WTF!?!? Whats with the abundance of automatics?

For the past month or two i have been looking to purchase a Z32, however, in the past two months i have seen about 3 times more automatics for sale then manuals. Also the automatics are less expensive. Wasnt an automatic transmission more expensive when purchasing originally? Could this be because there are more enthusiasts that would pay extra for a manual gear box?

Also i have expanded my search to all of Canada. Are there any certain things i need to know before i go further into this? For example, would there be any customs or duty fees for crossing provincial borders and how much do you guys think it would cost to ship a Z32 from vancouver to toronto?

Jeez!.. im fiending for my Z32!!!

they say good things come to those who wait!.. but oh man its so hard.

Thanks for any feedback and also the helpful comments in my previous thread.

Grod

depends how much cheaper it is for u to pick up an automatic over a manual, u might want to get that automatic and do a tranny swap… but obviously u want to compare prices, give or take

Auto is cheaper becase it blows… A transmission swap isnt all that difficult, bountywolf pulled it off in 5 days working on his driveway. if you go on car-part.com you can find transmissions for sale in the area, it would be the cheapest way to go if u dont mind a little hard work.

well, i personally dont have the know how to do a tranny swap, i might be more open to that if i knew someone who could help me. How much do you think a tranny swap would cost for the new tranny and the labour to istall it?

There are more autos are on the road because less people know how to drive manual. Just about anyone can drive an Automatic even if it’s their first time behind the wheel. Most believe now that it is too much work to learn Manual and it is not as forgiving when you mess up.

I looked for half a year sorting through Z32 junkers that were thrashed until I found mine. Out of the half year of searching most were Autos. The end plan was that if I were ever to get an auto I would convert to manual.

Z32 autos were literally a few horsepower less than the manual version. Most cars encouter the power loss from the tranny, but the Z32 actually has a reduction in power from the engine. I believe the Camshaft lobes don’t have as high a lift or something like that.

Still with that, it might be far easier to get an Auto and convert right now. I haven’t seen any good 5speeds out and I’ve been looking for a few months now. I got Shorteaz behind the wheel of my car on Sunday and I’m pretty sure she’s 5speed hooked now. HUGE difference. Seems like she’s set on buying all my five speed components now when I do the TT swap (Tranny, clutch set, ECU, blah blah…) Good luck with the find.

auto to 5spd aint that hard, if you have all the parts together.

yea thats the problem, finding and getting all the parts together. Plus i dont know exactly wat i would need besides a clutch, ecu, and the tranny and shifter. Hmm mayb il just go with an auto. i wonder how long it will be till i regret that! lol

U dont need to change the ECU

ask shorteaz about purchasing across canada. cuz if i remember correctly her z32 came from vancouver or somewhere close to there. lol

u remember incorrectly…my car was already over here cuz it was in vuks shop wen i saw it…the previous owner lived in vancouver so i assumed it was there at some point in time

It took me about 2-3 years to find mine in the condition and specs I wanted at the price point I wanted. I would say it definitely paid off in the end because I was really satisfied with my purchase. At that time which is probably similar to now, there were alot of cheaper non-turbo autos or really beaten up 5spd turbos and non-turbos. As well there were alot of RHD imports that were just starting to hit the market.

The way I look at it is that this is a collectors car and I really don’t plan on selling this, so I waited until I came across one of the better ones that satisfied my needs instead of rushing to get the first one I see. But if your willing to put some wrench time in there are some out there that just need a little TLC and cost a fraction of the price.

Good Luck,
J.

if you can manage to get all the parts together. what is needed, driveshaft, clutch pedal, tranny, etc. i know someone very reliable that would be willing to do it for a labour cost ofcourse. but it would def. be cheaper than if you were to take it to a shop, and also, this guy is very reliable & knows what he’s doing… he’s worked on all of our buddies with S14s and many other cars as well.

let me know, and i’ll try to forward this information off to him. i’m sure he would be more than willing, providing that it meets his very tight schedule.