[TrueBikerFace]

This is kinda crazy, but bear with me. I'm going to be swapping out my auto for a 5 speed. I found a 2010 manual SE on Craigslist with a salvage title. I'm hoping that it'll end up being my donor car if this ends up even being feasible. I'm going to try and get him talked down to a reasonable price on it. But before that headache happens, I have two questions.

Is it possible to start this swapping process with two fully functining cars and end it that way? Or am I going to have to break some eggs here.

And can I flip a car with a salvage title for any kind of decent cash afterwords? I'm not too familiar with the sale of or purchasing of a salvage titled car. I just know they aren't worth too much. I'm hoping to buy it for around 3500 and flip it for the same. I'd like for this swap to pay for itself, but it's a salvage title. Thoughts? If this is a bunch of bull dirt, please don't laugh at me too hard. I'm still learning haha

 

[ThaKillerKlown]

Subbed. I too am considering this since my automatic trans is making noises it shouldnt.

 

[TrueBikerFace]

Okay, so its looking like I can get the car for half of the blue book value on it. I'm going to have a mechanic take a look at it and see what we can see. I'm pretty sure its not going to work out though, because there is no documentation of the repairs or damage. probably a write off they dressed up. if that's the case then I'm going to call it a bust. if it looks like minor damage repaired properly or a recovered stolen vehicle, I'll probably go forward with it. stay tuned.

 

[zetecDon]

Moved to "Engine & Transmission Swap".

 

[TrueBikerFace]

My bad. Didn't even think about where I was posting this.

I took this looking down past the hood latch release, I was wondering if this was a removable crossmember or frame damage. The rest of the metal on the car seems straight to the naked eye, this is the only mangled bit I could find. Is this a dealbreaker if I don't find anything else?

 

[sailor]

Looks like front cross member (bumper), I'm seeing the foam that's between that & the front plastic bumper.

Should be straight.

You'd need a replacement or straight junk car to replace it by drilling out spot welds.

Best guess from what is visible. The radiator support/top & lower crossover you're looking through is the bolt on replaceable piece from the factory.

 

[TrueBikerFace]

Thanks for the help! I'm going to go for a test drive and have a mechanic give it a look over tomorrow, I'll hopefully be able to get this project going pretty soon! I already have a buyer lined up in the family on the flip-side for the beater, so my tranny swap may just end up paying for itself. sounds like a pretty sweet deal right now, I just hope no headaches pop up down the road.

 

[TrueBikerFace]

Okay, I'm getting close to pulling the trigger. I have a few questions that urgently need answers. I have been doing research for the past week, but cant seem to find any conclusive answers. When swapping the transmission from auto to manual AND manual to auto, what needs to happen on the ECU side of things? Can I swap the ECU and not have to rewire the whole car? Does it depend on the dealership or is there a way to escape that nightmare? My local dealership has worked with me before on ECU issues, I got my cruise control turned on by them no hassle. If I swap the ECUs AND the trannys, can I (with minimal dealership intervention) end up with two cars without CELs? I am not worried about swapping harnesses, its just going to take MUCH longer that way. if it needs to happen that's fine. I just need to know its possible for all of this to work out before I destroy two perfectly fine cars and flush thousands of dollars I cant spare down the crapper. Thanks for your time, please help.