Shops in SF bay who will replace auto w 6sp manual?

I won the lottery and I love my truck except for the auto transmission. Are there any shops in the SF bay area who can replace the transmission with a T56 or similar 6 sp manual?

 

any Toyota dealership would do it, it would be expensive and personally I would just get a new one.

 

Ah, the T56 swap is an American transmission and I doubt any Toyota would do that.

There are a lot of XRunner folks who did the T56 swap, but there is no off the shelf adapter kit yet..

 

Trade it for a new manual shift Tacoma.

 

Exactly.

 

Why?
Better just to sell or trade what you have and get what you want.

 

Buy the truck you want. Don't chase the dragon.

 

Did you really win the lottery lol

 

yeah and where in the Bay Area do you live?

JK lol

There's a lot of work involved. Does your truck have a lot of mods? I'd personally sell it and but a new one bc these trucks hold their value really well.

 

My truck is heavily modded. Supercharger, bed mods, lights, interior. The weakest link is the tranny. I feel like some of the time I'm in the wrong gear. I'd happily give up some fuel economy to have the motor spinning 1500 rpm higher everywhere. And when I step on the gas I want the truck to accelerate, not spend a few seconds downshifting. By then, I'm past the apex of the turn, it unsettles the whole truck to stop forward momentum, then suddenly the gear engages and we boost forward, throwing all the weight back. I'd rather just enter the corner in the right gear and let it wind up until I'm past the corner.

It wouldn't be easier for me to sell this truck and get a new one with a manual, especially since I'd have to give up the long bed to do it. What I need is a local shop who is trustworthy and does great work.

 

Everything and anything is possible if you throw enough money at it. Try a race shop.

Ray

 

Who installed your turbo?

 

OP, what you are asking is actually a tall order. I am sure many shops here in the Bay Area are capable of doing this. However, I think your biggest hurdle will be convincing a shop to do it. Projects like these usually take months of fabrication and r&d. You could probably start with: http://www.moal.com/04_gallery/index.html and they can either help you or guide you in the correct direction. The shop next to mine builds race car/chassis for all different types of racing. You can try them as well: http://eliteperformance-us.com . This is a project I wouldn't undertake personally as a shop owner due to the time management issue of it. Goodluck in your quest.

 

Are there that many difference between the auto and manual from a strictly mechanical standpoint (ie trans mount locations, etc, etc?)

Would it be feasible to purchase a wrecked 6MT Tacoma and swap everything over if you can see the two trucks side by side? In theory you could part out the rest of the truck and sell your automatic transmission to recoup some of the money.

I'm just thinking back to my days in the Honda world where auto to manual conversions were done. They weren't easy, but they weren't impossible as long as you got every piece from the donor car.

 

Since you are serious, the only shop I would trust for such a task would be the Toy Connection in Santa Clara. They know their stuff. Ask for Jeff.

 

Thanks guys. At the end of they day, after talking with these shops and getting bids etc, I have to weigh the cost of this swap vs the inconvenience of having an auto tranny. It does seem like swapping the trams wouldn't be a huge deal, so we'll see. Also, you can probably guess how much I hate automatic transmissions.

Concord Toyota installed my supercharger.

 

I can also attest to Jeff's knowledge base. He also has a great transmission tech under his employ that is phenomenal. I have purchased many used parts from Jeff at Toy Connection. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to make the connection with him but when you do, he knows his shit...

 

Why not change the gearing in the rear end to gain some RPMs?

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this.

bed mods, a rack, interior, and supercharger doesn't sound like heavily modded to me. MT/LT? running 35s? Marlin Crawler + plate bumpers, full skids? that's heavily modded.

 

Then I have to ask; Why in the hell did you buy an automatic in the first place?