunk closing again but she needs a tiny bit of fine tuning. so im going to borrow the porta-power jack from work (i work at a bodyshop, so i know how to do all this stuff and have access too all the tools ) and get it all perfect looking again!







i dont have any pics of the straightened rear end, i was in a hurry to put it all back together cause it was dark haha






you can see where i need to fine tune. 10 minutes with the porta power jack and ill have this thing mint again

[golana]

plans for the car include a complete debadge, and removal of the door bump trim, then dark window tint for the rear, medium for the fronts, and black out some interior pieces

[golana]

Originally Posted by iskate631

backs pretty banged up, but nothing unfixable. rest looks pretty good! how is the interior

interior is mint! its in really good shape! i was surprised!

Originally Posted by GaryGoatse

I heard it was very difficult to do a trany swap because you need to find a new computer and run all the linkage. I've never done one myself but my co-workers at my auto shop say its not worth it and would be cheaper and easier to just buy a new corolla that is already manual (i was asking the same question you are). If you end up doing it though i would like to see some how to pictures

pick n pull is my best friend. i can have all that stuff for under 200$

i cant leave anything alone haha! no matter what i own, i always have to do -something- to it to make it my own. blood sweat and tears. ive already got the simple cosmetic mods figured out, but i definitely want a 5spd. so im thinking ill take the car to my shop one weekend and do the 5spd swap. im sure i could have it done in a couple days

and i would take howto pics and probably even make a video about it. i make videos for youtube, ive done a few how-to's for my Chevy S10 and stuff. im planning on a couple more as well

[ryanschillinger]

The easiest way to do the trans swap would be to sell the auto and buy a stick! Haha. If you make the car look pretty nice, you could get some good $$$ for it, and put that towards a manual trans car.